Chapter 1: Fitting In, and other Highschool Impossibilities ?

A flurry of red gold hair streaked across the street, causing several cars to brake rapidly to avoid hitting the athletic young girl who was in enough of a hurry to ignore safety precautions. Mara Jade had no intention of being late on her first day of school, especially after she had been given the chance to attend again with a fresh start. She had even been given the chance of going to a brand new school, far from the troubles at the last one. Mara did not feel like ruining this new chance by something as silly as showing up late.

The only thing that really that really bothered her was the uniform she was wearing, which she had not yet quite gotten used to. The grayish skirt fell down to her knees, and was a general nuisance whenever she tried to run in it, especially now; she was barely able to keep from falling down every couple of seconds. The only thing sustaining her was a firm grip on the skirt’s hem, keeping it above her knees, and a general sense of balance that had always served her well in athletic endeavors. She doubted that she looked exceptionally proper, but at least she wouldn’t be late.

Her life had been on the upswing lately, ever since she’d moved in with her new foster parents, Anakin and Padme. They were nice people, even though Anakin had some kind of awful injury from the last war that kept him in a specially designed life support suit. Padme had never stopped loving him, even after she’d learned of his injuries, and they still had as happy of a marriage as possible. Sure, there were spouts of anger every once in a while, but every family had those. They had been very supportive of Mara as well, always willing to help out, but sometimes Mara thought that Padme was too kind: she hadn’t woken up Mara this morning until after the girl had hit her snooze alarm seven times. It was almost as if Padme didn’t want to disturb her from her sleep, even if she had school.

Padme had even insisted on making Mara breakfast, despite her hurry to get out of the door; even now, Mara had a piece of toast gripped firmly in her mouth as she ran. She didn’t have the heart to tell Padme that she hadn’t wanted breakfast, so she decided she would eat it on the run.

Mara grinned slightly, which was hard to do with the toast in her mouth, as she looked up and saw the school looming ahead. Coruscant High was a brand new facility, designed to take on the load of the hundreds of families moving into the suburbs. At several levels, it looked pretty impressive, as far as Mara could tell. At this point, she didn’t really care quite how it looked, as long as she got there in time.

She was so preoccupied with this goal that by the time she noticed the other student running around the upcoming sidewalk corner, the collision had already happened. However, the toast managed to somehow remain in her mouth, and she kept her grip on her lunchbox even as she hit the ground hard.

She yanked the toast out of her mouth with her free hand and cried out, “Hey, watch where you’re going!” as the other student said the exact same thing.

Mara looked up, getting a bearing on her surroundings, and immediately noticed that this particular student was exceptionally good looking. He had a tousle of brown hair, a sheepish grin that would probably melt any girls heart, and eyes to die for. He did things to a school uniform that Mara didn’t think were quite possible. She had never been very interested in boys as far as dating was concerned, especially just in the area of looks; she preferred men she could talk to. But if more boys looked like this, she decided she’d have to change her opinions. Mara looked up and saw that the boy wasn’t alone, however; a girl about the same age as her was staring down at her. The girl had a long, braided tail of brown hair hanging down her back, and wore the same type of uniform as Mara. If looks could kill, that one would probably destroy several small cities, Mara decided.

She also noticed what looked like a seven foot tall walking carpet, grinning widely with fanged teeth. It wore a tie, and nothing else; Mara decided it must be a Wookiee. Due to their natural fur coating, they weren’t required to wear clothes by city ordnances. At school, their only uniform requirement was the tie.

The she realized exactly why the girl was so angry, blushed, and pulled her legs together. That was the other problem with the skirts; you had to remain lady like at all times in order to avoid severe embarrassment. Mara flashed a grin of her own and said, “Uh, sorry… but I don’t want to be late!”

She jumped up, flashed a wink to the boy, and took off again at full speed. She hoped the boy wouldn’t get in too much trouble with the girl, whether she was his girlfriend or not. Mara preferred not to make any enemies the first day at school, especially with other girls.

A few minutes later, she was at the entry gate of the school, having stopped briefly to try and fix her somewhat disheveled uniform before joining the crowd of students entering the grounds. She grinned widely, happy with herself; she still had a couple of minutes left. Mara wondered if she had just set a new world speed record from her house to the school; it seemed to her that she would be able to make a fortune if her fear of messing up on the first day could be turned into some kind of rocket fuel.

Suddenly a perky voice interrupted Mara’s musings. She turned and saw a pretty young girl with short black hair pushing through the crowd towards her. When the girl finally arrived in front of her, she flashed a brilliant smile and asked, “Are you Mara Jade?”

Mara looked sheepish, “Uh, yeah; how’d you know?”

The girl’s smile grew even wider, “Oh, I’m so glad I picked the right person! I would be sooooo embarrassed if I walked up to the wrong girl and said hello, especially after looking for you all over…”

Mara swore the girl’s blue eyes were actually twinkling. Go figure that the first person she met would be a ditz.

Mara coughed and said, “Maybe you might want to get around to the point…”

The girl’s cheeks flashed red and she replied, “Oh, of course; I’m Erisi! Erisi Dlarit! I’m supposed to show you around the school, let you know where your classes are, that kind of thing! Mr. Palpatine thought I’d be the best girl for the job because my dad helped fund the school, and I helped work here over the summer.”

Mara grinned uncomfortably, “So you’re my tour guide, huh?”

“Yeah! I know it’ll be much more than that, though; we’ll be the best of friends! C’mon, I’ll show you around before we have to go homeroom!”

Mara shrugged in a noncommittal fashion and fell into step next to Erisi as they walked through the wide school entry yard, towards the school itself. As they walked past different groups of students, Erisi made comments and gave Mara a general idea of who they were. As they passed a group of older students, all larger boys with slightly unshaven faces, Erisi whispered, “That’s Soontir Fel and the 181st, our football team. Fel is soooo dreamy. But he’s been dating Syal Antilles for, like, forever.”

Mara decided that Syal Antilles was the blonde bombshell of a girl hanging off of one of the most impressive looking football players, smiling angelically. Mara had to admit that Erisi had a point; the boy Syal was holding onto was definitely one of the most mature looking highschoolers she’d ever seen. But she preferred smarter, wirier guys, who used their heads, to the bulky kind.

“He seems nice,” Mara replied diplomatically, as they continued on.

Erisi grinned, “Not interested in that type? I don’t blame you; I’ve got my heart set on that guy, over there. His name’s Corran Horn. He’s pretty cool, once you get to know him.”

Mara looked over and saw a boy with a slight growth of fuzz on his face that might have been a beard, and hair that grew out over his ears. Four other kids sat with him, three boys and one girl. Two of the boys seemed to be sharing some kind of private joke at the expense of the others, while the other boy seemed to be more detached, staring out into space.

“Who are his friends?” Mara asked.

“They’re the problem; he never goes anywhere without them. The two jokers are Wes and Hobbie, the quiet one is Wedge, and the girl is Mirax; she’s kind of like Wedge’s little sister. They’ve known each other for years. But I think she’s after Corran, though she’s been stringing him along for a while now.”

Mara coughed slightly and quietly asked, “I don’t suppose you know a guy with black hair, hangs out with a really pretty girl who gets angry easily, and a Wookie?”

”Oh, Han Solo? Did you run into him on the way to school?”

”You could say that,” Mara admitted.

”He’s kind of a troublemaker; always up to pranks and jokes. But he does have his good points; I think every girl in the school has wanted to go out with him at one point or another. Though only about half of them have gotten their turn so far.”

”So that girl isn’t his girlfriend?”

”No, that was probably Leia; she’s one of his best friends, but she wouldn’t be seen with him at school. She’s probably the most popular kid here, and she can’t ruin her reputation with the teachers.”

”How do you know she’s the most popular?” Mara asked, curiously.

“The entire school already voted her into student council, and the elections haven’t even been held yet.”

”Wow,” Mara mouthed, “Is she actually nice?”

”I think so. Though getting in an argument with her is bad news; she can out talk anyone at the school.”

”How do you know all this, anyway?” Mara asked, “Aren’t you in ninth grade, too?”

”Oh, yes, but I know a lot of the people here from eighth grade, and this summer. But don’t worry, there are a lot of new kids here, too: I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

Mara hoped that Erisi was right. She decided she’d follow around the girl for a while, whether or not she could stand her. Even if she was ditzy, she at least seemed friendly. It was certainly a better start than usual. The bell rang, and with a cry of ‘Come on!’ from Erisi, the two of them ran into the school, and towards their homeroom, crowding through the entryway with a hundred different students. One thing Mara was sure of, was that this would be an interesting school.

