Mara Jade Skywalker



Mara Jade Skywalker was, during different times in her life, an Emperor's Hand, a smuggler, and later a Jedi Master who sat upon the Jedi High Council. As an Emperor's Hand, Mara carried out the Emperor's bidding, killing Rebels and corrupt Imperials alike with cold professionalism even as a young woman. After Palpatine's death, she received his last command, which was to kill Luke Skywalker; however, the death of her Master caused her to go rogue. Eventually she joined Talon Karrde, becoming one of his best smugglers and his second-in-command. During the predations of Grand Admiral Thrawn, she was forced to work with Skywalker, and developed a grudging respect for him. Over the years, she would continue working for Karrde and interacting with Luke intermittently, until the two finally realized in 19 ABY that they were in love and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.

Mara was skilled in a variety of fields, being a good pilot and mechanic and trained in the use of both a blaster and hand-to-hand combat even without relying on the Force. Her cool demeanor was matched by her quick wit and both helped her stay calm, survive, and emerge victorious even in dangerous situations. As Palpatine's assassin, she received top-notch training from experts in a variety of fields as well as training in the Force, which would be continued by Luke Skywalker years later.

After marrying Luke, Mara devoted her life to the New Jedi Order, becoming a Master in her own right.

Early life (17 BBY–4 ABY)

 * "Yeah, it's true. Now tell me who blabbed so I can go cut his head off."
 * ―Mara's response to a couple of Jedi trainees questioning her past as an Emperor's Hand [src]

Mara Jade impersonating a dancer.Mara Jade was born in 17 BBY[1] on an unknown planet during a time of great instability as Emperor Palpatine and his apprentice, Darth Vader, were eliminating the remnants of the Jedi Order. Emperor Palpatine took Mara from her parents and brought her to Coruscant at a very young age, where he began to train her in the Force, although officially she was one of the Imperial Palace's dancers. She did not remember much about her early life besides her parents' reluctance to let her go and her own certainty that she was going to leave with the Emperor. Her master trained her in the ways of the Force and she was made into an agent of the Empire.[5] Some of the Imperial court assumed her to simply be a dancer or one of Palpatine's concubines.[6]

[edit] Emperor's Hand

 * "She is, shall we say, an experiment."
 * ―Palpatine [src]

Throughout Mara's youth, she was pushed through an intensive training regimen (this involved training alongside the Imperial Royal Guard[9] and learning covert espionage and assassination skills, which she was adept at by the age of fourteen[2] ) and became an "Emperor's Hand," one of Palpatine's personal assassins,[10] after a final test in which she successfully broke into Wilhuff Tarkin's private quarters.[6] In order to accomplish this mission, Mara, posing as a guest at a formal event at Tarkin's residence, feigned illness in order to get away from the other guests. She then retrieved a sack of equipment and descended down the side of the building to the room containing Tarkin's private safe. While she was breaking in, a group of guards came in (actually droids) and she engaged them with her blaster and lightsaber. However, upon sensing that one of the guards was living, she knocked him out rather than kill a soldier willing to give his life in a training exercise. Vader and Palpatine were pleased with her skills and she was pronounced the Emperor's Hand.[11] Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand.Despite there being several Emperor's Hands, she, like the others, was unaware of the existence of any other Hands.[12] Due to her deep connection with the Force, she could hear Palpatine's voice anywhere in the galaxy via a telepathic link.[13] Mara carried out Palpatine's will on numerous worlds, eliminating corrupt Imperial officials, traitors, and others who he deemed deserving of death or judgment. His esteem for her was such that he actually allowed her to get some time for relaxation, atypical of Palpatine's usual style.[5] In addition to a personal starship and a protocol droid named Kaythree to aid her in her duties as Hand she also received a private quarters on Coruscant, where she kept her lightsaber and a lanvarok for left-handers (although Mara herself was right-handed) among the items in her personal weapon collection.[14]

Before the Battle of Yavin, she was tasked with gathering intelligence in order to help Darth Vader hunt down any Jedi she found that had survived Order 66—one such Jedi was An'ya Kuro.[15] During the years following the Battle of Yavin and preceding the Battle of Hoth, Mara spied on Darth Vader and delivered reports on his actions to the Emperor, even going so far as watching, from afar, his assault on the Massassi Temples, some six months after Yavin, which resulted in the capture of Rebel Commander Jan Dodonna. In later missions where she was assigned to discreetly observe him, Mara soon became envious of Vader and sensed a division in him, specifically because she didn't understand the basis of his obsession concerning Luke Skywalker. Mara began to hope that Vader would betray the Emperor so that she could kill him and take his place as the Emperor's apprentice.[16] Mara Jade in actionDespite these spy activities, she still performed tasks for Vader himself. Around 1.5 ABY, Jade was responsible for uncovering information about C-3PO and R2-D2 for Vader, though Vader was either unwilling or unable to collect the information from her himself. Instead, he sent a spacer who had been doing work for the Empire to pick up the information from Jade on Naboo before returning it to him for a reward of 2,100 credits.[17] Around the time of the Battle of Hoth she visited Belsavis.[12]

Mara had also investigated Moff Glovstoak, posing as "Countess Claria" and discovered that he had been skimming the top off tax returns to the Imperial Center. Faking intoxication, she retired to a private room during a formal party Glovstoak was throwing, only to leave an inflatable dummy behind and, having exchanged her formal wear for a combat suit, quickly infiltrated his office and found six stolen paintings worth millions of credits in his palace. Mara returned to Imperial Center and reported her findings to Palpatine, but also saved General Deerian, whom she believed to be honest, from the fallout of Glovstoak's destruction.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-1">[10]

Upon Glovstoak's arrest, Mara also took the job of discovering who had delivered the paintings, as well as those who had aided the Moff. First, she went to the auction house where the paintings had been sold, but gleaned little information. Next, she investigated secure storage sites and found a good match in the Birtraub Brothers Storage and Reclamation Center, within which she sensed criminal connections. Observing the facility from a nearby tapcafe, the owners of the storage facility attempted to drug her, but her Force-senses alerted her to the attempt. She confronted the owner, Pirtonna Birtraub, who attempted to kill her. She easily subdued him and he admitted the involvement of a pirate group identified as the BloodScars, a ruthless gang that wanted to combine several gangs to dominate the Shelsha Sector.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-2">[10] Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand.Mara stowed away on one of the pirate ships that she had been pointed to, choosing a HT-2200 medium freighter that was being sent to attack a transport carrying Imperial military equipment. About the time the craft launched an attack on the Happer's Way, Mara was also discovered and attacked by a group of pirates. Undaunted, she quickly took over the ship, captured Tannis, and signaled the Reprisal via the Happer's Way's communications relay to assist her and the freighter.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-3">[10]

Boarding the Reprisal, Mara was coldly greeted by Captain Kendal Ozzel, who believed she was onto him for five stormtroopers that had deserted earlier after killing Major Drelfin over Daric LaRone's refusal to kill civilians on Teardrop. Mara requested a pair of crewers for the ship, and Colonel Vak Somoril gave her a pair of ISB men to accompany her. Taking the two ISB men and Tannis with her on the Happer's Way, Mara went to infiltrate the pirate base at Gepparin, pretending to be an independent ship thief who wanted to join the BloodScars.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-4">[10]

Mara arrived on Gepparin and was brought to meet the Commodore, who was suspicious of her. That evening, Mara was attacked by the two ISB men, who had been ordered to eliminate her, and their attack attracted the pirates' attention. She attempted to deal with the commodore, who ignored her and had his pirate accomplice Caaldra kill her. His attempt was unsuccessful, but Mara was interrupted before she could stop him and the commodore. Aboard the Reprisal, Ozzel and Somoril, wanting to be sure she was slain, arrived over Gepparin and launched TIE fighters and an orbital bombardment to kill Mara and the pirates. Mara quickly raced to the command center and found the commodore's body next to a HoloNet message he was about to send to Shelkonwa. Mara shot down the TIE fighters, and the Reprisal left in pursuit of the Millennium Falcon and their rogue stormtroopers who had appeared in-system, allowing Mara to escape in a Z-10 Seeker.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-5">[10]

Journeying to Shelkonwa, she found Vader and the Executor already there in search of Leia Organa. Mara believed that Governor Barshnis Choard was a traitor, and informed Vader of her findings. The dark lord brooked no interference in his search, but he did allow Mara to investigate and deal with Choard. Upon landing, Caaldra attacked her with a purloined All Terrain Scout Transport, but she was aided by the group of rogue stormtroopers, dubbed the Hand of Judgment. Taking them under her command, she defeated the AT-ST, unknowingly with the help of Chewbacca in a freighter, but Caaldra had escaped. With her newly drafted stormtroopers, she advanced on the Governor's Palace, where once again Caaldra tried to kill her. This time, she put an end to him when he tried to shoot her and she redirected the bolt into him with her lightsaber. In the mean time, the Hand of Judgment had penetrated the governor's security. Linking back up with the Hand of Judgment, Mara arrested Governor Choard and vouched for the rogue stormtroopers, even in front of Vader. Later, she learned their true story. She let them go, but warned them to lie low and lose their Hand of Judgment name, saying she was the only Hand in the Empire.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-6">[10] A few months prior to the Battle of Endor, Mara was in Palpatine's chamber when Darth Vader brought the Force-sensitive cyborg Lumiya to Palpatine to serve as another Emperor's Hand. Jade was dismissed from Palpatine's presence before he accepted Lumiya's service, maintaining her illusion that she was the only Hand, but Jade nevertheless sensed immediate hostility from Lumiya.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EGTTF_0-3">[1]

