Mara Jade Skywalker

"I'm a fighter. I've always been a fighter. The few times when I have been at leisure, I've been miserable. I want challenges, I crave them."

- Mara Jade Skywalker

Mara Jade Skywalker was a female Human of many talents, who was, during different times in her life, an Emperor's Hand, a smuggler, and later a Jedi Master. 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 to kill Luke Skywalker, but the death of her Master caused her to go rogue and eventually she joined Talon Karrde, becoming one of his best smugglers and second-in-command. During the predations of Grand Admiral Thrawn, she was forced to work with Skywalker, and developed a begrudging respect for him. Over the years, she would continue working for Talon Karrde and interacting with Luke intermittently, until the two finally realized that they were in love and wanted to spend the rest of their lives with each other in 19 ABY.

After marrying Luke, Mara devoted her life to the New Jedi Order, becoming a Master in her own right. Shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong War, she fell ill due to deadly coomb spores. Using the Force to slow its progress, the disease was only purged from her system after the birth of her son Ben in 26 ABY. Afterwards, Mara then participated in Jedi offensives against the Yuuzhan Vong where she aided in the destruction of Supreme Overlord Shimrra. Mara was active during the Dark Nest Crisis and the subsequent Swarm War, where she helped to thwart the plans of Raynar Thul and the Killiks, and continued to serve by the side of her husband as a Jedi Master during the Second Corellian Insurrection. During the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War, Mara was killed by her nephew, Jacen while hunting the Sith Lady Lumiya.

Beautiful, intelligent, and deadly with a sharp tongue and quick wit, she was a good pilot and mechanic and was skilled with both a blaster and hand-to -hand-combat even without relying on the Force. 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 later be continued by Luke Skywalker years later. After becoming a Master, Mara took her niece Jaina Solo as an apprentice until she reached Knighthood.

Early life (18 BBY–4 ABY)
Mara Jade was born in 18 BBY during a time of great instability as Emperor Palpatine and his apprentice, Darth Vader, were murdering hundreds of Jedi. Emperor Palpatine took her from her parents and brought her to Coruscant when she was an infant and 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 but that somehow her parents did not want her to go and that she was old enough to understand that she was going to leave with him. The Emperor trained her in the ways of the Force and she was made into an agent of the Empire.

Emperor's Hand
"She is, shall we say, an experiment."

- Emperor Palpatine



When Mara was approximately eighteen years old, she was pushed through an extensive training regime and became an "Emperor's Hand," one of Palpatine's personal assassins. Despite there being many Emperor's Hands she, like the others, was unaware of the existence of any other Hands. Due to her deep connection to the Force she could hear Palpatine's voice anywhere in the Galaxy via a telepathic link. She carried out his bidding, killing many people in the process. As a reward for her services Mara was given access to luxury hotels, imperial connections, and money.

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&mdash;one such Jedi was The Dark Woman. 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.

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, even going so far as watching, from afar, his assault on the Massassi Temples, some six months after the Battle of Yavin, which resulted in the capture of Rebel Commander Jan Dodonna. Despite 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. Around the time of the Battle of Hoth she visited Belsavis.

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 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.

Upon his arrest, Mara also took the job of looking up who delivered the paintings, and the people who aided him. 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, which she sensed seemed to have a criminal element about it. 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 form all gangs together to dominate the Shelsha Sector.

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 via the Happer's Way's communications relay signaled the Reprisal to come to her and the freighter's assistance.

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 indepedent ship thief who wanted to join the BloodScars.

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. Ozzel and Somoril in the Reprisal, wanting to be sure she was slain, arrived over Gepparin and launched TIE fighters and an orbital bombardment to kill her 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 insystem, allowing Mara to escape in a Z-10 Seeker.

Journeying to Shelkonwa, she found Vader and the Executor already there in search of Leia Organa Solo. Mara believed that Governor Barshnis Choard was a traitor, and informed Vader of her findings. Upon landing, Caaldra attacked her with a purloined AT-ST, 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. 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.

Following the Battle of Hoth, Mara became aware of Palpatine's worries about the Rebel Luke Skywalker; Mara was sent to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine, disguised as the dancing girl Arica, in order to infiltrate and await Skywalker. 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. Thus stymied in this attempt to fulfill her mission, she made her way back to Imperial Center&mdash;and a displeased Palpatine. Years later, a Force vision revealed to Skywalker that, had she been present at the Great Pit of Carkoon, Jade would have succeeded in preventing his escape.