Homeroom was still bustling with the activity of restless teenagers when Erisi and Mara arrived, a minute or so before the bell rang. Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Piett, had not yet arrived, meaning that the classroom was still basically a social convocation. It was just as well; at this point in the year, no one much paid attention during homeroom in the first place. Erisi dragged Mara over to a small clump of girls at the back of the room, who Mara noted were all pretty varying in their composition. She had been expecting them to be a bunch of preppy social butterflies in the style of Erisi, and she was surprised to see that this was not the case.

A slightly unkempt girl with a long mane of red hair looked up from her conversation and smiled broadly as Erisi and Mara approached. “It’s good to finally see another redhead around here; who’s this, Erisi?” she asked in a light, friendly voice.

Erisi smiled her usual ‘I’m just so happy to have all of you as my friends’ smile and replied, “Her name’s Mara; she’s new here, and I wanted her to meet all my friends as soon as possible, so she’d feel comfortable settling in.”

The redhead chuckled, “I swear, Erisi, someday all that bubbly happiness is just going to overload my brain. Nice to meet you, Mara; I’m Bria, and I’m gonna warn you right now; this school is completely insane. I sometimes think I’m the only normal person here.”

Mara grinned slightly, “I’m sure it’s not any worse than any other highschool.”

Bria shook her head, “You’d think that, but just look at our little group here. Qwi Tarkin over there, she’s a brilliant student, and her dad’s some kind of important senator or congressman or something. Viqi’s mom runs the entirety of the Navy construction yards in the city, and she thinks she’s a princess or something. And Erisi here… well, she’s Erisi. Everyone in this school has some kind of strange family association, and they act like this school is some kind of little political microcosm or something.”

Erisi stomped her foot down and pouted, “Bria, why do you do this every time you meet someone new? Everyone at this school is perfectly normal, and you’re just going to scare Mara!”

Mara laughed and put up a hand in protest, “Settle down, Erisi; I’m sure the school is fine, and you don’t have to defend it for me. I’m used to my life being a little weird. I can handle myself, no matter what this place throws at me.”

Viqi, an elegant looking girl who appeared at least two or three years older than she was, snorted, “I don’t doubt it. You look like you could pick up little Thrawn over there and juggle with him.”

Mara turned to look at the kid Viqi had motioned at, and widened her eyes briefly before she remembered to contain her feelings. The teenager was blue skinned, his eyes glowing a deep red, and he was surrounded by three scaly, needle toothed creatures who seemed to look angry even though they were currently sharing some kind of joke. The only other kid near him was a slightly more mature looking teen with a short growth of beard. He seemed quiet, even as the blue kid talked almost constantly to him, almost ignoring the comments of his other friends.

Mara turned back and raised her eyebrow in question, “Him? It looks like I’d have to wade through his friends, first.”

”Oh, that’s just Palleon and a couple Nogrhi. For some reason they all get along together; probably because nobody at the school much pays attention to them. I just think they sit near Thrawn so they can copy off his tests. He’s almost as smart as Qwi there.”

Qwi looked up, as if she hadn’t even realized that anyone was talking until that moment. She was a light, almost anorexic looking waif of a girl, and Mara wondered if a slight breeze might blow her away. She gave Viqi a look and admonished, “You shouldn’t make fun of him, Viqi, just because he wouldn’t help you with your art project.”

”I offered to pay him. I swear, some people don’t understand when they’re meant to be the help to people with superior resources.”

Mara corrected her initial assessment; Viqi, at least, was even shallower than Erisi. At least she didn’t make any pretenses about it, though. Mara just wanted to know when she could lose this group and find friends without superiority complexes. She was sure Bria and Qwi were nice people, but she wasn’t sure they would be worth hanging out with Erisi and Viqi.

Bria laughed, “That’s Viqi Shesh, Duchess of Coruscant High, our one true aristocrat. Well, besides Leia, but she doesn’t act like it enough to really merit the title.”

Mara perked up, “Leia… that’s that girl who was with Han this morning?”

Viqi raised her eyebrows at that, “You actually saw Leia Organa with Han Solo at school? That would ruin her reputation as a perfect little girl… tell me everything!”

Mara shrugged, “Well, he wasn’t with her at school; they were just walking to school together. I ran into him, literally. She didn’t seem too happy with me, especially since he seemed to be… uh… admiring my form.”

Bria looked a little uncertain, “You mean… like she was jealous or something?”

”Kind of… why do you ask?”

Viqi giggled nastily, “Bria used to date Han, back in junior high. And everyone knows that once Leia wants something, she always gets it. So if she’s set her sights on Han, Bria won’t stand much chance of getting back together with him.”

Bria rolled her eyes, “Why would I want to get back with that overstuffed nerf, anyhow? I swear, Viqi, you’re an awful gossip.”

“At least I didn’t fall for that overstuffed nerf. I can’t imagine what you saw in him,” Viqi pronounced haughtily.

Mara coughed, since Erisi seemed unsure of what to do, “Um, I hate to interrupt…”

Both of the girls turned and stared at her, murder in their eyes. Mara doubted they were angry with her, but if something didn’t happen soon, they were going to redirect all that anger somewhere. Mara thought as hard as she could, hoping against hope that something would stop this little tiff from escalating.

Mr. Piett ran into the classroom, sliding to a stop in front of his desk, “Sorry I’m late, class! I caught a ride with Mr. Ozzel, and he parked too close to the school in one of the yellow zones; a police officer made us move the car.”

Mara couldn’t believe her luck. It was almost as if she had willed Piett to arrive at that moment! She shook that out of her mind. It was too silly to believe. It wasn’t like she some kind of force, or something. She sat down, settling into her desk as all the other students did the same.

Piett came to almost military attention, speaking in precise, polite tones, “Well, good to see you all, class. Most of your know each other from Junior High, but we’ve got a new student here. Ms. Jade, would you step up front?”

Mara nodded and walked up to the front of the classroom, slouching slightly as she walked in order to not stand out as much, even if the entire class was staring at her.

“Just tell the class a little about yourself. Keep it short; we’re on a schedule, and everyone needs to fill out some beginning of the year paperwork.”

Mara nodded and almost mumbled, “My name’s Mara Jade… I come from New York originally, and I’ve only been living here a few months… uhm, I love athletic stuff like gymnastics, but besides that, nothing really to tell. Uh… that’s it.”

Mara shrugged, struggling not to meet the eyes of the students. She knew from experience that if she kept her head down, they’d just discount her as another kid in a huge school, and ignore her for the rest of the year. Staying ignored until she knew who she wanted to hang out with would keep her from getting into any trouble, or at least she hoped. Sometimes things just didn’t work out the way she planned.

Mr. Piett nodded, an uninterested expression on his face, “Very… concise, Ms. Jade. Return to your classmates. I’ll be passing out your schedules, now…”

She walked back to her desk and seated herself. Erisi leaned over and whispered, “Good job; he didn’t compliment you and you didn’t stand out at all! You’re pretty much safe from anyone making fun of you.”

Mara rolled her eyes, “Sure, Erisi.”

Homeroom class went slowly as Piett kept handing them more and more paperwork to fill out, and Mara had to struggle to stay awake. It was a losing battle, but she did her best. She was absolutely sure that all this paperwork served no real purpose, and was just to keep the class quiet until they could invent something else to do during homeroom. It seemed as if they were filling out the same answers again and again. Most of the rest of the class looked just as bored as she did, though Erisi was concentrating, as if the paperwork required some kind of concentrated mental effort on her part.

The ringing bell signaling the end of period awoke Mara from the daze she had been in. All the other students rushed to zip up their backpacks and head to their next class. Erisi leaned over Mara’s shoulder and complained, “Ooooh, darn! We don’t have next period together! You’re almost on the other side of the building, in the east hall. But your locker number is right here… oh, geeze, that’s lucky. Do you think you can find your way to class without me, though?”

Mara shrugged, “I think I’ll be able to handle it.”

Erisi smiled happily, “Great! I’ll see you at lunchtime; I’ll introduce you to all my other friends. I just know you’ll all get along.”

Mara nodded noncommittally as Erisi rushed off to her class. As soon as she had repacked, Mara stood up and left the classroom, gathering her bearings amid the rush of students hurrying from one class to the next. She found her locker quickly enough, though, and quickly put the books she wouldn’t need before lunch away. As she locked it, a hand appeared next to her head. Turning around, she came face to face with a mean looking curly haired young man. He was handsome enough, she thought, but the sneer on his face almost destroyed it.

”I saw you in class; you’re not bad looking, Jade. How’d you like to ditch Erisi and have me show you around school at lunch?” he asked. His voice was a rasp, like rocks scraping together.

”Who’re you?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“The name’s Fett, Boba Fett. I keep things quiet around here, and keep people from getting out of line. Whattya say?”

”What, you’re a hall monitor?”

”Nah; a hall monitor’s just a geek with a badge. I work directly for Palpatine, and I’m authorized to use force. I hear you’ll be working with me.”

”I sincerely doubt that. I don’t hang out with guys who have delusions of grandeur. No principal would hire a bully to work for him.”