[edit] Hunting Skywalker

 * "''I hope your salary is more generous than your costume, Miss uh…"

"You, uh… can call me Arica.''"
 * ―C-3PO and Mara Jade — Listen (file info) [src]

Mara as "Arica" in Jabba's Palace.Following the Battle of Hoth, Mara became aware of Palpatine's worries about the Rebel Luke Skywalker; she was sent to infiltrate Jabba Desilijic Tiure's Palace on Tatooine, disguised as the dancing girl Arica, in order to await Skywalker.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sleight_of_Hand:_The_Tale_of_Mara_Jade_17-0">[18] While waiting for Luke Skywalker, Jade witnessed C-3PO and R2-D2's arrival at the palace. Later, after the droid was forced into the Hutt's service, C-3PO met Jade. After a brief conversation, in which she questioned 3PO regarding Skywalker and introduced herself as Arica, Jade disappeared as C-3PO witnessed the dancing girl Oola's execution.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19]

However, Melina Carniss, a member of Jabba's secret security detail, suspected her of being out to assassinate the Hutt, and attempted to arrest her; Jade turned the tables on Carniss, however, taking her into custody and then using the Force to cause Melina to shoot one of Jabba's Gamorrean guards. Jade fled down a tunnel and came to a ventilation shaft of the rancor pit. After fighting through three rows of guards, she was able to watch Luke kill the rancor. She then entered the ventilation shaft of the Rancor pit using a vibroax, and used the Force to open the trapdoor and follow the crowd out to the sail barge. Though she begged Jabba to let her join him and others at the Dune Sea, a suspicious Jabba instead provided her with a landspeeder and told her to leave and never come back after she tried to use the Force on him. Thus stymied in this attempt to fulfill her mission, she made her way back to Imperial Center—and a displeased Palpatine.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sleight_of_Hand:_The_Tale_of_Mara_Jade_17-1">[18] Years later, a Force vision revealed to Luke that, had she been present at the Great Pit of Carkoon, Jade would have succeeded in preventing his escape.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-1">[13]

[edit] The search for Black Nebula

 * "Victims run off and hide. Prey runs off and hides. But I'm not a victim. And I'm not prey. I'm the Emperor's Hand. I am the ultimate predator. And it's time for Dequc and Black Nebula to die."
 * ―Mara during her hunt for Dequc [src]

Mara's career as Emperor's Hand comes to an end.Following her mission on Tatooine, Mara was given another task by the Emperor—to kill Dequc, a Jeodu who sought to revive Black Sun by incorporating its remnants into his own empire, that of the Black Nebula.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-0">[20]

Mara arrived on the planet Svivren where she began laying the ground work for her new mission. She reconnoitered the crime lord's base, but realized that she would need a distraction to allow her to sneak in unnoticed. She went to the local Imperial garrison commander, General Touno, and requested two squads of stormtroopers and an officer. The officer assigned to her was Captain Strok, and together, he and Mara planned a raid on the building next to Dequc's, but Strok was unaware that this was all a distraction planned by Mara. The following day, however, saw the raid utterly fail and the majority of the Imperials killed. Mara, though, was still able to use the distraction provided by the firefight to sneak in and assassinate a Jeodu she believed to be Dequc.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-1">[20]

After the assassination, Mara reported to the Emperor that the mission had been successful. Palpatine, as a reward for her efficiency, provided Mara with a vacation. Mara did her best to enjoy the time that was provided to her, but she found herself mulling over the events which had transpired on Svivren. She came to the conclusion that the assassination was too easy and that any number of the guards present during her attack should have easily been able to stop her. Mara decided to test her theory by setting up a simulation of the assassination. Only two out of five times was she able to successfully kill "Dequc" and withdraw unharmed. She concluded that the person she killed was not the real Dequc, but a cleverly placed decoy. Mara resolved that it was still her duty to hunt down and assassinate the real leader of Black Nebula.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-2">[20] Mara uses a holdout blaster to execute a member of Black Nebula.Mara used her Force link with the Emperor to advise him of her findings, but before she could, he allowed her to witness his destruction by both Vader and Luke Skywalker.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-3">[20] His last command reverberated through the Force to her: YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER and she hated Skywalker for killing her master and destroying her life.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-2">[13] Mara was overcome by his death agonies and rendered unconscious. She remained in a dream-like state for several days, until she was apprehended by two of Ysanne Isard's henchmen. They took Mara to Isard, who imprisoned her and used intelligence tactics to try and force Mara to aid her in her bid for power. Mara, though, was able to escape from captivity and find passage to the backwater world of Phorliss. Mara intended to lay low for the time being until she could raise enough funds to relocate. To better blend into her temporary surroundings, she found work as a waitress at a local cantina owned by Gorb Drig. For several weeks she worked for Drig under the alias Chiara Lorn, until members of Black Nebula arrived to collect a debt owed by Drig. Mara could not believe her luck in discovering that Black Nebula had a presence on Phorliss—not wanting Drig to be harmed, Mara did her best to fight the more numerous gang members. Mara managed to get a hold of her lightsaber and quickly kill the remaining Nebula members, though not before they killed Drig and Jorshmin, a patron whom Mara had befriended.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-4">[20]

Mara set out to find the Black Nebula base on Phorliss, and discovered that the real Dequc was based on Qiaax. Mara infiltrated a casino owned by Dequc and administered by a lieutenant in Black Nebula. She disguised herself as Baroness Paltonae and claimed to represent a mysterious corporate interest that had developed reliable and undetectable ways to cheat at gambling and detect lock combinations—Mara, however, simply used the Force to create both illusions in an effort to be brought before Dequc. She managed to succeed and was taken to Black Nebula's hidden base in the Bubble Cliffs of Nezmi, where Dequc was waiting for her to discuss the corporate interest she "represented." However, once inside the Nebula's base, Mara unknowingly ran into Strok, the Imperial officer she had worked with on Svivren. She learned that he was actually a Black Nebula agent who had been inserted into the Imperial officer corps to feed Dequc information. Mara was furious about this discovery of an Imperial traitor, but decided to deal with him later. However, she again ran into him in the base's barracks, and when he realized who she was, Mara was forced to kill him to keep her secret safe. His death, though, was soon discovered by Black Nebula and Mara was forced onto the offensive. Mara eventually managed to make her way to Dequc's safe house, deep within the Bubble Cliffs. Once there, she used her lightsaber and a small explosive to kill Dequc and his guards; Mara then was able to escape through one of Dequc's secret passageways. Once she had successfully withdrawn, Mara stole a private yacht of Dequc's, one which was filled with all of his private information regarding the inner workings of Black Nebula, and left it at an Imperial spaceport where it could be discovered by the authorities.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-5">[20]

[edit] On the run (4 ABY–6 ABY)
Mara while being hunted by Ysanne Isard.Her hatred of Skywalker for destroying her master burned deep within her, and she vowed to kill the Jedi Knight. She was unaware that the Emperor's telepathic command lay at the core of this rage, making it stronger than any normal wish for vengeance would be. Meanwhile, her life was in shambles: the resources she had once had access to were all dependent on the Emperor, and her life of luxury, privilege and purpose was over. Still hunted by Isard, she made her way through the galaxy, doing odd jobs and manual labor to make ends meet. Her Force abilities faded, returning in ill-timed bursts. All the while, she was still haunted by the Emperor's last command: "You will kill Luke Skywalker."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-3">[13]

During her travels, she landed on Kintoni, where she spotted the Rebel general Crix Madine. Mara followed him and infiltrated the building to see Madine interrogating former Imperial Governor Barkale. Mara made her way towards the imprisoned governor and found a datapad showing the Executor along the way. However, she was stopped in Madine's quarters by the general, who pulled a blaster on her and called for reinforcements. Mara shot his gun and used the datapad to display the image of the Executor on the sensor screens, tricking the Rebels into thinking the ship was after them. Mara stunned the guards and made a deal with Madine to let her and Barkale escape.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_A_Night_on_the_Town_20-0">[21]

Barkale took her back to his home, but Mara noticed a sculpture that he had reported stolen or destroyed years ago, along with many other pieces of artwork. When she accused him of treasonous embezzlement, Barkale threw a vase at her. Mara, undaunted, executed him, and then informed Madine of her discovery while she got off the planet, figuring that the Rebels would have found the artwork anyway and executing Barkale was worth it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_A_Night_on_the_Town_20-1">[21]

[edit] Smuggler (6 ABY–9 ABY)

 * "If only for that, you deserve to die."
 * ―Mara to Luke [src]

Mara JadeMara was on Chibias to see the Coruscant Full Symphony when she encountered a young Zakarisz Ghent, who had just had a datacard planted on him without his knowledge. Mara took interest in the young slicer and, posing as a member of the concert hall staff, helped him escape from Raines, a member of Governor Egron's staff, who was trying to capture Ghent. Mara took the startled Ghent back to her hotel room, informing him that his trip to the hall had been a set-up. When Mara failed to slice into records to find out why Ghent was being pursued, Ghent took over and easily sliced through it, revealing the motive behind the attempted kidnapping.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Handoff_21-0">[22]