Later, during the Battle of Endor, Mara saw the Emperor's demise through the Force. Vader and Skywalker were both there, and it seemed that they had killed Palpatine together. Anticipating that she might be detained by those jostling to assume control of the Empire, she attempted to flee, but was arrested by Imperial Intelligence on the order of Director Ysanne Isard. However, she managed to escape, disguised as a refugee. Soon after, she hunted down Dequc, leader of the criminal organization Black Nebula, who sought to become a latter-day Xizor.Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand

Her hatred of Skywalker for destroying her master burned deep within her, and she vowed to destroy the Jedi Knight. She was unaware that the Emperor's telepathic command was 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. 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."

Smuggler (6 ABY–9 ABY)
"If only for that, you deserve to die."

- Mara to Luke



Having lost her master and hunted by Isard, Mara traveled from place to place. On one planet, she helped a young Zakarisz Ghent escape both Rebel and Imperial capture, and in the process prevented Rebel capture of a Star Destroyer's codes. The Rebels wanted to seize Ghent and use him to slice the core, revealing valuable military secrets. Discovering the treachery of Governor Egron, she executed him, but allowed Rebel agent Markko to escape, as she had denied him both Ghent and the computer core.

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. Karrde was so impressed with Mara that he offered her a job on the spot.

There is some slight evidence that their initial encounter may have taken place earlier than most accounts list. 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. If this was the case, then Jade cannot have taken up Karrde's offer immediately after Varonat, and they would seem to have subsequently parted company for about two years, before she finally accepted the offer of a permanent position in his organization.

Meeting Skywalker
Mara entered Karrde's organization in the second half of 8 ABY. 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.

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. Mara was forced to work with Luke to survive, and she clearly stated her intentions. The two made their way to Hyllyard City after vending 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.

While setting up a new base for Karrde's group on Rishi, Mara was accosted by a bounty hunter. She killed him, but Karrde's organization was put to flight yet again. 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, 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.

Mara, disgusted by Thrawn's actions and now feeling, more than ever, her loyalty to Karrde, journeyed to Jomark, where Luke Skywalker was training under Joruus C'baoth. Mara convinced Luke to go with her to rescue Karrde from Thrawn's ship, the Chimaera. 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.

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 the coldness of space. Fortunately for her, Luke Skywalker was able to rescue her before she died of exposure.

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 Himron, the team leader, survived and implicated her in the attack, which led to her imprisonment.

Wayland
"For I have foreseen that one Mara Jade will bow before me. One Mara Jade, or another."

- Joruus C'baoth to Mara Jade on Wayland

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 her out of prison and took Mara 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.

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 hit them with a Force Scream, Force lightning and rocks, but Mara, fulfilling C'baoth's visions of bowing before her, 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 up 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.

Apprenticeship
In 10 ABY, Mara was found briefly under the Jedi tutelage of Kyle Katarn on the battlefront of Altyr 5 when the New Republic base was receiving bombardment from two artificial asteroids, and an attack from the Imperial Remnant. Kyle Katarn managed to repel the attack, and destroyed both asteroids. While there, he got a lead for the planet Dromund Kaas, having some importance to the Empire and went to investigate.

Mara, however, was on her own&mdash;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 for him Takara's GCT device. While looking for Takara's lieutenants, Abron Mar in the Katraasii Spaceport, Mara was trapped by Takara, but managed to escape by killing a Rancor and stole the device.

Ka'Pa was pleased and agreed to help the Republic. 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.

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 doppelganger. After getting across 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.

Smuggler's Alliance
"When I entered the atmosphere I could feel you and Kun tangling. The Force was boiling."

- Mara Jade to Corran Horn

After Kyle forsook the Jedi and the Force and returned to his military action, 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.

In 11 ABY, Mara returned to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, where she helped Corran Horn, himself a student of the Praxeum under an assumed name, Kieran Halcyon, and the other Jedi students defend the temples from the Sith Lord Exar Kun's spirit. She also became one of the leaders of the Smuggler's Alliance, along with Lando Calrissian, who was attracted to her. 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&mdash;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.

Later, she called the Solos after the Solos 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&mdash;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. 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.

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 Four 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.