”Maybe a normal principal wouldn’t, Mara, but this isn’t a normal school. Now, can I see you during lunch, or are you going to be difficult?” he asked, running a hand across her cheek.

It was strange that everyone was ignoring what was going on; the hallway was still crowded, and people were walking by as if nothing was happening. Mara was wondering how much they’d ignore after she broke several of Boba’s bones when another voice pierced the hallway.

”Leave her alone, Fett. I don’t think she’s your type.”

Fett turned towards the voice, leaving Mara leaning against the locker. He narrowed his eyes, “Skywalker. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

”Yeah, but I don’t think the principal would like it if you got into a brawl in the middle of the hallway. He only values you because you drag kids behind the school before you beat them into a pulp.”

”Be careful that doesn’t happen to you, Skywalker.”

”I’m plenty safe, Fett. If you mess with me, you mess with Solo and Chewbacca. And I’m sure Chewie would be happy to stretch your limbs a little bit, even if he isn’t allowed to rip them off.”

”Someday Solo and Chewbacca won’t be around to protect you, Skywalker. I’ll see you later,” Fett hissed, pointing a finger at the young man, then stormed off.

Mara grinned as she faced her rescuer, a dusty haired, scrawny young man. Despite his scrawnyness, she had a feeling he had some muscle: his hands were callous from a life of hard work. “I think I could have taken care of him, but thanks… Skywalker?”

“Call me Luke. It’s no problem; Fett thinks he’s invincible around here, and he almost is. He can actually back up most of his words; I know, I’ve gotten in a couple fist fights with him.”

”Is everyone at this school nuts?” she asked, looking around.

”Sometimes it seems that way; a lot of people have history going back into junior high. You new here?”

She smiled, “Yeah… my name’s Mara Jade. That was real nice of you to help me, Luke. Are you busy at lunch today?”

”Well,” Luke began, when a female voice came from behind him.

“Hurry up, Luke! We’re going to be late for math!”

She was pretty, that was for sure; almost perfectly constructed, Mara thought. She looked pretty even in her school dress, and her hair was that tussled kind that looks good no matter what state it was in. Light rimmed glasses added an air of intelligence to her, without detracting from her beauty. Did every nice guy in this school have a girlfriend already?

Luke turned and yelled back, “I’ll be right there, Callista! Just hold on a few seconds!”

“She looks nice,” Mara said politely.

“Yeah, we’ve been friends for a while.”

Mara perked up, “She’s not your girlfriend?”

”Callista? Nah. Hey, we sit near the back of the lunchroom, most of the time; just come and find us at lunch.”

”I’ll have to spend a little time with Erisi, but I’ll try to get over.”

”Erisi? Watch out; she’s pretty dependent on keeping up her popularity. And I think she’s a lot smarter than she acts, or at least more sly.”

Mara grinned, “Are we talking about the same person? She’s harmless. Anyhow, I’ll see you later, Luke.”

”See you later, Mara.”

Mara Jade rushed off towards her next class, grinning widely. Maybe this school wouldn’t be so bad after all…

Mara had made it to lunch without encountering Boba Fett again, and had gotten her lunch from the cafeteria, the head chef, Porcellus, looking nervous that he might have done something wrong with the food, but Mara found it to be delicious, so she wondered what he was so worried about.

She sat down at the table, munching on the bantha burger, looking across the way towards where Luke and Callista were sitting, talking about some trivial thing that she couldn’t quite make out. Mara didn’t know what was going on, but she knew that she was jealous about what was going on between the two of them.

”What am I thinking?!”, Mara said, nearly tipping over her drink in shock. “”I’m not attracted to Skywalker…am I?!”

She didn’t have a chance to answer her question, because in the next instant, Erisi came over and sat down beside her.

“So,” she said in a tone that could have melted butter. “Everything OK?”

Mara nodded, putting the burger back down, and gazing intently at Luke, not being able to stop thinking about him ever since their earlier encounter.

Erisi must have caught what she was doing, because she said, “Checking out Skywalker, eh?”

Mara blushed, then went on the defensive. “I wouldn’t do that. He’s not my type.”

“Yeah,” Erisi said tauntingly. “Good hair, dark blue eyes, nice body. What’s not to like.”

Mara fumed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped.

“Don’t I?” Erisi asked, looking at Mara. “Skywalker’s one of the most popular kids in this school, Jade. He was part of the Rogue Squadron basketball team that took on the champion Death Star team a few years ago, scoring the basket that got them the win. But he sustained an arm injury during the Bespin Breakdancing Competition, and had to retire. He now heads up the Jedi Hall Monitors, a group of people that are the unofficial police around here. He’s had a lot of friends around here, but also some enemies. Fett would probably vape him if he ever got the chance.”

Mara listened, amazed about all this one person had been able to do in such a short time.

“He’s also got an eye for the ladies, or at least they got one for him,” Erisi continued. “He has had a lot of girlfriends here.”

Mara didn’t know why, but that made her jealous. The thought of Luke being with anyone other than her just made her sick.

“Hey, who knows?” Erisi said, slapping Mara on the back. “Maybe he’ll put the moves on you.”

That was all Mara could take. She turned to Erisi and, glaring daggers at her, got up to leave. She was in such a hurry to leave, that she didn’t notice that someone was in her way. She collided with someone head on, then looked down to see who it was. A girl in a form fitting red uniform lay on the ground in front of her, her uniform covered in the food that had obviously been in her hands before she had collided with Mara. Her hair, which had a streak of white in its dark brown depths, had the most amazing eyes. One of them was as blue as icicles, while the other was as red as her uniform.

And her face, apparently, as she got up and grabbed the cuff of Mara’s uniform, shoving her against the wall of the cafeteria.

“No one does that to Ysanne Isard and get away with it,” she growled through clenched teeth, backhanding Mara, sending her to the ground.

Mara never hit the ground. In one smooth motion, she was up and tackled Ysanne down to the ground, proceeding to wrestle with her, pinning her arms to the ground so she couldn’t fight back.

Most of the other students had gotten up and watched what was going on, more surprised than anything.

“What’s this about, Garik?” one person said.

“Don’t know, Ton,” Garik replied. “Isard and the new girl are getting into a scrap over something.”

“Isard’s got one hell of a temper,” Soontir said, joining the others, Syal on his arm. “Makes me glad I don’t go out with her anymore.”

Luke had seen all of this go down, and had rushed to separate Isard and Mara from one another.

”Come on, you two!” he said. “Knock it off before…”

Before Luke could finish his sentence, a voice bellowed, “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

Everyone turned to the cafeteria doors, where a half dozen men, wearing the white uniforms of the school police force, ran inside, two of them pulling Mara and Isard up to their feet.

“What’s going on here?” one of them asked.

”She attacked me without any good reason!” Isard shouted.

”That’s a lie!” Mara said, looking at the head guard. “She attacked me first!”

“Enough!” the head guard said. “You’re both going to the office. We’ll see what Principal Palpatine has to say about this,” ?

?The guards took Isard and Mara from the room, its patronage still in shock over what had happened. ?

?Expect for one. ?

?Sitting at the back of the room, munching on a plate of dewback ribs, Boba Fett smiled.

Chapter 2: Meeting the principal and other hardships ?

?Mara sat on the uncomfortable chairs in the Principal’s Office, looking around at her surroundings. The room was built rather plainly, with statues decorating the room. Several of the police guard were talking to the office staff, dressed in green uniforms and green caps on their heads. Mara was surprised to learn that almost none of those present were women. The only woman that was in the room was sitting near the reception desk, talking to the vice-principal, a blue skinned alien with a pair of horns both lying on his shoulders and pointing up at the sky. ?

?”Oh, man!” Mara thought, twirling a strand of her red-gold hair. ”Mom and Dad are going to have a fit when they found out about this!” ?

?She thought about Anakin, encased in that dark armour ,that menacing helmet just staring at her, those dark eyes staring at her…always staring. Padme wasn’t that bad, though. One time, Anakin had locked her in her room without dinner, and yet when Anakin had gone out for the evening, Padme slipped her some food and talked to her about her adopted father, that he didn’t like being mean to her, but he had a mean streak about him that Padme accepted. ?

?Mara wanted to desperately think about something else, so she turned to one of the other students who were in the room, and tried to talk to him. ?

?”Hi,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Mara. What’s your name?” ?

?The student just stared at the wall, and didn’t reply. Mara turned away, and began to feel uncomfortable about the situation, when the student replied, “Castin. Castin Donn” ?

?Mara smiled. “What are you here for?” ?

?Castin pointed at a pair of guards at the end of the hall talking to one of the teachers, a fish faced alien. Mara recognized him as Mr. Ackbar, the school’s Biology teacher. ?

?“Guards found me broadcasting an illegal podrace event in one of the old backrooms,” Castin said, getting an ugly look on his face. “Don’t understand it, though. Never got caught the last three times I did it. Must have been Isard.” ?