Mara then went to the Governor's Palace, where she confronted Raines about the absence of any record of him in the Governor's personnel files. Raines told her that he was a special aide to the governor and his name was Markko. She also was able to reveal that he had been hired by the governor for computer work, rather than that the governor needed Ghent's services, which was what Markko had originally told her. Mara, acting as Ghent's broker, agreed to bring him to the palace to slice the computer, which Markko had informed her was captured from the Rebel Alliance, after charging him an exorbitant fee.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Handoff_21-1">[22]

However, she was followed on her way back to the hotel. Deciding to turn the tables, she lost her pursuit and followed them back to their hideout. Markko confronted her, and then led her at gunpoint to the rest of the group, revealing that they were actually part of the Rebel Alliance. Mara agreed to bring Ghent to the palace as planned, seeing an opportunity to sell out Markko and earn some credits. Upon arriving at the palace, Ghent learned that the captured computer was not a Rebel machine, but actually a Star Destroyer's control node—Mara quickly ascertained that Egron was planning on selling the information. Mara stalled for time while using her lightsaber to cut an exit out of the wall with a Paparak cross-cut that would only be revealed when she kicked the wall in. After creating a diversion, she kicked the wall in and escaped with Ghent. However, Egron and Markko managed to intercept her before she could escape the palace. While she executed Egron, Markko took Ghent hostage. However, the two agreed to part ways, despite their ideological differences, with Markko returning Ghent. Outside, Mara told Ghent to go back to his home of Sibisime, while she went to find work on a freighter. Little did she know that Ghent was hired by the smuggler Talon Karrde shortly after she and Ghent parted ways.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Handoff_21-2">[22] Mara Jade during the Thrawn campaign.For the next few years, Mara drifted from one odd job to another under a variety of aliases. Under the alias Merellis, she was a Come-Up Flector for a Caprioril swoop gang.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars_Adventure_Journal_1_22-0">[23] It was during this occupation that she lost the violet-colored lightsaber she had been given by Palpatine<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_New_Essential_Guide_to_Characters_5-14">[6] in an encounter with Lumiya.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-swg5_23-0">[24] Lumiya, sent by Ysanne Isard, found her and tried to bring her back to Isard, but Mara refused. The two dueled and Mara escaped, though she lost her lightsaber in the process.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EGTTF_0-4">[1]. After her run-in with Lumiya, she later worked as a hyperdrive mechanic on Varonat under the name Celina Marniss.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars_Adventure_Journal_1_22-1">[23] Fortune finally struck when Mara managed to save the smuggler baron Talon Karrde from an ambush on Varonat that took the life of Karrde's second-in-command, Quelev Tapper, and almost killed Karrde as well. Mara had originally been working as a hyperdrive mechanic at the spaceport, and her efficiency and striking appearance impressed Karrde, who was operating under the alias of Hart while Tapper was known as Seoul. While out on a safari for Morodins, Karrde discovered both that the Morodins were sentient and that the safari leader, Gamgalon, was responsible for smuggling a catalyst for Tibanna gas grown in the jungle. Gamgalon found out what Karrde knew though and planned on executing him, having already killed Tapper when he tried to resist. Fortunately for them, Mara remembered hearing about a smuggler who enjoyed wordplay in his aliases and ships (Hart and Seoul), and decided to help them out in hopes of finding a position with them. She followed them out to the jungle, killed Gamgalon and his guard and rescued Karrde. Karrde was so impressed with Mara that he offered her a job on the spot.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-First_Contact_24-0">[25] Warning: The following section is ambiguously canon. It contains information that originates in a source, possibly unlicensed, that has not been deemed definitively canon.The two of them are said to have been already working together as early as 6 ABY, when Mara sold a Rodian statuette to New Republic Senator Baron Jonas Stern on Sluis Van. She and Karrde were later on Nkllon, with Jade again operating under the pseudonym Celina Marniss.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CasusBelli_25-0">[26] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CassusBelliNote_26-0">[27] Ambiguously canon information ends here.

[edit] Meeting Skywalker
Mara entered Karrde's organization in c. 8.5 ABY.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-4">[13] During her first six months of working with Karrde, Mara swiftly rose through the ranks of his smuggling organization. Her Force-sensitivity, lying largely dormant since the death of Palpatine, reasserted itself when she brought Karrde's freighter, the Wild Karrde out of hyperspace for a routine check right where Luke Skywalker's damaged X-wing was floating in space. Grand Admiral Thrawn, the leader of the resurgent Empire, had posted a significant bounty on Skywalker and Karrde considered the possibility of selling him to Thrawn for the bounty or extorting money from the New Republic to ensure his return.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-5">[13] Mara during the Thrawn campaign.Karrde pulled the stranded Jedi aboard and took him back to his base on Myrkr, where the planet's ysalamiri creatures blocked Skywalker's Force abilities. Jade was at first intent on killing Skywalker, but Karrde would not have it. However, Karrde did keep Luke and R2-D2 locked up and hid them from view when Thrawn arrived to collect ysalamiri. Luke, though, managed to escape in a Skipray blastboat. Mara gave chase, but both vehicles ended up crashing in the vornskr-infested forest. To complicate matters, Thrawn himself arrived on Myrkr to harvest ysalamiri, preventing the two from making contact with Karrde, for Thrawn would know that Karrde had been with-holding Skywalker from him. Mara was forced to work with Luke to survive, and she clearly stated her intention to kill him. The two made their way to Hyllyard City after fending off several vornskr attacks, but were caught in a stormtrooper ambush. Thanks to the timely intervention of Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, and some of Karrde's men, they defeated the stormtroopers and Solo, Calrissian, and Skywalker left Myrkr. Karrde and his organization also fled Myrkr soon after due to a massive Imperial bounty placed upon them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-6">[13]

As the last members of the organization fled Myrkr, Mara remained with Karrde, who decided to surreptitiously observe the Imperial arrival on Myrkr from the Wild Karrde. As expected, Grand Admiral Thrawn arrived in the Star Destroyer Chimaera and quickly took over the abandoned base. However, what Karrde did not anticipate was Thrawn deducing that the Wild Karrde had remained in the system and had called for an Interdictor cruiser, the Constrainer, to trap the smuggler's ship in place. However, Mara received a Force-related warning of the Imperial's arrival and activated the Wild Karrde's engines, preparing them for flight, much to the surprise of her fellow crew members and Karrde. However, as the Constrainer reverted into the system, Mara piloted the ship out of its range and made the jump into hyperspace, her seemingly premature activation of the ship's engines having saved them from an Imperial trap.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-0">[28]

While setting up a new base for Karrde's group on Rishi, Mara was accosted by a bounty hunter, Gunner Groth. She killed him, but Karrde's organization was put to flight yet again. Sent to Abregado-rae to retrieve a ship of Karrde's, the Etherway, that had been impounded, her departure from the system was interrupted by the arrival of the Victory-class Star Destroyer Adamant. Mara realized that Thrawn would not stop hunting them, so she turned herself over to Thrawn, reclaiming her role as the Emperor's Hand and offering him the location of the Katana fleet in exchange for amnesty for Karrde and his men. Thrawn agreed, albeit not without suspicion, but double-crossed Mara by placing a tracking device on her ship. Once she arrived at Karrde's next hideout, Imperial stormtroopers followed shortly afterwards and captured Karrde.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-1">[28]

Mara, disgusted by Thrawn's actions and now feeling more loyalty to Karrde than ever, decided to break Karrde out of the Imperial brig in which he now found himself, but knew she couldn't do it alone. Instead, she journeyed to Jomark with a ysalamir, where Luke Skywalker was training under Joruus C'baoth. C'boath attempted to knock her out of the sky with a hail of rocks as she landed, but she was able to set her ship down and make her way towards his residence, where Skywalker was located. As she was climbing down a cliff, she was nearly blasted by R2-D2, controlling Luke's X-wing. She managed to convince the droid that C'baoth was working for the Empire and that Skywalker owed Karrde, and was ferried down to Luke's location hanging from the starfighter's landing skid. After a short confrontation with C'baoth had resulted in him stunned from a near-miss from a laser cannon fired by R2-D2, Mara had wanted to finish off the insane Jedi Master, but Luke persuaded her not to. Despite her misgivings, she convinced Luke to go with her to rescue Karrde from Thrawn's ship, the Chimaera, in the Skipray blastboat that she had used to reach Jomark. Using her passwords to slice into the computer, she and Luke reached the detention block and freed Karrde. Thrawn shut down the ship's computer, but the trio was able to make good their escape in the Millennium Falcon, which the Empire had retrieved from Endor after it had been deserted.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-2">[28]

Mara and Karrde's group later returned to aid the New Republic in the Battle for the Katana fleet. Mara flew a Z-95 Headhunter in the battle, but an ion cannon blast left her drifting in space. Fortunately for her, Luke Skywalker was able to rescue her before she died of exposure.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-3">[28] Luke and Mara confront C'baoth (not pictured) on the planet Jomark.Taken to Coruscant for a month of nerve-regeneration therapy, Mara found herself almost completely alone in the Imperial Palace. She wanted to leave the planet, but before she could, she detected an Imperial intrusion team headed for the Solo family's quarters. Mara, accompanied by Lando Calrissian and Garm Bel Iblis, chased down the intruders. They were pinned down, but Mara used her knowledge of the Palace's secret passages to get behind the Imperial commando team. Using the Force to relay a plan to Leia Organa Solo, she successfully gunned down the entire Imperial squad. However, Major Molo Himron, the team leader, survived and implicated her in the attack, which led to her imprisonment by the order of Colonel Jak Bremen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Last_Command_28-0">[29]