First Corellian Insurrection
By 18 ABY Mara was temporarily out of Karrde's organization and running a legitimate trading company&mdash;which was meant to prepare her to take over Karrde's organization. She found herself swept into the events surrounding the First Corellian Insurrection. She went to Corellia for its important trade summit. Shortly before leaving, Jade was delivered a mysterious message cube addressed to Chief of State Leia Organa Solo. The cube revealed the plans of the Sacorrian Triad and the Human League, headed by Han's cousin Thrackan Sal-Solo, to attack the New Republic. Though she had a vendetta against Luke Skywalker, Mara went to warn Leia and the other senators present about the plot to destroy the New Republic. However, she was too late, as the attack started moments later. Mara Jade was eventually captured by the Human League and imprisoned with Leia on Corellia. The two decided to work together and escaped the planet on Jade's ship, the Jade's Fire, reuniting with Han Solo on Selonia.

On Selonia, with Mara, Leia and Han attempting to convince the Selonians to change their mind—and they too were imprisoned for a short time. With the arrival of Luke Skywalker, Mara, Leia and Han were freed. 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 Sacaronian Triad fleet.

Caamas document crisis
"Stupid, stupid. A big fat diversion&mdash;the oldest trick on the list. And I fell for it like some dumb farm kid." "Watch your language."

- Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker

Shortly afterwards, Mara became absorbed into the events surrounding the Caamas Document crisis in 19 ABY. Prior to this, Mara rescued Luke from the Cavrilhu Pirates and then went off to investigate a strange presence on the planet of Nirauan. Mara was lured to the Hand of Thrawn complex on Nirauan, losing contact with Karrde and his organization. Admiral Parck, Baron Soontir Fel, and many Chiss soldiers had spent the previous decade continuing Thrawn's fight against threats from the Unknown Regions, and mindful of Thrawn's prophecy wanted to persuade Jade to join them and work for Thrawn.

Fortunately for Jade, Luke Skywalker showed up to help her escape. They and R2-D2 managed to infiltrate an Empire of the Hand fortress and disable it, but later returned to collect a copy of the Caamas Document. With the help of some unlikely allies, they retrieved the document, destroyed a clone of Thrawn, escaped the many perils of the fortress, and got off the planet safely. After this experience Mara lost much of her hatred for Skywalker and began to develop a greater sense of respect for the Jedi and his skills.

Marriage to Luke Skywalker


"Mara.... will you marry me?"

- Luke Skywalker to Mara Jade

Over the years, Mara and Luke would continue to work together in many important situations in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor. Initially, Mara declined to attend the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV because of her concerns about Luke and the way he structured the academy. On their mission to investigate the Hand of Thrawn, Mara and Luke finally realized that they had fallen deeply in love with each other. They married on Coruscant, soon after the signing of the peace treaty with the Empire. After her marriage, she spent some time having adventures with Mirax Terrik, one of which ended up with them being charged with criminal damage.

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."

The rediscovery of Outbound Flight
"Doesn't look promising, does it?"

- Mara during the search for Outbound Flight.



In 22 ABY, Mara ended her alliance with Karrde in order to commit herself to her marriage and Jedi knighthood. Immediately afterwards, they were invited by the Chiss 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. Mara and Luke traveled as honorary guests aboard the Chaf Envoy, along with Geroon representatives, Dean Jinzler, Chak Fel and four stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand. During the expedition the two grew increasingly suspicious after several attempts to sabotage the mission, including setting an area near the fuel tanks on fire. 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.

Once they arrived on Outbound Flight, the various parts of the diplomatic party were separated by the Survivors in repulsor cars. However, the Geroons revealed themselves to actually be the tyrannical Vagaari and to be in much greater numbers than first thought. Mara and Luke escaped from the Survivors' trap and helped defeat over three hundred Vagaari with the aid of the Imperials, the Chiss party, and the Survivors. After the Vagaari took one of the six Dreadnaughts back to rendezvous with their main ship, Mara and Luke chased it down in a Delta-12 starfighter and intercepted the ship. On board the ship, they fought their way through heavy defenses, including a droideka, and defeated the Vaagaari leader.

Jedi Master
"As long as I'm fighting, I'm not dying. And I'm not done fighting just yet."