?”Isard?” Mara asked. ?

?Castin turned. “You met her?” he asked, sounding surprised. ?

?“Yeah,” Mara said, looking down at the food stains on her uniform and the bruise on her cheek where Isard had slapped her. “She assaulted me in the caf, and when I struck back, the guards came in, saw me fighting with her, and thought I started the whole thing.” ?

?Castin frowned. “She’s always doing stuff like that. People say that when Palpatine called her to his office that one time, he enrolled her in his secret after school Lusankya program. She’s never been the same since.” ?

?Mara shuddered. This whole school had seemed so innocent and nice, and in the space of a heartbeat, her whole life had turned upside down. ?

?Then she saw the guard approach, and knew that things weren’t going to get better. ?

?“Come with me,” he said emotionlessly. “The Principal will see you now. ?

?*********************************** ?

?The guard had escorted her down the corridor leading from the office entrance to Principal Palpatine’s office near the back. The massive double doors to the room were guarded on both sides by red cloaked and helmeted figures, carrying meter long poles. While Mara figured that they were more ceremonial than practical, it didn’t make her feel any more comfortable. ?

?The white armoured guard handed the door guard a datacard, who gave it a cursory glance, then pressed a button on the control panel beside the double doors, opening them. The guard shoved Mara inside, and the doors quickly closed, leaving Mara all alone in the room. ?

?She looked around, taking the room in. The room was decorated in red. The carpets were red, the walls were red, and the ceiling was red. Grey was trimmed around the walls and the window, which showed a massive shot of the metropolis outside. ?

?It was then that she noticed that she was not totally alone in the room, as she noticed a desk in the front of the window, with an array of chairs in front of it. ?

?“Come on in, Jade,” a soft voice said. ?

?Mara found herself moving towards the desk, despite all her willpower telling her not to move from where she was. This was not as surprising as the fact that her fear of being in here was slowly evaporating. ?

?She took a seat, and looked at the back of the chair for several seconds. Whoever was behind that chair (Mara could only assume that it was Principal Palpatine) either didn’t seem to notice her presence, or just waited for her to speak. ?

?When Palpatine hadn’t spoken for about a minute, Mara blurted out, “I don’t know why I’m here, sir, but if it was because of that incident with Isard, I didn’t cause it. She started the whole fight, and I only defended myself.” ?

?“Yes,” Palpatine said. “I know.” ?

?Mara just stared at the back of the chair for several seconds, absorbing the information she was just handed. ?

?“I’m sorry?” she asked. ?

?“I arranged for Ms. Isard to create a distraction so that you could be brought to me,” Palpatine said. “I wanted to talk to you in person, Ms. Jade.” ?

?Mara just stared at the back of the chair, rubbing her cheek, which was still throbbing after Isard’s slap that had sent her to the ground, and growing more confused with each passing minute. ?

?“If you wanted to talk to me,” she asked, with growing anger that she tried, and failed, to contain. “Why didn’t you just summon me yourself?” ?

?The chair began to turn around, showing, for the first time, Palpatine’s face to Mara, who did all she could to hold back a gasp of surprise. ?

?Palpatine was dressed in a black hooded cloak, held in place with a clasp, the hood of which covered most of his face, and yet it couldn’t hide his yellow eyes, which bored into Mara’s, as if he was trying to study her. ?

?“Because that would not have been as effective a test,” he said, his voice taking on a twinge and his lips raised in a sinister smirk. ?

?Mara realized that she was gaping into Palpatine’s face, and tried to compose herself by asking, “Test?” ?

?“Yes,” Palpatine said, placing his hands, which Mara noticed were frail and wrinkled, on the table. “You see, Ms. Jade, this school is filled with troublemakers and ruffians, and while I have ample measures to keep them in line, there is more going on at any given time than they could handle. I would like to have a field agent in the school, preferably another student, that could keep a watch on things for me.” ?

?Palpatine looked at Mara intently. “I would like that student to be you.” ?

?Mara just looked at him, without saying anything. ?

?”I don’t believe this!” she thought. ”On my first day, I get into trouble, and yet the Principal doesn’t want to get me into trouble, but wants me to work for him!” ?

?“So, Ms. Jade,” Palpatine said, extending his hand. “Do we have a deal?” ?

?Mara extended her hand, and clasped Palpatine’s. “It would be an honour, sir.” ?

?Palpatine squeezed Mara’s hand in a surprisingly firm grip, and looked at her with a smile, both of which made Mara feel that she had made a mistake. ?

?*********************************** ?

In the shadows of the room, Isard glared ice daggers at both Mara and Palpatine. She had been told by Palpatine to stage an incident with the new student arriving tomorrow in order to talk to her about something. She didn’t want to ask, because she had assumed that he was going to do what he did with all the new students: Give them a tour of the school, let them know the rules, and send them on their business. Instead, she had found out that Erisi Dlarit had that honour, which made Isard jealous. Dlarit’s father was the head of one of the city's major medical facilites, and she always saw her as being a spoiled, rich kid. She didn’t question her duty, though, because she knew that if she didn’t do it, Palpatine would have her do another course in the Lusankya program, and she didn’t want it. ?

?And now it appeared that Palpatine was grooming Jade to be her replacement. That thought made her angry, and she had to do something to stop this. ?

?Pulling out here cell phone, she thumbed a number, and held it to her ear.. ?

?“Hey, Fett? You remember the new kid you saw this morning? Well, I got a job for you.”

Chapter 3: Learning The Ropes ?

?Mara walked out of the office, noticing that Castin was gone. She didn’t know where he had gone, but before he could ask the woman at the reception desk, the plaque on which gave her name as Sei Taria, the bell rang, and she realized that she had a few more classes left in the day. ?

?She reached into the pocket of her uniform, and fished out the piece of paper that had her schedule on it, and gave it a once over. Her first class was the Law class with Mr. Nawara Ven, and her final class was Biology with Mr. Ackbar. ?

?She grabbed the hem of her skirt, which would give her trouble when she started to run, and headed off towards the classroom as fast as she could, thinking that she wouldn’t be able to make it to class. ?

?“Man,” she said softly to herself. “This day just can’t get done any quicker, can it?” ?

?Luckily for her, she did manage to get into the class early, and so she looked around, seeing who else was in the class. ?

?She saw some of the kids she saw in homeroom: Thrawn, his glowing red eyes standing out against his blue skin. Pelleaon sat behind him, some of the Noghri kneeling around him. She also saw a cream coloured human, his fur rippling as he sat uncomfortably as he squirmed uncomfortably in the desk he was assigned. She also saw Bria Tharen, who she had found out sometime after meeting her in homeroom to be one of the most outspoken about bullying in the school, but so far hadn’t succeeded in her efforts to stop bullies. She also recognized a few faces. Viqi…Erisi…And towards the back… ?

?She couldn’t believe it. It was Skywalker. The same kid who had saved her from Fett back in. She also noticed that Callista was not with him, something that made her happy, for what reasons she couldn’t figure out. ?Mara smiled, the smile widening when she saw a desk near Luke was empty, with no one else in sight. Smiling, and hoping she wasn’t blushing, she started to walk over to the desk. Luke must have seen her, as he waved politely at her. She waved back, smiling. ?

?”Oh, god!” she thought. ”I hope I’m not blushing. I’d really hate to embarrass myself.” ?

?She had reached the desk, and sat down, when she noticed several people come into the room. One of them was a reptilian, his scales shining, and his teeth sharpened to a fine point. Another was human, but his head was bandaged heavily, obviously the victim of a motorcycle accident. One was covered in a breathing apparatus, and obviously had insect features. Two of their number were female, but one of them had chalk white skin and an antennae in her head, while she swore that the face of the other flashed to an somewhat alien face. ?

?And leading the pack were Boba Fett and Ysanne Isard, both of whom had big smiles plastered on their faces. ?

?Mara shivered visibly, realizing that both Fett and Isard had their problems with her, but she really didn’t know why. After all, she had only been at the school for one day. What was it she could have done to upset them, especially to the point when they needed to bring in some backup. ?

?She turned around, and saw that Luke had his eyes locked on Fett, presumably ever since Fett and his gang came inside. He would be ready for whatever they tried to do. ?

?But surprisingly, the did nothing. Fett and Isard just moved to the back of the class, taking up two free desks, their posse falling into line behind them. ?

?Mara gave them a quick look, then turned back to face the front of the class just as Nawara Ven entered the class. She immediately noticed the two tails protruding from his skull and wrapping themselves around his shoulders. He carried a binder. ?

?“Hello, students,” he said. “I’m Mr. Ven, and I will be your Law teacher.” He paused, seeing the large group behind Fett and Isard. ?

?“Mr. Fett,” he said with a smirk. “Are your friends here to give me an tax revue?” ?