[edit] Wayland

 * "For I have foreseen that Mara Jade will bow before me. One Mara Jade, or another."
 * ―Joruus C'baoth to Mara Jade on Wayland [src]

Mara later found out about Thrawn's use of clones while imprisoned, via Leia, and remembered the location of the Emperor's cloning center. Realizing that they might be compromised if they went through normal channels, Luke, Han, Lando, and Chewbacca broke Mara out of prison and took her with them on the Falcon. She gave them the location of Wayland and the cloning center, and the group successfully landed in the forest, along with R2-D2 and C-3PO. Mara was once again forced to work with Luke, who encouraged her to develop her Force skills. Skywalker gradually realized that Jade was acting not so much of her own volition as she was following Palpatine's telepathic command. Jade also came to gradually realize this, that she was being used to inflict a last bit of revenge upon the dead Darth Vader. Skywalker promised to help her remove the command, even though being near her obviously jeopardized his life. They both had premonitions of encountering the insane C'baoth on the planet, which, upon reaching the Mount Tantiss stronghold after an arduous journey through the forest, turned out to be true. Mara asked Luke to kill her rather than let C'baoth take over her mind, but Luke promised that whatever she would face in the stronghold, she wouldn't face it alone.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Last_Command_28-1">[29] Mara kills the insane Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth.While looking for a remote destruct for the facility, Luke and Mara found the crazed Jedi Master, who hit Mara and Luke with Force lightning and pitted Luke against a clone of himself. Despite the aid of Han, Leia, and Karrde, they were unable to defeat the Jedi Master until Mara retrieved Leia Organa Solo's lightsaber and charged C'baoth. Luke injured his clone and strengthened Mara with the Force, and she fulfilled the Emperor's command, slaying the clone. Enraged, C'baoth attacked them with a Force Scream, Force lightning and rocks, but Mara, fulfilling C'baoth's visions of bowing before him by kneeling to avoid his attacks, stabbed him with the lightsaber. Luke's Force powers kept her from being injured by the dark side energy released upon C'baoth's death, and they escaped in the Wild Karrde as Lando and Chewbacca blew up the facility. As a token of friendship, Luke gave her his father's lightsaber, and she would continue to use it in the years ahead.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Last_Command_28-2">[29]

Mara was later sent out by Karrde to aid the New Republic after the loss of Coruscant to the Empire. The New Republic had sent couriers out to various parts of the fleet to inform them of their retreat, as their communications had been cut off. One part of the fleet had changed location, so the New Republic paid Mara to meet with the courier ship Messenger to update the crew. As it turned out, the same Colonel Bremen whom she had been detained by on Coruscant was on the ship and Mara enjoyed his discomfort. However, a homing beacon in the Messenger lured a Carrack-class cruiser and Mara shot off some of its TIEs to allow the courier to escape.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Retreat_from_Coruscant_7-1">[8]

[edit] Apprenticeship
Mara during her search for Kyle Katarn.After fully renouncing the dark side of the Force, Jade sought out Kyle Katarn to train her in the ways of the Jedi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith_manual_29-0">[30] In 10 ABY, Mara was with Kyle Katarn on the battlefront of Altyr V to aid the New Republic base, which was being bombarded from two artificial asteroids and attacked by the Imperial Remnant. Kyle Katarn managed to repel the attack, and destroyed both asteroids. While there, he got a lead about the planet Dromund Kaas having some importance to the Empire and went to investigate.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith_30-0">[31]

Mara, however, was on her own—her first mission for the Republic was to negotiate with Ka'Pa the Hutt concerning the New Republic's supplies. In order for Ka'Pa to comply, Mara was forced to steal Takara's GCT device for him. While looking for Takara's lieutenant, Abron Mar, in the Katraasii Spaceport, Mara was trapped by Takara. She managed to escape the stronghold by killing a Rancor and stole the device. Ka'Pa was pleased and agreed to help the Republic.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith_30-1">[31]

Mara's second mission was on a Republic Corellian Corvette guarding a Jedi holocron, when they again came under attack from Kaerobani's pirates. Mara repelled the attackers, but the holocron was stolen. To retrieve the holocron, she decided to "board" a cargo crate that was headed for Rathalay, the pirates base. Using her deeply ingrained training, Mara reclaimed the holocron and escaped.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith_30-2">[31] There she encountered the severed head of droid 8t88, Katarn's old adversary, and noted that the droid was planning vengeance on whomever had decapitated it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Kyle_Katarn.27s_Tale_31-0">[32]

After that, Mara finally arrived on Dromund Kaas to see what had happened to Katarn. While traveling through the swamps, she encountered and defeated many native creatures, including her own doppelgänger. After crossing the swamp, she reached the Dark Force Temple. Finally she found Kyle totally immersed in the dark side. Master and apprentice fought, but Mara managed to fend him off each time, while Kyle retreated deeper and deeper into the catacombs. On the final encounter, Mara voluntarily turned off her lightsaber and surrendered. Kyle realized that he could not follow this path and was able to turn back to the light side.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith_30-3">[31] The two later participated in the ancient Jedi tradition of the Concordance of Fealty mutual apprenticeship.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Forces_Saga_32-0">[33]

When Palpatine returned in his new cloned body, Mara didn't believe it was really him, spurning any thought of returning to his service. Instead, she aided the New Republic in evacuating Coruscant and ferrying cargo for the government. For his part, Palpatine supplanted her and the other Hands with new Dark Side Adepts, including Sedriss QL.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_New_Essential_Guide_to_Characters_5-15">[6]

However, Palpatine was also not content with merely replacing Mara; to punish her for her treachery, he sent several of his servants to intercept her en route to a Smugglers' Alliance meeting in the Senex Sector, including the mysterious Blackhole. She was captured, though Kyle Katarn and some of his associates later freed her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Forces_Saga_32-1">[33]

[edit] Smuggler's Alliance

 * "When I entered the atmosphere I could feel you and Kun tangling. The Force was boiling."
 * ―Mara Jade to Corran Horn [src]

After Kyle forsook the Jedi and the Force and returned to his military career, Mara also participated in a mission from Karrde to track down Jorj Car'das, where she pretended to be involved with Lando Calrissian as a cover for the mission.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Specter_of_the_Past_33-0">[34] This quest would at one point take them to the Kathol Rift, where she and Calrissian encountered Crev Bombaasa and helped him out of a tight spot. Karrde would later use this association and owed favor to his advantage.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-0">[35]

In 11 ABY, Mara returned to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 to learn the ways of the Jedi, arriving during the tumultuous time right after Gantoris's death and Kyp Durron's first act of rebellion, both events caused by the spirit of the ancient Sith Exar Kun. At first Mara and Corran Horn, himself a student under the assumed name of Keiran Halcyon, got off to a bad start, but they soon settled their differences and got along quite well. She even allowed Corran to use her Headhunter, though Kyp later stole it in his bid to seize the Sun Crusher. Under Kam Solusar's tutelage, Horn and Mara Jade trained together, enjoying physical exercise such as running expeditions through the jungle, and learned to appreciate their differences—this proved to be a wise choice, as it was not long until the spirit of Exar Kun took control of Kyp and wreaked havoc on the Jedi. She left the academy not long after, but later returned after she heard Kun had put Luke in a coma. While there, she helped Corran defeat Kun's spirit, as the Corellian had attempted to distract Kun by invading his temple. She arrived just in time, as Kun was nearing success with turning Corran's fears against him, and had also severely injured him. She helped Corran trick Kun into returning to the Praxeum to use Streen against Luke, leading to the Sith Lord's destruction from the combined Force power of the students there. With Kun defeated, Mara helped the injured Horn back to the Great Temple. However, she again left the Praxeum after the incident.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-I.2C_Jedi_35-0">[36]

During this time, she also became one of the leaders of the Smugglers' Alliance. Lando Calrissian, flush with cash from a recent string of successes, wanted to make a profit from mining glitterstim on Kessel. Mara led a group of Smuggler's Alliance vessels to Kessel to help him chase the present administrator, Moruth Doole, off the planet. However, Mara was not entirely thrilled with Lando, as she was not fond of his constant flirting with her, though she was impressed by him giving the Falcon to Han Solo as a gift even after winning it back in a game of sabacc. Not long after they took the planet, Mara, Han, and Lando were confronted with the prototype Death Star, which destroyed Kessel's moon. Mara and all her ships took off and attacked the prototype, but it fled. Mara and the Falcon pursued the craft into the heart of The Maw, unwilling to let the superweapon escape. In an effort to knock out its superlaser, she and Lando made their way to the core of the prototype in environment suits, planning to plant thermal detonators along the reactor core, but they were attacked by a group of spacetroopers. Mara and Lando escaped, but a spacetrooper was able to remove all but one of their charges, causing less damage than the duo had hoped. Fortunately, Kyp Durron, freed of Kun's influence, managed to lead the prototype into a gravitational well, crushing it and ridding the galaxy of its use forever.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Champions_of_the_Force_36-0">[37] Mara Jade: Emperor's Hand, Jedi, and smuggler.While Han and Leia were on Belsavis, they contacted Mara Jade to see if she had information on the planet. Mara did know about the planet—she had broken into its secure file when she was working for the Empire. She told the Solos about a secret mission to attack one of the rifts and how Palpatine and Vader used a combination of drugs and the dark side to create crazed, mindless guards, such as the ones that the Solos had found in the smugglers' tunnels in the valley.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Children_of_the_Jedi_11-2">[12]