- Mara Jade Skywalker

Before the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Mara accompanied Ambassador Leia Organa Solo and Jaina Solo on their diplomatic mission to the planet of Rhommamool, which at the time was waging a civil war with its sister planet, Osarian. The mission ended in a failure when Rhommamool's leader, Nom Anor (in disguise), ordered a missile strike against the capital city Osa-Prime. Osa-Prime was destroyed during the bombardment, causing the political conflict to escalate into a full blown war.

During a diplomatic ceremony on Monor II, Mara acted as a bodyguard for one of the diplomats. Nom Anor was also in attendance and secretly infected all those present with coomb spores, which was a deadly Yuuzhan Vong bioagent. Almost all of those infected died. Mara was able to hold back the disease through the Force, but no lasting cure could be found.

When a distress call came from the ExGal-4 outpost on Belkadan, Luke and Mara decided to investigate together. On Belkadan the Skywalkers discovered that the planet suffered from an ecological disaster, a result of Yuuzhan Vong terraforming. Mara sensed that her disease was somehow related to the planet's devastation. She was the first Jedi to engage a Yuuzhan Vong when Yomin Carr attacked her. She was barely able to defeat the infiltrator and was nearly killed.

The war escalates


"I want to get some more sleep anyways. You don't know what a luxury that is until you have a baby. And that's not a suggestion."

- Mara Jade Skywalker to Jaina Solo

On Dantooine, Mara was trying to recover and her nephew Anakin Solo was with her when the Yuuzhan Vong launched an attack on the planet. Anakin had to fend off dozens of Yuuzhan Vong warriors until they were rescued by Luke and Jacen Solo. They then participated in the Battle of Dantooine.

The Jedi Vergere, who possessed the unusual ability to control the molecular composition of her "tears," gave Han Solo a dose to deliver to Jade, who upon ingesting them was almost totally cured her of her disease. Ten months into the Yuuzhan Vong War, Mara realized that the spores had not rendered her barren but that she was pregnant with a son.

As the Jedi's relationship with the New Republic government deteriorated, Mara and Luke were issued warrants of arrests. They went into hiding aboard the Errant Venture. During this time Mara's condition worsened as the disease started to gain ground. With the help of her husband she was able to defeat the disease and give birth to her son Ben. Borsk Fey'lya eventually rescinded the arrest warrants and the Skywalkers moved to Eclipse, a safeworld that acted as a Jedi base. After the birth of Ben, Mara became increasingly over-protective and went as far as sending him away to safe worlds and hiring a nanny droid to protect him. She did this partly because of her son's safety, and because she didn't want to go through the pain of losing a child like Leia went through after losing Anakin.

End of the Yuuzhan Vong War
"Luke, I don't want to discourage your curiosity, but I have to remind you, if something goes wrong, this is an exceptionally embarrassing way to die." I'll trust you to improve the story. Luke Skywalker goes out in a blaze of glory in battle with a red devourer."

- Luke and Mara on occupied Coruscant.



Despite joining forces with General Wedge Antilles's Fleet Group Three, the Jedi was still hopelessly outnumbered by Tsavong Lah's invasion fleet. While the Jedi destroyed several enemy yammosks and Lah's flagship the Sunulok, the Jedi starfighter wing paid too heavy a price. During the Fall of Coruscant, Mara and Luke learned that Viqi Shesh had kidnapped their infant son. The X-wings of both Luke and Mara, Jedi ace pilots in the galaxy, were shot down when the couple attempted to recover the kidnapped Ben. When Lando Calrissian, YVH 1-1A, and C-3PO took over to recover the baby, Luke led Mara and Artoo to defend Coruscant with surface turbolaser battery. The trio escaped the doomed Coruscant aboard the Falcon.

Shortly after the capture of Coruscant by the Yuuzhan Vong, Mara Jade made her way to Borleias along with her husband Luke and a handful of other Jedi in the hopes of securing a staging point for disoriented evacuees. While on Borleias General Wedge Antilles appointed Mara as Head of Intelligence for all in-system forces with priority on the Borleias ground base personnel. Mara held this position until Iella Wessiri arrived planetside. Around this point, Mara reluctantly left her son Ben in order to scout the Vong terraforming activities on Coruscant with Luke, Tahiri, Danni and the Wraiths. After Luke got them past a red devourer tank into a secret chamber, Mara's knowledge of old Imperial codes allowed them access to a secret laboratory where Irek Ismaren had been turned into a mutant cyborg Dark Jedi. Haunted by the mental commands of Irek, now know as Lord Nyax, the three Jedi pursued the deranged Dark Jedi in hopes of stopping him. Mara nearly abandoned the pursuit upon seeing Viqi Shesh with a group of Yuuzhan Vong, but Luke convinced her to stick with him. Together, Mara, along with Luke and Tahiri snubbed out the rising menace of Lord Nyax before he could become a true threat to the Jedi Order and by extension the Republic. Returning to Borleias, Mara became the second in command of Blackmoon Squadron under Luke. Together, the two flew cover for the Lusankya as it executed Operation Emperor's Spear in the final stages of the battle for Borleias.