?“Don’t worry, Mr. Ven,” Fett said, twirling his pencil in his hand. “The only ‘auditing’ they’re doing around here is whatever I decided them to do.”

?The class broke out into a small fit of laughter that died as soon as it began, and even Mr. Ven tried to hide a chuckle. ?

?“Very well, then,” he said, opening his binder. “Borsk, on my desk are the textbooks for this class. Could you please pass them out?” ?

?The furry human got up and picked up one group of textbooks that were on the table, and began to pass them out, Mr. Ven continuing his discussion.” ?

?”Now, then class,” he said, writing on the blackboard. “Today we will begin our discussion on the events of the American Civil War. As you know, the government was faced with a problem when a group of separatists…” ?

?Borsk dropped a book on Mara’s desk. She opened it, and noticed a piece of paper folded on the inside. She picked it up and looked at it suspiciously. Then, making sure that she wasn’t watched, she opened it up. ?

?Scrawled in black felt marker were the following words… ?

?Yo, Jade ?

?After school, you’re ours!” ?

?Mara swallowed, and took a look behind her, and saw both Fett and Isard smiling at her, their companions also grinning widely. ?

?

Suddenly, she wished that the day would never end. ?

*************** ?

Biology was a nightmare. Mr. Ackbar, a keeper of exotic animals from all over the world, had decided to keep some in a pair of cages on the other side of the large room that served as the classroom. Unfortunately, one of them, a orange and black striped tiger, had managed to get out, scaring most of the class. Fortunately, one of the other kids, Jacen Solo, who Mara assumed was a brother or nephew or some other relation to Han Solo, apparently was able to get it under control, and back in the cage. And so the class had continued until the bell rang, signalling the end of class. ?

?Mara gathered up her things, held on to the hem of her uniform, and began to run as fast as she could through the throngs of students making their way to the exit. ?

?She had made it to the door, and was just heading down the steps, when she heard a voice behind her. ?

?“THERE SHE GOES!” ?

?Mara turned around to see the insect creature and the bandaged human at the top of the stairs, pointing at Mara’s direction. ?

?“Good work!” came a voice that Mara no doubt pegged as Isard’s. “Get her back here. I want to deal with her personally.” ?

?Mara broke out into a run, trying to get away from the school as fast as she could, but the uniform that she was wearing was slowing her down. ?

?“Stang this thing!” she swore. “Who designed these things, anyway?” ?

?Suddenly from behind, someone tackled her to the ground. She stumbled, the skirt of her uniform getting ripped, giving her a bit more leg room, which she used to kick her unknown assailant, whom she had realized as the female whose face had momentarily flashed to some type of alien. ?

?And who right now brought her leg down near Mara’s head. ?

?She dodged the foot, and as the female went to try it again, she slammed her arm against her other leg, sending her crashing to the ground in a heap. ?

?“ZAM, YOU IDIOT!” came a hissing growl from nearby somewhere. ?

?“It’s not my fault, Bossk!” Zam said, getting up on her knees, glaring at Mara. ?

?“It’s never your fault, is it, Zam?” the white faced female said. ?

?“I don’t see you trying anything, Aurra,” Zam spat. ?

?“”Shut up, the both of you,” the insect humanoid said, running towards the prone Mara from the upper level “And let Zuckuss show you all how it’s done." ?

?Zuckuss took a running leap off the top level, attempting to crush Mara under his weight, but all he did was get himself a pair of cracked legs, as Mara rolled out of the way, got to her feet, and looked around. ?

?Aurra, Zam and Bossk surrounded her, the bandaged human and the lizard man walking down the stairs towards her with nasty grins on their faces. ?

?She thought about the situation. Even with Zuckuss apparently down, there was still a five to one disadvantage. And she knew that either Fett or Isard or, to her shock and horror, both, would be coming soon. ?

?”Well,” she thought, taking a look around. ”I always wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.” ?Suddenly, from behind her came a voice. ?

?“Back off, boys,” someone said. ?

?Zam looked over Mara’s shoulder. “This isn’t any of your business, Skywalker. Now just turn around, and walk away, before we do to you what we’re going to do to the new girl here.” ?

?Mara turned around, and saw Luke standing all alone. She also saw that he was not about to move under any circumstances. ?

?“She said to get out of here, Sssssskkkkyywalker,” Bossk hissed. “In case you’re wondering, we outnumber you five to one.” ?

?Luke chuckled. ?

?“What’s so funny?” the bandaged human asked. ?

?Another voice broke the silence of the next few minutes. ?

?“What’s funny, my dear Dengar, is that you’re not alone.” ?

?From behind the wall next to where Luke stood emerged eleven other figures, wearing sand coloured robes and weathered boots over brown cloaks. ?

?Mara didn’t know who they were, but they must have been pretty intimidating, as Dengar and the others rushed back inside. ?

?“This isn’t over, Skywalker,” Zam said. “We’ll be back.” ?

?Luke made a gesture, and the others backed away. ?

?“You OK?” Luke asked, coming towards her. ?

?Mara slinked away, obviously frightened about the whole experience. ?

?“Stay away!” she shouted. ?

?Luke stepped back a few paces. ?

?“Mara…” he began. ?

?“Just get away from me!” she shouted, then turned and ran away. ?

?One of the others, a dark skinned man with a receding hair line, stepped up to Luke’s side. ?

?“Want me to get someone to follow her?” he asked. ?

?“No, Mace,” Luke said, shaking his head. “It’s her first day. She’s got a lot to learn.”

Chapter 4: The Talk ?

?Mara ran home as fast as she could. She didn’t stop. She didn’t look behind her to see if anyone was following her. She just ran and ran until she reached the home where her adoptive parents lived, a beautiful building that looked as if it belonged in a Renaissance art gallery. ?

?She opened the door and ran inside, crying and slamming the door behind her, then running up the stairs to her room, and slamming that door, too. She jumped on her bed and began to sob, burying her face in the pillow. ?

?Downstairs, Padme and Anakin sat on the sofa, and had heard the commotion. ?

?“What was that about?” Anakin asked, the life support systems of the suit regulating his breathing and making his voice come out sounding more powerful that it normally did. ?

?“I think that was Mara,” Padme said, a mixed expression of sadness and surprise on her face. ?

?“Should I go talk to her?” Anakin asked, getting up and heading for the stairs. ?

?”No,” Padme said, getting up herself. “No offence, sweetheart, but I think that is one of those “Mother/Daughter” moments. I don’t think that she would appreciate having you come up and try to talk to her.” ?

?Anakin sat back down, and Padme walked up the stairs, and tapped on Mara’s door. ?

?”Sweetheart?” she asked. “Can I come in?” ?

?When no reply came, Padme waited another minute before opening the door cautiously, and walking inside. ?

?“Want to talk about it?” she asked. ?

?“No!” came a muffled shout from Mara, still sobbing, though not as hard as she was when she ran inside. ?

?“Come on,” Padme said in her soothing voice. “You can tell me. And if you do, there’s a plate of chocolate cookies in it for you.” ?

?Mara turned over, and she wiped the tears from her eyes. ?

?”I don’t like school, Mom,” she said. “Everything there is weird and strange.” ?

?“You’re new to that place, Mara,” Padme said, placing her hands on Mara’s shoulders, and wiping some red-gold strands from her face. “It will take a while for you to get used to things.” ?

?“But, Mom!” Mara said. “There’s this one girl there that doesn’t like me, and she got her boyfriend or someone to get this gang of people to try and hurt me!” ?

?Padme gave Mara a hug. “Well, Mara, I can’t help you out there. It wouldn’t be fair if me and your father fought your battles for you.” ?

?“Yeah,” Mara said. “But…” ?

?“Besides,” Padme said. “Sooner or later these people will stop bugging you, but only if you don’t react to what they have to say.” ?

?Mara sniffled, but didn’t say anything. ?

?“And besides,” Padme continued. “There must have been something good that happened today.” ?

?”Well…” Mara said. “I did meet with the Principal, who made me his honorary hall monitor or something.” ?

?”That sounds nice,” Padme said. ?

?Mara suddenly found the image of Luke Skywalker in her mind. That sandy blonde hair…those dark blue eyes… ?

?“And…there was this boy…” ?

?Padme smiled, but didn’t say anything, getting up from the bed, and heading for the door. ?

?“Mom,” Mara said, and Padme turned, seeing Mara clutching a stuffed animal. ?

?“I’m glad we had this talk.” ?

?“Me too, sweetheart. Me too.” ?

?Ysanne Isard backhanded Boba Fett, sending him backward and into the others in his gang, none of them looking any happy to be there. ?

?”Idiots!” Isard was shouting at the top of her lungs. “Morons! Incompetent dolts!” ?

?“But Ysanne,” Zam said. “We didn’t have much choice. Skywalker and his friends…” ?