Later, she called the Solos after they learned of the presence of the Emperor's Hand on the planet and assumed it was her. All she had were some coordinates from a landing pad that Han had asked for, but she was quickly informed of Leia's disappearance and the presence of the Emperor's Hand on Belsavis years before, when she had never been on that mission. It was at that moment that Mara realized that the Emperor had lied to her—there were many Emperor's Hands, she had not been alone. Outraged, she grew angry when Han told her the name of the other Hand: Roganda Ismaren.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Children_of_the_Jedi_11-3">[12] Mara was outraged to learn that Palpatine had been lying to her when he said that she was his only Hand, and later deduced that Lumiya was also a member of the Emperor's Hands.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EGTTF_0-5">[1] Mara immediately headed for Belsavis and en route, encountered Luke and a group of brainwashed crewers from the recently destroyed Eye of Palpatine. She brought them with her to Belsavis for treatment, after noting the serious injury to Luke's leg. She also pulled in an escape pod from the Dreadnaught, opening it to reveal Callista Ming, a Jedi who had escaped the Eye of Palpatine after helping destroy it, and who had fallen in love with Luke. On Belsavis, Mara helped round up the last of the insane guards, many of whom she had once known, though Roganda Ismaren and her son Irek escaped.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Children_of_the_Jedi_11-4">[12]

Some time after taking a large role in the Smuggler's Alliance with Lando Calrissian, Mara's contacts passed on word of a Hutt plot related to Orko SkyMine. Mara journeyed to the Yavin 4 Jedi Praxeum to warn Luke. Taking him on a ride in her ship, she relayed the information to him and told him that she occasionally enjoyed seeing him. He asked her to stay for dinner, where she met Callista Ming and asked her if she was Luke's new lady. Callista affirmed her statement, and asked if Mara was once interested in Luke. Mara replied that she had once wanted nothing more than to kill him, though the incident apparently didn't seem to cause much consternation between the women.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Darksaber_37-0">[38]

Mara continued her on-and-off association with Lando during this period. She was recently away from him and aboard the Wild Karrde with Karrde after they had spent a week together on Mon Calamari when he called for information and she told him about the bombing of the Senate Hall. She would also help Karrde deliver a pair of ysalamiri to Han Solo over Almania when he went in search of Kueller, the mastermind behind the bombing who was attempting to kill Luke. She even accompanied him to the planet's surface, partially out of her concern for Luke and partially because she feared what Kueller could do to the galaxy. Helping the Falcon blast its way to the surface through Kueller's forces, Mara accompanied Solo and Chewbacca and they brought the Force-empty bubble of the ysalamir to where Luke and Leia were confronting Kueller just in time to save Luke from certain death.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_New_Rebellion_38-0">[39]

On one occasion, while commanding on the Wild Karrde in Karrde's temporary absence, Mara and the rest of the crew were captured by Ja Bardrin, a wealthy industrialist whose daughter Sansia had been captured by the slaver Chay Praysh. At gunpoint, Bardrin forced Mara to go to Torpris to rescue Sansia, who had, like all female Human prisoners of Praysh's, been forced to work in the slime pits. Mara had no choice but to comply, as she had no way of contacting Karrde and Bardrin threatened to execute the rest of the crew if she didn't do as he wished.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jade_Solitaire_39-0">[40] Mara is captured by Drach'nam.Mara entered the palace under the pretext of bringing a gift to Praysh, supposedly unaware that she was the gift. However, her lightsaber was discovered at the entrance and was thrown to the nearby scavengers, where it was caught by a Togorian named H'sishi. Upon seeing Jade, Praysh had his guards lash her with neuronic whips and throw her into the slime pits, unaware of her identity or intent. Mara made contact with Sansia, though Sansia told her that her father only wanted an experimental, heavily upgraded SoroSuub 3000 luxury yacht that had also been stolen. Mara then inflicted an injury on herself and was taken to the slave infirmary, where she used the Force to muddy the camera and steal some of the drugs and chemicals stored there. Once she was returned to the slave barracks, Mara used her skills as a saboteur to mix the chemicals into weapons. One combination created a fire that allowed her and Sansia to escape in the confusion. Other guards were dispatched with the acid she had created, but they were overpowered and forced to surrender. Dragged before Praysh to be interrogated, Mara was at a loss for what to do. However, the scavenger H'sishi entered with Mara's lightsaber (which was actually Luke's), claiming that it bore the corporate signature of another weapons syndicate. H'sishi then stunned Praysh and threw the lightsaber to Mara, who easily handled the guards. Mara and H'sishi then fled to the yacht, which Sansia had recovered after she had made her own escape during the fight.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jade_Solitaire_39-1">[40]

Returning to Bardrin's mansion, Mara was surprised to find that Karrde, with the aid of some Noghri, had already taken the place and was preparing a mission to rescue her. Mara also got Bardrin to reveal that the entire abduction was a set-up, designed to help him take out Praysh and capture some stolen prototypes. Sansia, outraged, gave Mara the upgraded SoroSuub yacht, which she re-named the Jade's Fire. About this time, Karrde started helping her set up her own small trading company.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jade_Solitaire_39-2">[40]

[edit] First Corellian Insurrection

 * "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd be just as happy if this stayed nice and simple."
 * ―Mara Jade on Selonia [src]

Mara during the Corellian Insurrection.By 18 ABY Mara was temporarily out of Karrde's organization and running a legitimate trading company—which was meant to prepare her to take over Karrde's organization. While in the Talfaglio system, the Jade's Fire intercepted a drone with a message cube bearing an Imperial code and addressed to Leia Organa Solo. Curious, she departed for the Corellian system, discerning that the message was most likely urgent. Arriving over Corellia, she attended the trade summit being held in Coronet City, where she encountered Leia and Han. Mara informed them of the message cube, and Leia escorted Mara to her personal apartment, along with Han, to unlock the message cube, which was coded to Leia's fingerprints. The cube revealed the plans of the Sacorrian Triad and the Human League, headed by Han's cousin Thrackan Sal-Solo, to blackmail the New Republic by destroying a number of stars. Shortly afterwards, the Human League caused riots and began their insurrection, and Mara, having left the Solos' apartment, disappeared.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ambush_at_Corellia_40-0">[41]

Mara Jade was eventually captured by the Human League and imprisoned with Leia on Corellia as the First Corellian Insurrection sparked across the Corellian system. That, and the fact that her crew was missing, was incentive for her to fight against the Human League. Though neither woman trusted the other, the two decided to work together and escaped out of their cells and rappelled down into Leia's former quarters, where they retrieved Leia's lightsaber and blaster. Mara and Leia then departed the planet on Jade's ship, the Jade's Fire, after Mara called it to her with a beckon call. Both injured, they were pleased with just escaping Human League captivity, and eventually decided to head to Selonia. Approaching the world, they detected the Bakuran fleet and a coneship that was carrying Han and a Selonian, both also escaped from the Human League on Corellia. Mara brought the Jade's Fire to dock with the coneship and Leia was reunited with her husband.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Assault_at_Selonia_41-0">[42]

Both craft then continued towards Selonia, but were intercepted by hostile fighters before they could land and the Jade's Fire flew cover for the utterly defenseless coneship until Mara and Leia shot off the rest of the fighters. On Selonia, with Mara, Leia and Han attempted to convince the Selonians to change their mind about turning over a planetary repulsor and aiding them—and they too were imprisoned for a short time. Mara, Leia and Han were freed following Luke Skywalker's arrival, and Mara helped persuade the Selonians to at least sell the operating instructions for the planetary repulsor that was needed to stop the Starbuster plot from destroying an inhabited system. She took part in the final battle at Centerpoint Station in Jade's Fire, fighting with the Falcon and Lando's ship, the Lady Luck, against the Sacorrian Triad fleet, who had been behind the Starbuster plot the entire time. Leia's children, with the aid of the instructions Mara had helped acquire and Bakuran techs, also successfully averted Centerpoint from destroying its next target, diffusing its weapon with a burst from the planetary repulsor on Drall.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Showdown_at_Centerpoint_42-0">[43]

[edit] Caamas document crisis

 * "You didn't know, but after that pirate base thing, Faughn told me you and I made a good team. She was right. We really did."
 * ―Mara Jade to Luke Skywalker [src]