In an effort to end the war, Luke and Mara joined several other Jedi on a mission to the Unknown Regions. There, they sought to enlist the help of the Imperial Remnant, as well as to search for the living planet Zonama Sekot.

During the final battle of the war, Mara was part of the strike team that was sent to kill Supreme Overlord Shimrra. After the victory of the Galactic Alliance, the Jedi set up a new Jedi Praxeum on Ossus where the Skywalkers lived.

A cry for help
Despite surviving the Yuuzhan Vong War, the New Jedi Order would still face trouble. Meanwhile, Mara and Luke's infant son, Ben, had cut himself from the Force as a result of the pain and suffering he had sensed during that time. Because of this Mara found it difficult to locate Ben through the Force. Even five years after the war, Ben refused to use the Force, a disturbing development his parents did not know how to overcome.



She and Kyp Durron also led one faction that believed that the Jedi were not responsible for the protection of the Galactic Alliance by mandate, rather, that the Jedi had to take a larger view of Galactic affairs to avoid getting tangled in the internal politics of the Alliance, as was what happened in the Old Republic. They would be opposed by another faction under Kenth Hamner and Corran Horn that believed that the Jedi Order owed the Galactic Alliance their full and unwavering attention, due to the fact that it was the Galactic Alliance that financed the Order, and was also responsible for giving the Order a new Jedi Temple.

These tensions were nominally smoothed by the leader of the Jedi and Mara's husband, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Under his leadership, he tamed the tempers of even the brashest and loudest of the Jedi, but, as he would later reflect, he made the almost fatal error of not providing a power structure within the order. All these things would manifest themselves in the Dark Nest Crisis and the Swarm War.

Upon learning that group of Jedi were helping a Killik hive in a border dispute with the Chiss, an irate Chiss leader went immediately to speak with Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance Cal Omas, who in turn spoke with Master Skywalker. Concerned, Luke, Mara, their son Ben, and Han and Leia Solo set out to begin their search for the renegade Jedi. When they caught up with the aberrant Jedi, they were attacked by mysterious blue-black Killiks that UnuThul, Raynar Thul's new Killik persona, seemed to know nothing about.

On another occasion, her son Ben befriended a Gorog, thinking of the creature as his pet. Secretly, Gorog attempted to brainwash the child to join the Dark Nest, but the plot was uncovered by Ben's mother, who was forced to kill the Killik.

In a meeting with Mara, and Leia and Han, UnuThul explained why the Skywalkers and Solos were attacked during their first trip to the colony. According to UnuThul, the Gorog wanted Mara dead, because the Gorog Nest became the Dark Nest when the wife and daughter of Daxar Ies traveled to the Unknown Regions after Daxar was assassinated by Mara. They became Gorog Joiners and the idea of revenge against Mara created the Dark Nest. This revelation by UnuThul would later be proven to be false. Mara and Luke were again brought before UnuThul, this time as presumed enemies. Leia, now a Jedi Knight, was able to calm down UnuThul, but he still did not trust him. This mistrust would eventually lead him to hold Skywalker and Han Solo captive, in attempts to get them to join into the Killik nest, hence being able to learn all their secrets. A rescue mission was hatched by Organa Solo and several Jedi, but before they could get to him the nests fled the Utegetu Nebula in massive Hive ships. Some escaped a blockade set up by the Alliance, but the Gorog Hive ship was caught. After fierce fighting, Luke was caught by Lomi Plo herself. Plo eventually gained the upper hand in the battle, and managed to escape. Luke however, was almost killed. The Killik fleets escaped, and engaged the Chiss. The Swarm War had finally fully begun.

The Swarm War
"The Masters are pulling the order in ten different directions. You have to do this, or they'll tear it apart."