?Isard turned, walked to Zam, and slapped the younger woman across the face. ?

?“If I wanted to hear excuses, I’d turn on the news!” she shouted. “At least then I’d know I could turn it off when I got annoyed with it.” ?

?“Please, Ysanne,” Boba said, getting up and straightening his jacket. “It was not a total loss.” ?

?Isard glared daggers at Fett. “And how do you figure that? That kid Jade is probably going to be back at school tomorrow, and with Palpatine watching over her, we’re not going to have another chance to go at her.” ?

?“That’s not true,” Boba said. “My dad has some…underworld contacts. He can help us get rid of both Palpatine and Jade.” ?

?Isard’s left eye, which was a scarlet red, appeared to flame. “You’d better be right about this, Fett. I want Jade out of the way as soon as possible.”

Chapter 5: The Next Day ?

?Mara walked inside the building, thankful that her parents had been there for her last night. Padme was her usual cheery self, and Anakin had talked to her afterward, saying that if those people had given her any more problems, he would come to the school and take care of them himself. Mara didn’t like that comment, but it somehow made her feel better. ?

?She walked inside, feeling much better, and headed for the office, her mood increasing with each step. She had ran into no one from the previous day, and that pleased her…except for Skywalker. His lack of a presence around Mara made her feel guilty. She had been so mean to Luke and his friends, when all they had done was protect her from those creeps. She hoped that she would have the chance to apologize. ?

?She had entered the office, and was barely inside when a gruff voice asked, “You Jade?” ?

?Mara looked up to see a man in a red robe and cap, holding a black leather catsuit with a white hood. ?“Yes,” she said. ?

?The man handed her the clothes. ?

?“These are from Palpatine,” he said. “This is your new uniform. Put it on.” ?

?Mara took the clothes, and was about to ask the man why she had to wear it, but then she noticed that the man was gone. Realising that she had no other choice, she ran to the girls’ washroom and began to change. ?

************* ?

?She tugged the collar of her new uniform. It was clinging to her body, showing off her shapely figure for the entire world to see. She knew this because she saw many of the boys in her homeroom class were gawking at her. She felt embarrassed, but there was nothing she could do about it. This was her uniform, and she had to wear it. ?

?[i]”That other uniform is looking real great right about now,”[/i] she thought, looking over at the student assemblage while Mr. Piett was talking. ?

?After what felt like an eternity to Mara, the bell rang. While the entire room cleared out, Mara stayed behind, and placed her head on her desk, hoping to go unnoticed by anyone. ?

?It didn’t happen. ?

?“Mara?” ?

?Mara looked up to see Erisi looking at her. ?

?“Oh. Hi, Erisi,” Mara said. ?

?“Hi,” Erisi said, sitting down at the desk next to Mara. “Listen, about the other day…” ?

?“Don’t worry about it,” Mara said. “I talked to my parents about it.” ?

?“So everything’s cool?” Erisi asked. ?

?“Yeah,” Mara said, although her tone really didn’t support that. She could only hope that Erisi didn’t notice. ?

?She apparently didn’t, because she sat up a few seconds later and said, “Listen, Mara. I want to make up for what happened last night. Did you want to meet me for lunch?” ?

?“You sure?” Mara asked. “The last time we had lunch together, things didn’t turn out so well.” ?

?“That’s why we’ll be sitting with some of the guys. I talked to Wedge. He and Syal will sit with us. That means that Soontir will be there, too. And we could count on some of the other Rogues, probably even that Skywalker kid.” ?

?At the mention of Luke’s name, Mara instantly blushed, which was noticed by Erisi, who nudged Mara. ?

?“Got a thing for the kid, eh?” she asked. ?

?Mara laughed…. ?

************ ?

?…and continued laughing as Wedge told a very bad joke. ?

?”So,” he said. “The bellboy says, ‘The clown can stay, but the guy in the monkey suit has to go.” ?

?The boys laughed at this, and Mara joined in, thankful that no one had said anything about the incident that had happened the other day. ?

?“So,” Soontir said, putting his arm around Syal. “Mara, tell us about yourself.” ?

?Mara told them everything about her. ?

?“A New Yorker, eh?” Corran asked. “How did a beautiful woman like you manage to survive up there?” ?

?Mirax nudged Corran. “If she’s beautiful, Corran, what does that make me?” ?

?Corran blushed. “A Goddess”. ?

?The group laughed, but the laughter died down as Luke came over, along with Callista and Mace. The three took seats at the table. ?

?“How’s it going, guys?” Luke asked. ?

?“Not too bad, Luke,” Wedge said. “We just be the 181’st again. I think Phennir is starting to get agitated.” ?

?“Starting?” Corran said. “I think he was born that way.” ?

?The group laughed, but Mara kept her eyes on Callista as she sat down across from her, and locked her eyes on Mara. The two stared at each other, oblivious to what was going on. ?

*********** ?

?“Come on, man!” ?

?Boba shoved Zam away, who tumbled and fell on the ground, grunting as she hit the floor. ?

?“Wwwwwhhhhattt’s going on now?” Bossk asked, stepping up beside Boba.. ?

?“She’s locked eyes with her,” Fett said. “It’s gonna happen anytime now.” ?

************* ?

?The conversation kept going, but both Mara and Callista ignored it. They kept their eyes locked on each other for over three minutes, the others apparently not noticing. ?

?And then, without warning, Callista picked up her tray and tossed it’s contents at Mara. ?

?Mara had ducked out of the way, but some of the contents splattered across her new uniform. ?

?”Callista!” Luke shouted. “What was that for?!” ?

?Callista glared ice daggers at Luke. “Don’t try and pretend that you don’t know, Luke!” ?

?Luke stared at Callista for several seconds. “I don’t understand…” ?

?“Of course you don’t!” Callista said. “You’ve probably taken some kind of special course at your after school program to blot out the memories.” ?

?She turned and looked at Mara, who remained on the ground, just staring at Callista. ?

?“And I’m going to make sure that she doesn’t try anything.” ?

?Callista made a grab for Mara, but she was up and had her arm out to block her punch before the smaller woman could react. She twisted the arm around, but Callista swung her legs in a sweep that would have sent Mara back on the ground had she not leapt up and landed on the top of a table. ?

?Everyone else just stood and watched the fight, not making a move. Luke tried to get Callista to stop, but she ignored him, as she tackled Mara and began to throw punches at her. ?

?Before she could do any serious damage though, a pair of the white armoured police, along with one of the red armoured ones, arrived on the scene. Mara saw them, and began to panic. It wouldn’t do her much good to be almost expelled for the second time in as many days. ?

?On the cafeteria’s higher levels, Boba and the others saw it as well, they half expecting to see Mara get hauled off as well. After all, they had engineered that Mara would be the cause of the entire fight. ?

?Surprisingly, they were both proven wrong, as the three guards grabbed Callista and hauled her off, Callista kicking and screaming as she did so. ?

?Luke turned to Mara, and she half expected him to be angry. ?

?Instead, all he said was, “That was great.” ?

?Mara just stared at him, surprised at this chain of events. ?

?”Mara,” Mace said, coming up beside Luke. “We’re part of a special class that happens after school and on the weekends. We’d like for you to come join us.” ?

?Mara blushed, and smiled. ?

?“Sure,” she said. “Why not?” ?

************** ?

?Up on the upper levels, Boba, Zam and Bossk looked on as their plan to discredit Mara failed. ?

?“Someone’s gonna have to go tell Isard about this,” Zam said. ?

?“Not me,” Bossk said. “I don’t need a flayed sssskkkkinnn.” ?

?Boba and Zam looked at each other, and did a round of “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Zam chose paper, Boba chose rock. ?

?“Why me?” Boba said.

Chapter 6: Breaking Out Of The Shell ?

?Mara waited outside of homeroom. After lunch was over, Luke had told her to wait outside of homeroom to pick him up for this special class that he had mentioned. She leaned up against the wall, watching as the students walked by, chatting amongst one another. Mara looked around, but didn’t see Luke among them. ?

?Suddenly, one of the students brushed up against Mara. ?

?“Watch where you’re going!” she shouted, obviously annoyed by waiting for as long as she did. ?

?“Sorry, friend,” he said, continuing onward. ?

?Mara looked down at the ground, noticing a folded piece of paper that the student had apparently dropped while on his way out. ?

?“Hey, you dropped this!” she shouted to his back. ?

?If he heard, he didn’t acknowledge it, and soon he was around the corridor. ?

?Her curiosity peaked about the mysterious paper, she unfolded it and looked at it. ?

?It was a map of the school, with one of the rooms circled in bright red magic marker. ?

?Looking at the paper, she began to follow the map to where the room was located, and it was about ten minutes before she found the room. The door was closed, and she waited for a few minutes. When no one came to answer the door, she opened it. ?

?“Welcome, Ms. Jade. We’ve been expecting you.” ?