Shortly afterwards, Mara became absorbed into the events surrounding the Caamas Document crisis in 19 ABY when she and Karrde arrived on Wayland to hire some Noghri to work for his organization. Upon receiving a call from Cakhmaim, the Wild Karrde forced down the ship of Lak Jit, a Devaronian who had found information that the Bothans had helped Palpatine destroy Caamas.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Specter_of_the_Past_33-1">[34] Mara Jade with Corran Horn and Talon Karrde.Later, after sensing a disturbance in the Force, Mara rescued Luke from the Cavrilhu Pirates while on a mission from Talon Karrde to look up pirate groups who might have been using clones. Luke had been infiltrating the group when he was discovered, and Karrde had sent Mara in the Starry Ice to check on him and the pirates. Only Mara's timely arrival allowed him to survive the pirate base's self-destruct sequence by floating a short distance across vacuum to her ship in a Jedi hibernation trance. As they left the pirate base, a small Chiss ship flew by, investigating them before jumping to hyperspace. It would not be the last time Mara encountered these types of ships, however. After meeting Karrde on the Errant Venture, the Star Destroyer received a fly-by another one of the ships. After the fighter went to hyperspace, Karrde and Mara were able to plot the destination of the ships: the planet Nirauan. Mara decided to investigate the world in the Starry Ice.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Specter_of_the_Past_33-2">[34]

[edit] Nirauan
"Watch your language."
 * "Stupid, stupid. A big fat diversion—the oldest trick on the list. And I fell for it like some dumb farm kid."
 * ―Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker [src]

Mara journeyed to the Hand of Thrawn complex on Nirauan, losing contact with Karrde and his organization after setting down on the planet in a Defender starfighter. While exploring the area near the fortress, she fell and knocked herself out on a rock. Her absence and failure to report in caused the second-in-command, Faughn, to head out on the Starry Ice to seek help, leaving her stranded there. Faughn reported to Karrde, who was with Luke Skywalker at the time. Luke had been investigating a vision the Force had given him of Mara lying face-down in water when he met Karrde, and the vision had disturbed both of them. Luke agreed to go to Nirauan to rescue her, bringing her Jade's Fire and his X-wing to the remote planet.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Specter_of_the_Past_33-3">[34]

Fifteen days after she had been stranded on Nirauan, Luke finally reached the cave she had been hiding in, surrounded by the local Qom Jha who had carried her there when she had fallen unconscious. The Qom Jha had taken her weapons and hadn't let her go too far, but other than that had left her unharmed. They also took her starfighter and placed it inside the cave, as she was being hunted by the Chiss who occupied the fortress. While Mara couldn't understand their Force-based communication, Luke was able to, and he showed her how to understand the aliens. Mara and Luke were able to convince the aliens to help them get into the fortress, via a series of underground passages. While they were traveling through the caves, Mara and Luke spent their time together settling some of their differences. Mara informed Luke that she had hoped for some attention while at the Jedi academy, but since it had never happened, she stopped attending. She also told him that he should stop trying to do everything himself, as he hadn't fully gotten over his experience serving the reborn Emperor. The layered cortosis in the walls near the tunnel entrance, along with semi-sentient predators and fire creepers, slowed them down, but they were able to penetrate the fortress.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-1">[35] Mara Jade during the Caamas document crisis.Along with their native guides and Artoo, they explored the lower levels, but stopped after a pair of Chiss gunmen opened fire on them with charrics, injuring Mara in the shoulder. Luke helped her out back into the caves, where he put her into a Jedi healing trance. By this point, Luke had come to realize that he loved Mara, expressing his feeling by kissing her while she was asleep. However, when they awoke, Luke confronted her about her past and her refusal to give herself to service to others, but the conversation degenerated into an argument, with Luke inquiring about her relationship with Lando while she referred to his experiences with Gaeriel Captison and Callista. Mara calmed down some, and revealed to Luke that she and Lando were never really in a relationship; it had been a cover story for Karrde's mission. Their discussion led to a lowering of the barrier between them, to the point where they were in close mental contact. The two entered the fortress again, only this time they found the existence of the Empire of the Hand and their plans to turn it over to the Imperial Remnant.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-2">[35]

Realizing that they needed more information, Mara went down to talk to the inhabitants of the fortress, where she encountered a group of ysalamiri and the leader of the fortress, Voss Parck and Soontir Fel. Parck gave her the true story of Thrawn's mission and history, while trying to recruit her into the Empire of the Hand. He also informed her of numerous threats in the Unknown Regions, which the Empire of the Hand was supposed to guard against. When she refused and they became aware of Skywalker's presence, they decided to keep the two Jedi prisoner by forcing them into hibernation trances, namely by inflicting non-lethal wounds on Mara. Needless to say, Mara attempted to avert being shot, but Parck was unconvinced. Fortunately, Luke intervened at that time, cutting through the wall. Parck ordered his troops to stand down to prevent unnecessary slaughter, and the two escaped, pursued by Chiss troops once they were clear of the officers. Arriving in the fortress hangar, they disabled the clawcraft there, taking one for their escape.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-3">[35]

Outside the fortress, Mara and Luke realized that they needed to return, to obtain data on the threats Parck was referring to earlier. While Luke rested in a hibernation trance, Mara made her sacrifice. Using a beckon call for her ship, she crashed the Jade's Fire into the hangar, preventing Parck from making contact with and turning over his resources to the Remnant, which would use them against the New Republic. Sneaking in through a second passageway shown to them by their guides, Luke and Mara entered a different part of the fortress, this time encountering an unripe clone of Thrawn. However, two guard droids, layered with cortosis armor, attacked them on a floor laced with rope snares. Fighting back to back, the two joined minds to battle the droids in perfect coordination, though they had little chance of defeating the two droids. However, Artoo distracted one of the droids long enough for Mara and Luke to cut through the wall, letting water from a lake on the other side of the wall into the room, and in the confusion from the flood, Luke destroyed the two droids. Realizing that the water had trapped them inside, Luke told Mara of a vision he had of her lying face-down in water and also confessed his love to Mara, which she had completely realized when they had joined minds. As the water rose, Luke Skywalker asked her to marry him. She accepted.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-4">[35]

Luke then realized that letting water into the fusion generator into the cloning chamber would create a blast big enough to blow through the wall. Mara, however, actually made the cut, as she had more experience with the type of technique needed, a Paparak cross-cut. As the water roared through the newly created outlet, Luke put her in a hibernation trance and they both flew through the water unconscious. Luke awoke first and pulled Mara from where she had been lying face-down in the water, waking her with the phrase "I love you, Mara." With the aid of the Qom Jha and Qom Qae natives one final time, Luke and Mara boarded their ships, with both of them in the clawcraft they had taken, and left the planet for the New Republic. As an added bonus, Artoo had picked up Thrawn's copy of the Caamas Document while in the fortress, which they took back to resolve the conflict that had broken out over Bothawui.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-5">[35]

[edit] Marriage to Luke Skywalker

 * "Mara…. will you marry me?"
 * ―Luke Skywalker to Mara Jade [src]

After the signing of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty, Luke and Mara spent a couple weeks on Garqi in the Outer Rim relaxing. However, back on Coruscant, Leia announced Luke and Mara's wedding, which was taken by the press as symbol of Imperial and New Republic unity. To complicate matters further, Threepio became involved in the wedding planning, resulting in a grandiose ceremony, much to Mara's dismay.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Union_43-0">[44] Luke and Mara just prior to their wedding on Coruscant.Much to her chagrin, Mara had to deal with a number of dress designers who were competing for the design of her wedding dress, ranging from a masked dress to a black dress reminiscent of Imperial agents to a minimalist dress that Mara refused to step out of the dressing room in. Mara grew frustrated and left Leia's apartment, where the designers had been coming, to go on a walk. On the streets, she met a despondent Twi'lek female dress designer named Jari'kyn who had been seeking to bring her design before Mara, but had been fired by her employer instead. Mara revealed her identity to the designer and was quite impressed with her designs.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Union_43-1">[44]

Shortly after she commissioned her dressmaker, Luke and Mara had a private, less formal Jedi wedding ceremony at the Jedi training area that had been established on Coruscant. Joining two halves of a crystal together in a symbol of their union, Luke and Mara were married by Kam Solusar. However, Mara was later displeased to find out that Luke got into a bar fight during his bachelor party. She was also disturbed by a nightmare of Palpatine having won, and she was marrying a Luke corrupted by the dark side.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Union_43-2">[44]

While Luke and his male friends recuperated, Mara and her bridesmaids—Leia, Mirax Terrik Horn, Iella Wessiri Antilles, Winter Celchu, and Tionne Solusar—went to a spa to relax. Later, they were bored and worked off the stress on the slingball court, handily defeating a group of pilots from Champion Squadron. However, all the women made sure not to tell their husbands of this event, as they had already taken them to task for the bar fight.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Union_43-3">[44]

Leaving the spa, Mara went to get her gown from Jari'kyn and was impressed by its appearance. However, they were attacked by a former Imperial Royal Guardsman seeking to derail the wedding. Still wearing her lightsaber, Mara handily defeated him. On the day of her formal wedding, despite an Imperial plot to ruin the wedding and a former Moff appearing at the climax of the ceremony threatening to shut down all communications, Luke and his friends were able to prevent any serious altercations, with Luke calming down the Moff while the Rogues, Chewie, and Kam dealt with the Imperials. The two exchanged vows and rings, and were introduced to the galaxy for the first time as the Skywalkers. After their reception, Han flew the couple to their honeymoon site.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Union_43-4">[44]