- Mara to Luke Skywalker

Luke and Mara immediately returned to the Jedi Academy on Ossus to send a Force-call to the entire Jedi Order. Though Mara was concerned for her husband's health after his intense meditation, she gave her full support to his decision to grant himself the title of Jedi Grand Master and assume full control of the Jedi Order. Indeed, she alone was privy to his plans going into the meeting.



Soon after Luke's announcement, he and Mara were the guest of Tyko and Aryn Thul, who attempted to negotiate for the safety of Aryn's son, Raynar. They also gifted Mara and Luke with the droid R2-0, the prototype for the R2 series astromech droid. An OmniGate gleaned from this droid's brain would later allow slicer Zakarisz Ghent to access holograms in R2-D2's memory, such as that of Anakin Skywalker Force-choking Padmé Amidala. When Luke, Mara, and Jacen viewed the holograms, conflicts became apparent in the way each interpreted the scenes. Mara was disturbed by Anakin Skywalker's anger and threatening behavior, while Jacen saw no problem with it. Furthermore, Luke was forced to confront his doubts that his father Anakin might have been involved in the death of his mother Padmé. Adding to the tensions brewing between the trio, Mara would also confront Jacen about performing a memory wipe on her son Ben, but ultimately accepted his false explanation that he did it for Ben's own protection (and not to conceal the fact that he had fathered a daughter with Tenel Ka Djo).

During the Battle of Sarm, Mara was a member of the Jedi force leading an attack on a Killik nest ship. She was the first to reach an injured Jacen Solo and made a heroic effort to rescue him from the tangled wreckage of his StealthX. When Jacen came to, he joined Mara in protecting Luke's flanks as he battled the deformed Dark Jedi Lomi Plo. Mara sustained a horrific injury herself when a shatter gun pellet ripped through her vac suit and destroyed one of her kidneys. The month-long recuperation period for her wounds meant that she would not see any more action during the Swarm War. When Mara learned that her husband planned to face Lomi Plo and Raynar Thul alone, she became fearful for his fate. In a disturbing episode, Jacen used the Force to fake Mara's death, in order to demonstrate to Luke his own vulnerability to fear. Soon thereafter, the three viewed the hologram of Padmé's final moments, which steeled Luke for battle and influenced him to reject Vergere's teachings. Luke's confidence and trust in Mara was also confirmed by the revelation that she had no role in Padmé's death.

Luke killed Lomi Plo and brought Raynar back to the Galactic Alliance, albeit under heavy sedation. Mara was still in rehabilitation at the conclusion of the Swarm War.

Rising tensions
"I get the proverbial bad feeling about this."

- Mara to Luke



In 40 ABY, a civil war broke out between the Galactic Alliance and Corellia. Her son and nephew were sent to Adumar, where they discovered a secret missile factory. Missions such as this, undertaken as the crisis continued to escalate, only heightened Mara's fears for the safety of her family, especially for her only son, Ben. When the Galactic Alliance decided to have peace talks with Corellia in the Kuat system, Mara accompanied her family to Toryaz Station. Shortly afterwards, the group were attacked by drugged Corellian commandos. Though the attack was stopped, Corellian Prime Minister, Aidel Saxan was assassinated. This act angered Corellia and all attempts at peace talks were ceased.

Eventually Mara went on a mission with Luke to kidnap Thrackan Sal-Solo, Head of State of Corellia. After making it through the planet's security, Mara ventured off to Thrackan's mansion where she rescued Tiu Zax and did more recon work with her in Thrackan's mansion. Meanwhile, Luke went to see Corran Horn and the newly built Jedi facility that housed new Jedi initiates. They were able to save Jaina's and Tahiri's team and escort them to safety and after the mission they arrived on Coruscant. While on Coruscant, Mara battled a twisted force ghost of her son, Ben. Not realizing that it was in fact the real Ben, Mara caught him off guard with a kick to his midsection.

As the Second Corellian Insurrection swelled, Mara was asked by Cal Omas to head up a new paramilitary organization designed to crack down on Corellian insurgents and terrorists operating on Coruscant. When she declined, the command was given to Jacen Solo instead. She and Luke, along with the other Jedi Masters, were shocked to see Ben and Jacen participate in GAG raids and didn't approve of it.