?Mara turned around, the door slamming shut as she backed into it. ?

?In the room sat about a hundred students, all dressed in the same getup that Mara had seen Mace and the others with Luke wear that first day. And at the front of the room was an older man in the same getup, his hair and beard a dark brown, and his eyes having a hint of knowledge beyond his years. ?

?“Please be seated, Ms. Jade, and we can begin.” ?

?Mara took a open desk, and sat down. ?

?“Well then, class. I’m sure you all know who I am, but I will introduce myself to Ms. Jade. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I teach this class for the special students of Coruscant High. The goal of this class is to teach the students that there are better ways to solve problems than with violence and to respect each other.” ?

?As Kenobi continued to talk, Mara looked at her notebook, and wondered if this class would be interesting. ?

***************** ?

?An hour later, the class dispersed, and Mara walked out of the room. She was surprised that she had enjoyed the class more than she thought she would. She was also surprised to see Luke running up to her. ?

?“Hi, Mara,” he said. ?

?“Hi,” Mara responded, trying, and failing, to keep her face from blushing. ?

?“How was the class?” Luke asked. ?

?“It was OK,” Mara said. “I kinda like Mr. Kenobi. He doesn’t seem as strict as some of the other teachers here.” ?

?”Then I guess you’ve never met Yoda,” Luke said. ?

?Mara glanced at Luke. “Who?” ?

?“Never mind,” Luke said. “Listen, me and a few of the others are going to the mall for a while. You want to come with us?” ?

?“Are you asking me out?” Mara asked. ?

?To her surprise, Luke’s face began to blush, but he did a much better job of covering it up than she had. “Did you want me to ask you out?” ?

?Mara smiled. “Sure.” ?

?”Great!” Luke said. “Come on. They’re waiting for us outside.” ?

?The two ran down the hallway to the entrance. ?

***************** ?

?Boba Fett had established himself to be a terror among the students of Coruscant High. His father was one of the major crime bosses in the area (although no one would openly admit it), and he had bullied most of the students to giving him their lunch money or some other triviality. ?

?But there was one thing among all others that he feared: The wrath of a woman scorned. ?

?And that was a lesson that he was fast learning now, as Ysanne Isard had him pinned down, her fists slamming all over his body. ?

?“You stupid, idiotic, moronic idiot!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “Even using outside interference, you can’t get a simple job done!” ?

?“But…” Fett began, only to stop as Ysanne picked him up, and slammed her knee into his gut, causing him to double over. ?

?He tried to get to his feet, but Ysanne helped him up…roughly, and slammed him against the wall. ?

?“Now, listen to me, Fett, and listen good, because I’m only saying this once.” ?

?She dragged him to the door and opened it. ?

?”I’m giving you one last chance to get this done. Either do it right, or don’t come crawling back to me.” ?

?She picked him up and shoved him out the door, slamming it so hard that several pictures that were hanging on the wall fell off, and shattered on the ground. ?

?She walked to her nearby desk, and sat down. ?

?“He’s going to screw this up again,” she said to herself. “Even with that ragtag group of so-called ‘friends’ that he hangs around with, he can’t get the job done.” ?

?She began to sift through papers. “Well, looks like I’m going to need to take care of this…personally.”

Chapter 7: Trouble Zone. ?

?The next few days had gone by pretty uneventfully. Mara and Luke continued to hang out, both during and after school. Mara was getting along with most of the teachers and students at the school, and she was just beginning to feel accepted. ?

?And then it happened. ?

?As she was walking to the school on a blistering hot Friday morning, she saw most of the student body assembled outside the school, with looks on their faces that told Mara that whatever happened had been pretty serious. ?

?She rushed towards the building, but before she could get too far, was grabbed from behind and spun around. ?

?“What the…Luke?! What are you doing here?!” ?

?“I had to get here. Mace called me earlier and told me what happened. Are you OK?” ?

?“Of course I’m OK,” Mara said, feeling uneasy. In all the time that she knew him, she had never expected Luke to act anything like this. ?

?“The school’s in an uproar. The staff is hunting for you. What did you do?” ?

?Mara grew even more confused. She had been at home all night and all morning. Whatever the staff thought she had done, there was obviously no proof of it. ?

?“I…I dunno.” ?

?“Look, Mara,” Luke said. “Just do yourself a favour. Get out of here before anyone sees you. Trust me.” ?

?Before Mara could get a word in edgewise, Luke bolted off. ?

?Mara was about to follow him, when a voice called out from behind him. ?

?“THERE SHE IS!” ?

?Mara turned to see Isard, accompanied by several of the white armoured policemen, pointing at her. ?

?Mara turned to run, but ran right into another one of the armour men, his hands landing on Mara hard. Mara struggled to break free, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break his iron grip. ?

?The officer brought her to one of the others that was with Isard, whom Mara must have figured was the one in charge, what with the red striping across his armour. ?

?“Mara Jade, you are hearby placed under arrest for the murder of President Palpatine.” ?

?Mara’s mouth gaped open, totally shocked. What was going on here? ?

?“Look,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I…” ?

?One of the officers brought out his gun and rammed it into Mara’s gut, knocking the wind out of her, and causing her to slump into the arms of the officer that was holding her down. ?

?“That takes care of that,” the officer said. ?

?“Take her to the office,” the head officer said. “We can deal with her then.” ?

?As the three officers moved off, the head officer turned to Isard, and removed his helmet. ?

?“That was a good acting performance, Fett,” Isard said with a smirk.

?“Yeah,” Boba chuckled, a smile playing across his face. “Meet your next Academy Award winner.” ?

*************** ?

?An emergency meeting of all of those in the special class was called for as soon as Luke broke the news to Mr. Kenobi. Obviously, a problem like this had to be dealt with quickly. ?

?Kenobi sat on the desk at the front of the room as Luke, Mace and the classes top eleven students sat arrayed in front of him, not a lot of them looking like they wanted to be here this early in the morning. ?

?“We gotta do something about Jade!” One of the students, a humanoid wearing protective eye and mouth coverings said, his voice coming out in electronic speech because of it. ?

?“We don’t know that she did it,” Luke said. ?

?“How could you not?” another student, with green skin, large black eyes, and green tentacles that dangled down from the back of his head like hair, said. “We all saw the evidence. That tape proved conclusively that she sneaked into the office after school and killed him.” ?

?“Tape evidence can be manufactured,” was all Luke said in reply. “And besides, she was with me after school yesterday.” ?

?“I was wondering where you were, Luke,” Mace said, his voice sounding that he had expected Luke to say that, but yet was not entirely pleased about it. “Hanging out with Han and the gang again?” ?

?Before Luke could respond, Obi-Wan said, “Enough. Arguing will not solve this problem. Luke has apparently taken some interest in this new student, and that should not be frowned upon. True, I have usually discouraged such behaviour in the past, but Luke and Mara seem to be connected through a special bond.” ?

?All the students gave Luke a look that he noticed, and did not particularly seem to like. ?

?“But, we can worry about such things later. Right now, we have to figure out how to deal with the situation.” ?

************** ?

?Mara paced around the empty office, it having been cleared out in order for the police to conduct their investigation of the room. ?

?She fumed. Whatever these people had assumed she had done, she knew that she couldn’t have done something as reckless as kill off the one person in the entire building that decided to give her another chance. ?

?A soft growl suddenly let loose with a scream, and in a fit of rage, she ran into the nearest wall…which gave way. ?

?Falling to the ground, she saw that the wall was, in fact, a secret passageway, which seemed to go on into infinity. ?

?“I wonder where this goes,” she wispered silently. ?

?She poked her head out, seeing if there was anyone nearby, then quietly shut the trapdoor, and started to walk.

Chapter 8: Finding Out The Truth ?

?Mara crept slowly down the corridor, not knowing what to expect as she walked down it. This whole thing was starting to creep her out. The shaft she was travelling down was barely illuminated. It was so dark that she didn’t see the thing that she tripped on, but all she did know was that she was suddenly tumbling to the ground, hitting it hard. ?

?She tried to hold in the yell that she felt was coming, but she just couldn’t do it. She let out a yelp of pain that, after several seconds, didn’t seem to have attracted much attention from anyone. ?

?She got to her feet and kept moving. ?

******** ?

?“What do you mean we can’t get in?” Kenobi said to the guard who was at the door to Palpatine’s office. “This is a matter of great importance!” ?

?“I’m sorry, sir.” the guard said in a neutral tone. “I’m under orders not to allow anyone in this room.” ?

?“”You know,” Kenobi said, taking a few steps back. “I had a feeling that you were going to say that.” ?

?And suddenly, the guard was knocked off his feet, his head hitting the ground hard, knocking him unconscious. ?

?“Good job, you two,” Kenobi said, as Mace and Luke, followed shortly by the others, rounded the corridor. ?