A year after they married, Mara grew frustrated with Luke's time constantly being taken by other people as he arbitrated a number of disputes on a planet that revered Jedi wisdom. Luke, however, had made special arrangements for a special second honeymoon for her, which pleased her to no end, although she did playfully warn Luke not to imitate their native host by calling her a "blushing bride."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Judge.27s_Call_44-0">[45]

For the next few years, Luke spent most of his time at the Jedi Academy instructing his Jedi candidates in the ways of the Force. Mara, retaining some of her wanderlust, sojourned far afield with smuggler Mirax Terrik Horn and assisted the fledgling Jedi Knights in leaving Yavin IV.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_New_Essential_Guide_to_Characters_5-16">[6] During this time, she and Mirax were brought up on charges, but were exonerated.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Tide_II:_Ruin_45-0">[46]

[edit] The rediscovery of Outbound Flight

 * "Doesn't look promising, does it?"
 * ―Mara during the search for Outbound Flight [src]

Mara and Luke during the Vagaari/Outbound Flight incident.In 22 ABY, Mara ended her alliance with Karrde in order to commit herself to her marriage and Jedi knighthood, after one final mission to Jerf Huxley to inform him that Karrde's group was releasing him. The angered smuggler tried to intimidate her with a patched together droideka, but Luke and Mara easily cowed the smugglers and destroyed the droid. Immediately afterwards, they were invited by the Chiss, via a message from Karrde, to act as representatives of the Jedi in the return of the ruins of the Outbound Flight project, which had been revealed to have been destroyed by Thrawn and whose remains were located in a Chiss stronghold known as The Redoubt. However, Karrde also warned them that the original message had been stolen by a man formerly in his employ named Dean Jinzler. Mara and Luke traveled as honorary guests aboard the Chaf Envoy. However, upon arrival to the Chaf Envoy, a cable detached from the ceiling and nearly hit Mara, who deftly avoided it. Though the incident remained suspicious, the two Jedi were unhurt, though Mara decided to investigate the fixture later. While she was examining the cable, she encountered Chak Fel, accompanied by four stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand. Thankfully, the stormtroopers did not appear unfriendly, and neither did Fel, as they were also interested in the remains of Outbound Flight.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Survivor.27s_Quest_46-0">[47]

Before they had a chance to depart, the Chaf Envoy was approached by an outdated vessel bearing a people calling themselves the Geroons, who had allegedly been saved from slavery years ago by the Jedi aboard Outbound Flight. The Chiss let some of the Geroons board the Chaf Envoy as representatives, and the impoverished people were overawed by Luke and Mara. Eventually, Luke and Mara made their way towards the Redoubt on the Chaf Envoy, along with Geroon representatives, Dean Jinzler, who was posing as a New Republic representative, Chak Fel and four stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand, with none of the disparate groups of guests trusting any of the others or their Chiss hosts. During the expedition, Luke and Mara grew increasingly suspicious after several attempts to sabotage the mission, including someone setting an area near the fuel tanks on fire and the discovery of a group of destructive line creepers running through the ship. In the former instance, Luke and Mara, along with the four stormtroopers, were on hand to provide assistance. Charging into the burning compartment where the stormtroopers were already battling the blaze, Luke levitated Mara up into a position where she could use her lightsaber to slice through a coolant line. The result of her actions quickly doused the fire, and Chiss begrudgingly thanked them for their assistance. In another incident, one of the Geroons was shot by a mysterious assailant, and Luke and Mara, though responding quickly with lightsabers ready, were unable to determine the attacker and were reprimanded by the ship's captain for waving weapons around unnecessarily, to Mara's annoyance. As they continued to their destination, Mara began having doubts about her time as an Emperor's Hand though Luke managed to coax her out of it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Survivor.27s_Quest_46-1">[47]

Once they arrived on Outbound Flight, the various parts of the diplomatic party were separated by the Survivors, the last remnant of the crew of Outbound Flight and their children, in repulsor cars. Luke and Mara ended up in a gimmicked repulsor car, but they managed to escape and make their way back up to the entry point. However, the Geroons revealed themselves to actually be the tyrannical Vagaari and to be in much greater numbers than first thought. The aliens had already seized control of the Chaf Envoy and were making their way around the derelict. As such, they were attacked by a party of Vagaari and their wolvkils while making their way back through the Dreadnoughts. Luke and Mara handily defeated them, as the Vagaari were ignorant as to the capabilities of Jedi and their lightsabers. Making contact with Fel and the stormtroopers, they headed back to rescue the Chiss diplomatic party, engaging numerous Vagaari. Eventually, they were able to rescue the Chiss and unite with the stormtroopers and Fel, who had also battled their way through Vagaari patrols. After brief negotiations with the Survivors, Luke and Mara were able to persuade them to aid them in fighting the Vagaari.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Survivor.27s_Quest_46-2">[47]

Soon, with the aid of the Imperials, the Chiss party, and the Survivors, Luke and Mara had the Vagaari in full retreat and forced them to activate their contingency plan. After the Vagaari re-activated, separated, and took one of the six Dreadnaughts that comprised Outbound Flight back to rendezvous with their main ship, Mara and Luke chased it down in a Delta-12 Skysprite and intercepted the ship. On board the ship, they fought their way through heavy defenses, including a fully programmed and activated droideka, and defeated the Vagaari leader. As it turned out, their entire visit had been orchestrated by the Chiss in order to lure the Vagaari into attacking them, thus allowing them to launch a full-fledged war against them. At the end of the mission, Mara told Luke that she felt that being at his side in the New Republic was where she felt she should be, despite its shortcomings and the attractiveness of the Empire of the Hand.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Survivor.27s_Quest_46-3">[47]

In this time period, Mara also took her niece Jaina Solo as an apprentice, bequeathing a modified Z-95 Headhunter to her. Mara told Jaina that her first lesson was a flying one, and that she was to fly the ship to meet her family on Mon Calamari. Mara was not feeling well, though, as a mysterious illness had begun affecting her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Crystal_47-0">[48]

Personality and traits

 * "Sometimes I think you can be spooky just singing nursery songs"
 * ―Elassar Targon to Mara [src]

Mara was an extremely proud woman, who always gave her best at everything that she did—this can be seen in her time as an Emperor's Hand. A notable example of this is during her investigation of Moff Glovstoak and the efficiency with which she brought down the corrupt Imperial. However, Mara did not let Glovstoak's fall, or the Emperor's approval, end her mission—Mara continued by delving deeper into the conspiracy, eventually following the clues directly to their source.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-7">[10] She refused to serve the warlords who seized power after the Emperor died, feeling that they were beneath her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-7">[13]

Additionally, Mara was also extremely devoted, serving what she viewed as Palpatine's will even after his death.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-8">[13] She would later display loyalty to Talon Karrde and his organization even at the cost of total alienation from the Empire, and was furious that Thrawn forced her to betray Karrde.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-4">[28] Mara later displayed the same commitment to her husband, Luke Skywalker, and her son, Ben Skywalker, even at one point refusing to participate in the defense of Borleias in order to protect Ben.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Enemy_Lines_I:_Rebel_Dream_58-1">[59] Mara Jade wielding a lightsaber.Due to her upbringing under Palpatine, and also to the training she received from the Sith Lord, Mara learned how to maintain a calm and collected composure in almost every situation. During the First Corellian Insurrection, and though she harbored a vendetta against Luke Skywalker, Mara went was able to prioritize the severity of the situation and place her differences with Skywalker aside—she proceeded to warn Leia and the Senate about the recently uncovered plot to destroy the New Republic.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ambush_at_Corellia_40-1">[41] During her brief tutelage under Kyle Katarn, Mara was forced to face Kyle in an ancient Temple when he fell to the dark side. While he was fully engaged in the dark powers of the temple, Mara was forced to defend against Katarn's attacks, with Mara managing to fend him off each time. Eventually, Kyle and Mara found themselves deep inside the catacombs of the temple, and Mara voluntarily turned off her lightsaber and surrendered, maintaining her calm composure as she realized she could not longer fight her one-time friend. Due to Mara's self-control, Kyle was eventually redeemed and brought back to the light.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith_30-4">[31]

Even though Mara exuded a toughened exterior, she was a warm and compassionate individual. Through her love and marriage to Luke Skywalker, Mara was able to realize that her life of constant conflict had not provided her with everything she needed. However, through her experiences and relationship with Luke, she came to acknowledge her love for him and understand what his companionship offered her life<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-6">[35] —she realized that it was acceptable to let him past her defenses.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Union_43-5">[44] A small way in which she showed Luke her love for him was through the playful nickname which she constantly called him—Farmboy.