Despite Luke's deep misgivings concerning Jacen Solo and his relationship with their son Ben, Mara was the only family member&mdash;besides Ben&mdash;that trusted Jacen, correctly ascertaining that her nephew was secretly torn over someone that he loved. However, despite this insight being correct, she wrongly attributed it as the cause of Jacen's questionable behavior when in truth he was turning to the dark side. Her self-denial of Jacen's true motivations brought her, for a time, to the belief that Jacen was the best caregiver for Ben. However, she later came to believe Luke and considered that her nephew was falling to the dark side.

Hunting Lumiya
After deducing that Lumiya was alive, Mara constructed a shoto to combat Lumiya's lightwhip and accompanied her husband on his search to locate her and hopefully put an end to this situation. Mara would also supervise a sparring session between Luke and Ben. On their search, they were summoned by detectives to look at Tresina Lobi's corpse in Fellowship Plaza, where she learned that Luke had told Lobi to watch over Ben and Jacen without her knowledge. At the crime scene they found a holocube that brought them to Lumiya's apartment. In the apartment, Mara and Luke found evidence that linked Lumiya to the killing of Bothans. Distraught at their findings, Mara decided that Ben had to be taken away from Jacen. After landing at the rendezvous point where Jacen had said Ben would meet them, Mara and Luke were attacked by Lumiya and Alema Rar. While Luke dealt with Lumiya, Mara dueled Alema Rar when she nearly killed Mara with a dart. In the duel, Luke was severely injured while fighting Lumiya, but Mara defeated Alema, knocking her unconscious, where she discovered the bomb attached to Alema. Returning to see Luke shoot Lumiya three times, Mara informed him of the bomb and pulled him to safety. Meeting up with the family, except Han and Leia, Jacen allowed Luke to take Ben away to be cautious. The three then returned to Coruscant.

Upon returning to the Jedi Temple, Mara and Luke were informed by Kyp Durron of Cal Omas' and Cha Niathal's request that Jacen be made into a Jedi Master. After Ben disappeared, Luke and Mara accurately guessed Jacen was involved and contacted him. Following their conversation with Jace, Mara and Luke held a meeting with Jagged Fel at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Shortly before the meeting ended, Fel entrusted Luke with a special device to aid in capture of Alema Rar&mdash;Mara and Luke then gave it to Master Cilghal to analyze.

While traveling aboard the Errant Venture, Mara and Luke reunited with Leia and Han as well as their old friends. After the reunion, Mara accompanied Luke, Han, and Leia to Gilatter VIII to rescue Jacen. The rescue mission ended in disaster as the three encountered both Lumiya and Alema while Jacen fled to the Anakin Solo.

Death
"You're&hellip; as vile as he was." "Who?" "Palpatine."

- Mara Jade Skywalker and Jacen Solo

The fiasco on Gilatter VIII left Mara and the others wary of not only Jacen but Alema and Lumiya as well. Concerned for the safety of her son, Mara decided to hunt down Lumiya and kill her. Mara obtained such a chance at Hesperidium and ended with both herself and Lumiya severely wounded. When her son, Ben, discovered that Jacen and Lumiya were connected by affiliation, he told his mother. Mara, feeling both betrayed and upset at the dark revelation, cornered Jacen and attempted to sway him back to the light side. After Jacen brushed her warnings off, Mara felt Jacen had become too evil and dangerous to leave alive.

Mara tracked Jacen to Hapes, where he was visiting with Tenel Ka and Allana. When he left Hapes, Mara ambushed him in her StealthX, and after a dogfight in Hapan space, they ended up on the planet Kavan. In the tunnels of Kavan, a short duel ensued that degraded into a very physical brawl. Mara gained the upper hand through tactics, despite her lesser Force ability, and looked as though she would triumph. Jacen stared into her eyes and instantly created the illusion of Ben's face beneath her, causing Mara to hesitate for a split second. Jacen used the time to stab a poisoned dart into Mara's thigh, causing a slow paralysing and painless death. Her final words expressed her belief that Jacen had become worse than Palpatine, and that Luke would defeat him. Mara left her body behind instead of allowing it to become one with the Force to leave behind the evidence of the identity of her true killer as well as to give her family something to say goodbye to. Her last uses of the Force were to whisper in Ben's mind and to run a Force-hand over Luke's hair. Other Jedi, including Leia, also felt Mara's passing through the Force.

Mara's legacy
Mara's descendants would all be raised on the Skywalker family histories in which Mara featured prominently. Family holos described the important events of her life to those who came after her.