?“I always thought that Palpatine was lining the outside of his office with carpet,” the student with the green tentacled head said. “I’ll never say that again.” ?

?“Not now, Kit,” Kenobi said. “We need to get this lock open.” ?

************ ?

?How long had she been walking? Minutes? Hours? It didn’t seem to matter. In fact, there was only one thing that did matter. ?

?“My feet hurt,” she muttered. ?

?She finally reached the end of the tunnel, and felt around. There was no door handle. No buttons. No controls. Nothing. ?

?“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she said. “What’s the point of building a secret passage if it goes nowhere?” ?

?She leaned up against the wall…and promptly fell through it. ?

?”Not again!” she shouted. ?

?She looked up…and found herself in a room. A very official one, from the looks of it. Statues decorated the room all over, with a desk with a computer at the end of the room, looking untouched. ?

?Mara walked over to it, and saw that the computer was on. Curiously, she logged on and started to search through some of the stuff that was on it. ?

?Most of it was uninteresting. A couple of short stories, obviously written for self enjoyment. A few homework assignments… ?

?Then she saw something, and brought it up. ?

?“MY PLAN TO RUIN JADE’S LIFE” ?

?She gave it a look. The incident with Fett and the bounty hunters. The thing with Callista. The incident with Palpatine… ?

?…that she also noticed wasn’t true. This person, whoever it was, had merely had him captured. ?

?Mara breathed a sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was find out where he was, get him to tell the guards what had happened and this could all be solved. ?

?“Ms. Jade!” ?

?Mara looked up from the computer, and her heart fell. ?

?At the end of the room, standing in the door frame, was Ysanne Isard. ?

?“Surprised to see me?”

Chapter 9 ?

?Kenobi and the others hovered over the computer screen, as Luke typed furiously on the keyboard. ?

?“Come on, Luke,” Mace said. “You can do it. You’re good at this kind of thing.” ?

?“I’m trying, you guys,” Luke said, growing more frustrated with each passing second. “But Palpatine wasn’t as stupid as we all thought he was.” ?

?Even as he said this, he caught Obi-Wan’s distasteful look, and instantly regretted what he said. ?

?“How do you figure that?” Kit asked, glaring at the screen. ?

?“He’s got an password protected system,” Luke said, as he continued to type. “And I can’t seem to crack it.” ?

?“Well, keep trying,” Obi-Wan said, looking around, obviously unsettled. “I have a bad feeling about all of this.” ?

?“Isard!” Mara spat. “I knew you had something to do with this!” ?

?Before Mara could get out of the chair, however, Isard whipped out some control device and pressed the red button, causing restraints to close around her, trapping her in the chair. She struggled to move, but as hard as she tried, it only seemed to make it that much more difficult to move. ?

?“Keep trying, Jade,” Isard sneered. “You’re not going anywhere.” ?

?After several more seconds of trying, Mara finally gave up, and stared at Isard, her eyes meeting the ice blue and fire red eyes of her adversary. ?

?“Why?” she said after several seconds of silence. “Why bother going to all this trouble?” ?

?Isard didn’t reply at first, just stared at Mara trapped in the chair. Then, after a few moments of silence, she said “You know, it’s not easy being the popular one. You work hard all day, every day, getting no respect from anyone, and just when you’re on the verge of going crazy, you finally get some recognition from the big cheese.” ?

?Mara instantly knew what Isard was talking about. Like her, Isard had been spotted by Palpatine to be a special student among the class. ?

?“Yeah, that’s right,” Isard said, as if she could read Mara’s thought’s somehow. “I was spotted by Palpatine to be a successful student. He put me into his after school/weekend “Lusankya” program, where they train students to be the best in the academics. I was getting straight “A’s”, awards up the wazoo, and recognition for my accomplishments.” ?

?She then turned and glared at Mara straight in the eye, and started towards here. ?

?”That is…until you showed up!” ?

?Isard backhanded her across the face. Mara yelped in pain, but she held back the urge to cry, although she knew her eyes were watering. ?

?“Ah, whatsa matter,” Isard taunted. “Little Miss Muffet get a boo-boo?” ?

?Mara growled, and flexed her muscles. She tried again to break the bonds holding her to the chair, and to her amazement, the bonds began to weaken, although she didn’t give the slightest indication that she knew this, as Isard kept ranting. ?

?“I had everything I always wanted,” she said. “And then you showed up. Well, at least I got rid of the big cheese.” ?

?”You mean…?” Mara said in amazement. ?

?Isard laughed, a deeply horrifying sound that sent shivers down Mara’s spine. ?

?“Of course not,” Isard said. “But that’s what everyone else thinks.” ?

?Isard walked over to the nearby TV set, and put a tape into the VCR. Mara sat in amazement as the tape began playing, showing Mara attacking Palpatine and stabbing him with a letter opener. ?

?“And thanks to some skilful acting, and a bit of video editing, not only is that what everyone else thinks, but they think that you did it.” ?

?Mara sneered, and flexed her arms again, feeling one of the bonds holding her arms down snap. ?

?”You know what they say, Ms. Jade. Succeed by any means necessary.” ?

?She had heard enough. ?

?Wrenching her arms free, she dove out of the chair, leaping onto the table and spearing Isard to the ground. Mara hit the ground hard, but not as hard as Isard, whose head impacted with the wall, causing her to yell out in pain. She kicked Mara away, then scrambled to the nearby table, picking up the vase of flowers that rested on it, and tossing it towards Mara, who was still groggy enough after the impact with the floor to have it hit her on the head, collapsing to the floor again, now bleeding profusely from several gashes in her head. ?

?“Ha!” Isard laughed. “You can’t win Jade! You’re nothing but a weak, simpering little girl, who can’t make it in the real world.” ?

?Mara, woozy from losing so much blood, half blinded by all the blood in her eyes, and nearly driven mad with rage, couldn’t take it anymore, and, running screeching like a banshee, tackled Isard to the floor again, and let loose with several hard punches to her face and chest, taking out all the frustrations she had ever since that first day of school. It felt good, and yet…so wrong. ?

?At the moment, however, she didn’t care. All that mattered was that Isard was getting what she deserved. She glanced around the room to see if there was anything else she could use, and then saw the window. ?

?She grinned, and walked towards it, dragging Isard by the hair behind her. She unlatched the window, and pushed it open, looking down to the ground below. It had to be a twenty-five foot drop. ?

?She glared down at Isard. She was too weak to fight, and she knew it. She picked up her limp body and held it close to the window. ?

?”Hope you have a nice fall, Isard,” she said with just a touch of evil in her voice. ?

?But before she could toss her out the window, a voice came from behind her. ?

?“Put her down, Jade.” ?

?Half expecting Boba Fett and his gang of idiots to be behind her, she was quite surprised to see Luke, Obi-Wan, and several of the police guards standing at the secret entrance. ?

?“Go away, Luke,” she snarled, turning back to try and toss Isard out the open window. “She deserves this.” ?

?“No human being deserves this, Mara,” Obi-Wan said. “Not even Isard.” ?

?“Even so,” Mara said, still struggling to toss Isard out the window. “She deserves it for killing Palpatine. He was an innocent in this whole thing.” ?

?“No, he wasn’t, Mara,” Luke said. “Killed, I mean. Not an innocent.” ?

?“We found him locked up in one of the nearby buildings,” one of the white armoured guards said. ?

?“How did you find out,” Isard asked weakly. “No one should have been able to find that out.” ?

?Another guard came through the passage, shoving a badly beaten Boba Fett into the room. ?

?“He told us,” the second guard said. ?

?“Figures,” Isard said. “Can’t count on him to do anything…RIGHT!” ?

?This last was said as once again, Mara tried to toss Isard out of the window. ?

?”So, things turned out OK,” she snarled. “She still has to pay for ruining my life!” ?

?“Listen, Mara,” Luke said, slowly advancing on Mara’s position. “We’ve all been know to do rash things. But think about it. You’re not like Isard in any way, but if you toss her out that window, you will become her. Is that what you really want?” ?

?Mara thought about it for several seconds. Yes, Isard was cruel, inhuman and sadistic…things that Mara definitely was not. ?

?”No,” she said, dropping Isard’s battered body to the floor. ?As the guards moved in to take her and Fett out of the room, Obi-Wan and Luke came up to Mara. ?

?“You guys found out what happened?” Mara said. ?

?Luke nodded. ?

?“But how…?” Mara asked. ?

?“We found the real camera footage inside Palpatine’s office,” Obi-Wan exclaimed. “We also found a floor plan that included this secret passage. Once we found out, we made our way here.” ?

?Mara sighed. “I’m just glad this is all over.” ?

?“Don’t worry,” Luke said. “Things will get back to normal around here pretty soon enough…or at least as normal as they do around here.”

The two teenagers laughed, then, holding hands, and with Obi-Wan behind them, left the room, sealing the door behind them.

The End