[edit] Powers and abilities

 * "We don't have a lock for the window but there's an alarm on it. You try going out, and it'll be a toss-up as to whether the vornskrs get to you before I do. But don't take my word for it. Try it and find out."
 * ―Mara Jade [src]

Just as her personality was diverse, so were the talents that Mara utilized throughout her colored career. Mara was known to be a skilled slicer, breaking into secure files with relative ease<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Children_of_the_Jedi_11-5">[12], though she was not on the same level as Zakarisz Ghent.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Handoff_21-3">[22] During Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic, Talon Karrde was captured by Imperial forces, and Mara took it upon herself to rescue the smuggler leader. Mara was able to sneak aboard Thrawn's ship, Chimaera, and used her slicing abilities to hack the Star Destroyer's computer, eventually reaching the detention block and freeing Karrde.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-5">[28] Mara was also a skilled user of multiple types of weaponry, including blaster pistols and rifles, melee weapons, and heavy weapons.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-JATM_79-0">[80] She often used blaster pistols,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sacrifice_1-8">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-9">[13] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Last_Command_28-3">[29] including a small hold-out blaster, which she carried in a sleeve holster.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-8">[10] Mara Jade fighting stormtroopers alongside Luke Skywalker during the Thrawn campaign.During her life, Mara became an experienced pilot who flew a variety of ships in a number of situations. During the Thrawn Campaign, Mara flew a Z-95 Headhunter and flew against the enemy at the Battle for the Katana fleet, though she was disabled by an ion cannon.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-6">[28] During the First Corellian Insurrection, Mara piloted her ship, the Jade's Fire, and used it in several different instances. After she and Leia escaped from the Human League, Mara flew her ship through the enemy forces, and eventually managed to rendezvous with Han Solo on Selonia.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Assault_at_Selonia_41-1">[42] Later, Mara flew the Jade's Fire in the final battle at Centerpoint Station, and contributed to the defeat of the Corellian forces.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Showdown_at_Centerpoint_42-1">[43] After the First Corellian Insurrection, Mara piloted the Starry Ice in her rescue of Luke, who had ran into trouble with the Cavrilhu Pirates. Luke had unfortunately been discovered during his infiltration of the pirate group, and Mara's skilled hand as a pilot helped Luke survive the encounter.

During her time as an Emperor's Hand, Mara became skilled in the arts of disguise and infiltration.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-9">[10] In 0.5 ABY, Mara used her skills of disguise to infiltrate the court of Moff Glovstoak, posing as Countess Claria. During this mission Mara discovered that Glovstoak had been skimming the top off tax returns to the Imperial Center. Mara managed to sneak through Glovstoak's palace and found that he was in possession of six stolen paintings which were worth millions of credits and the Emperor was provided with the proof he required of the Moff's treason, summarily disposing of Glovstoak.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Allegiance_9-10">[10] After the destruction of the first Death Star, Mara employed her spy abilities against Darth Vader, recording his actions and delivering reports to the Emperor.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars_Galactic_Battlegrounds_15-1">[16] In the months prior to the Emperor's Palpatine's death, Mara was sent to Tatooine in an effort to infiltrate Jabba's Palace. Mara disguised herself as the dancing girl Arica, and set her plans in motion while she awaited the arrival of Skywalker.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sleight_of_Hand:_The_Tale_of_Mara_Jade_17-2">[18] Following the death of the Emperor, Mara found herself on the run from Director Ysanne Isard, however, she managed to escape, disguising herself as a refugee.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-6">[20] During her days as a smuggler, Mara often employed her spy abilities for Talon Karrde—she participated in a mission for Karrde to track down Jorj Car'das, where maximized her infiltration skills to complement her spy abilities.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Specter_of_the_Past_33-5">[34] Mara's colored life reinforced the skills she needed to be a successful spy.

Mara's ships

 * "This ship fights my way, or not at all."
 * ―Mara Jade [src]

During Mara's life she was an accomplished pilot who flew a number of personal and unique ships—from unnamed Imperial cargo ships during her time as an Emperor's Hand, to the Star Yacht Jade Shadow.

While working as an Emperor's Hand, Mara was provided with an enormous cargo ship which she used as her mobile base of operations. This ship was essentially her home, and in it Mara kept a large number of books, personal items, and also an extensive choice of weapons for any number of missions. While Mara was away on missions for the Emperor, the ship was administered by the protocol droid Kaythree, and crewed by a small group of trusted Imperials. The ship was large enough that it had its own hangar bay which Mara used to store a number of craft, including ground craft such as landspeeders, and personal starfighters like Z-95 Headhunters.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-8">[20] One of Mara's Headhunters.During her time as an Emperor's Hand, and later during her career as a smuggler and Jedi student, Mara often chose to fly the trustworthy Z-95 Headhunter starfighter. The Z-95 was an extremely dependable and reliable fighter which was able to pack both speed and firepower into its small package. During her hunt for Black Nebula, Mara used a Headhunter to insert herself onto the planet Svivren, and was able to go unnoticed in the initial part of the mission.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Mara_Jade:_By_the_Emperor.27s_Hand_19-9">[20] Much later, during the Grand Admiral Thrawn campaign, Mara chose to use a Z-95 Headhunter, most notably at the Battle for the Katana fleet. During that battle Mara flew alongside the New Republic space forces against the fleet of Thrawn, but was hit by an Imperial ion blast—she proceeded to manually steer her damaged Headhunter into the hangar of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, managing to eject at the last moment before her craft exploded.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Force_Rising_27-7">[28] In the years following the Thrawn campaign, Mara decided to attend Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum, arriving in a Z-95 which she intended to use as a personal escape if her time with the Jedi did not go as planned. During her time on Yavin 4 Mara lent her Headhunter to fellow Jedi student Corran Horn, and he used it to destroy four Sithspawn monsters.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-I.2C_Jedi_35-1">[36]

After her adventure on Wayland, Mara would fly a Skipray blastboat on a mission to aid a New Republic courier.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Retreat_from_Coruscant_7-2">[8]

Mara eventually apprenticed herself, though only for a short time, to the Jedi Kyle Katarn. However, her apprenticeship was unfortunately cut short when Katarn left to search the mysterious world of Dromund Kaas. Deciding to follow him, Mara utilized the ship Shrike to follow and eventually help Katarn. Shrike was a prototype starfighter produced by Incom Corporation, and was privately owned by the smuggler Talon Karrde. During Operation Shadow Hand Karrde permanently loaned it to Mara for her personal use.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith_30-5">[31] For a very short while Mara operated a ship by the name of Hunter's Luck, which had originally been a rich kid's private yacht, but was then captured by pirates.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Children_of_the_Jedi_11-6">[12] The Jade's Fire.By this time, Mara had been the captain of numerous ships, but had never owned a ship which was registered in her name. Her first ship which she privately owned was the Jade's Fire, a Personal Luxury Yacht 3000 which had been previously named the Winning Gamble and which had been given to her by Sansia Bardrin.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jade_Solitaire_39-3">[40] During the First Corellian Insurrection Mara piloted the Jade's Fire alongside the Lady Luck and Millennium Falcon at Battle of Centerpoint Station.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Showdown_at_Centerpoint_42-2">[43] When Mara and Luke departed for their mission to Nirauan, Jade's Fire was destroyed over during an attempt to infiltrate the Chiss fortress.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-8">[35] The Jade's Fire was unique when compared to other ships that Mara had piloted in that it possessed a special "shoot back" system that automatically fired on any vessel that attacked it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Cracken.27s_Threat_Dossier_81-0">[82] The Jade Sabre.After the Jade's Fire was destroyed, Luke Skywalker presented her with the Jade Sabre as a wedding gift.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Survivor.27s_Quest_46-4">[47] Jade Sabre required a single pilot to operate, but the ship was designed to carry up to fifteen passengers and up to 100 metric tons of cargo. For defense, Luke armed the ship with four concealed quad laser cannons and a tractor beam projector.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Starships_of_the_Galaxy_82-0">[83] In 22 ABY, Mara and Luke used Jade Sabre to travel to Crustai on the edge of the Chiss Ascendancy, where they rendezvoused with the Chiss who had offered to lead them to the remains of Outbound Flight

[edit] Lando Calrissian
Mara with Luke Skywalker on CoruscantThough Lando was rather enamored with her following the Thrawn crisis, Mara never returned any of his frequent, and sometimes blatant, flirtations with her. However, to impress her, when he won the Millennium Falcon from Han in a sabacc game, he returned it to Han in an act of selflessness, thus garnering some respect from her. Though he was insistent in his infatuation with her, Mara did not reciprocate his feelings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Champions_of_the_Force_36-1">[37] After Calrissian replaced her wardrobe with clothes that he would have preferred her to wear around him, she retaliated by raiding his own supply of clothes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-I.2C_Jedi_35-2">[36] However, while their partnership lasted for some time, Mara later told Luke that much of it had been an unpleasant assignment that had originally been handed down by Talon Karrde.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-9">[35]

[edit] Luke Skywalker
When Mara first met Luke, their relationship was more than prickly at first, as she wanted to kill him, although they were forced to cooperate on numerous occasions to survive.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heir_to_the_Empire_12-10">[13] As Mara worked with Luke, she developed at first a grudging respect for him, then later a growing admiration, tempered by her pragmatism and coolness as usual.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Last_Command_28-5">[29] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dark_Apprentice_84-0">[85] While fighting on Nirauan, in order to coordinate their efforts perfectly, Luke and Mara performed a Force Meld, linking their minds. It was after understanding each other on so deep a level that they realized the depth of their attraction for each other.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Vision_of_the_Future_34-10">[35] The two fell in love and were happily married.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Star_Wars:_Union_43-6">[44] Luke and Mara had a son that they named Ben, in honor of the memory of Luke's first master, Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Edge_of_Victory_II:_Rebirth_55-5">[56] Mara would be at Luke's side throughout the Yuuzhan Vong War as his supportive wife, even while being deathly ill for much of the initial stages.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_New_Essential_Guide_to_Characters_5-17">[6] While they often disagreed, Mara and Luke trusted each other explicitly and supported the other half of their union.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sacrifice_1-12">