One such descendant was Cade Skywalker, a drug-addicted former Jedi haunted by the ghosts of his past. Hiding from his enemies on Ossus, Cade experience drug-induced hallucinations after ingesting several death sticks; visions of Mara Jade and Anakin Skywalker, who then morphed into Darth Vader and warned him of the perils of falling to the dark side.

Personality and traits
Throughout her life, Mara Jade was know to have exhibited several qualities which helped define her character. Mara was an extremely proud woman, who always gave her best at everything that she did&mdash;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&mdash;Mara continued by dwelling deeper into the conspiracy, eventually following the clues directly to its source.

She was not uncomfortable with giving orders or telling people what she wanted them to do. However, at various points in her life, her past connections with the Empire haunted her. Notable was her loyalty; she would often sacrifice what she wished to follow her superiors. Mara also had an irreverent nature. In addition to loyalty, Mara also had an outspoken nature and fiery attitude. After the birth of her son, Ben Skywalker, Mara lost much of her bitterness and fiery attitude only to be replaced by her love for her son and the need to protect him.

In many ways, Mara Jade's personality was said to resemble that of her sister-in-law, Leia Organa Solo. Eventually she became a wise and powerful Jedi Master in the New Jedi Order just like her husband, Luke Skywalker.

Talents
"Mom's a spy, you know."

- Ben Skywalker to Nelani Dinn

Mara Jade was skilled in both blaster and hand-to-hand combat even without relying on the Force. In addition, Jade was a skilled pilot who's talent was on par with her husband's.

Her skills as a spy were impressive as her son Ben would recall to Nelani Dinn during the outbreak of the Second Corellian Insurrection. As a spy, Mara was extremely talented in immediately reading and assessing any situation or individual, and the Emperor gave her memory retention techniques to enhance her abilities.

Mara also had a keen danger sense that gave her warning of imminent danger and saved her life on numerous occasions. After years of training and battle, Mara's skills with both the Force and lightsaber were exceptional. Even Luke relied on Mara's danger sense more than his own, hers having been honed in the years she required it to survive as an Imperial agent. As the Emperor's Hand she was able to hear his voice through the Force&mdash;just prior to her marriage with Luke, she discovered that they had gained a similar telepathic ability. By the time of her ascension to Jedi Master, Mara also perfected several difficult Force techniques like Force levitation. She became a powerful Jedi Master in the New Jedi Order. This was evident during the Yuuzhan Vong War when she successfully used the Force to keep her disease from attacking Ben inside of her womb.

Mara's ships


Prior to gaining her own ship, Mara used a personal Z-95 Headhunter when circumstances required her to go off on her own. During her first days as a Jedi, she used Shrike, loaned by Talon Karrde. Mara lost her first space ship, a craft known as the Jade's Fire, when she remotely steered it into a Chiss fortress on Nirauan. She later owned other ships: the Hunter's Luck,  the Jade Sabre, and the Jade Shadow.

Behind the scenes


The character of Mara Jade was developed by author Timothy Zahn, and debuted in the novel Heir to the Empire. She quickly became one of the most famous characters of the Expanded Universe.

Mara Jade has been portrayed by several women. The most well-known is model Shannon McRandle (formerly Shannon Baksa), in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. Since then McRandle's likeness has been on several products that depict Mara. During the days preceding the DVD release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, it was frequently speculated that McRandle might appear in the movie as Mara Jade's alias Arica in Jabba's palace, but this did not in fact occur. In the Return of the Jedi radio drama, C-3PO speaks with Arica, voiced by Samantha Bennett. In Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Mara Jade was voiced by Heidi Shannon; by Edie Mirman in Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi, and by Kath Soucie in Star Wars: Empire at War.

During a Hyperspace celebrity chat, Mark Hamill voiced his support of the Mara Jade character and the general direction post-Return of the Jedi fiction has taken Luke Skywalker's story.

During the Darth Vader campaign in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, you can discover Mara Jade through cheats in many of the missions. She lurks on the edge of the map, and when discovered, is only there for a moment before walking offscreen. She is also available as a unit if you create a map using the scenario editor. Mara Jade is also the narrator of that campaign.

Mari Amithest, a character from Attack of the Clones, was so named as an homage to Mara Jade. ("Amithest" being derived from "amethyst", a translucent violet gemstone, just as "Jade" is a translucent green gemstone).