Where It All Started

Title Where It All Started
Rating PG-13

She knew something was wrong. She'd known all day that something bad was coming - there had been one of those little tickles in the back of her brain which made Papa frown every time she mentioned them. He'd told her it was all in her head and she'd giggled at that, of course it was in her head - where else would her brain be? Papa had laughed warmly when she said that and told her if she were ever to feel anything like that again then she shouldn't tell anyone but him. It would be their little secret. A game.

She liked playing games with Papa, sometimes he would swing her so high into the air that it felt as if she was flying. She was never scared though - she always knew Papa would catch her no matter what. So why was she afraid now? Why was a tiny voice crying out that he couldn't catch her this time?

She ran through the streets, not waiting at the schoolhouse gates for Aneela the way Papa told her to. ‘The streets are no place for a girl like you to roam alone' he said and made her promise never to leave the house without him or Aneela to keep her company. She remembered the look on his face when she'd pointed out there were more troopers than ever in the streets - surely she would be safe with them? He had frowned and waited for her promise. She much preferred it when he was with her, she didn't like Aneela very much but Papa was so happy with his new wife, so she didn't say anything. She liked to see Papa smile.

Now those same troopers Papa hadn't believed could protect her were blocking her way, their speeders were parked across the road and the warning tickle in the back of her brain became a stabbing pain as she heard a voice cry out in pain - Papa!

She tried to push her way past the troopers, but they were too strong, too big. She shouted at them, trying to get them to hear her, but they just held their rifles out and refused to move. She looked around, trying to see some way through, but they were like a solid wall, no spaces, nowhere to get through. Except... there! One of the troopers was glancing over his shoulder, back towards the house and the source of the screams. As he turned his head he moved a little - it wasn't much but it might be just enough to let her through. Yes! She made it - and more importantly she hadn't been spotted. She didn't stop to think about that - about how she was always able to go unnoticed whenever she didn't want to be seen. It wasn't important right now.

Another cry from ahead, and she was moving at a run, trying to get to Papa, to stop whatever it was that was making him scream. She could see him now and she skidded to a stop, her eyes widening as she took in the scene. From the screams she'd heard she'd expected to find him fighting a rancor or some other monster from the tales he used to read with her. She didn't expect to see him on his knees in the centre of Aneela's flower bed staring at the old man before him in horror.

The old man in a long black robe didn't seem so scary but Papa looked terrified. She called out and both men turned to look at her - Papa shook his head quickly and started to shout to her but no sound came. He clutched at his throat and she watched in horror as his face grew red and his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. What was happening to Papa? There was a sudden loud crack and, as she stared, Papa's eyes rolled back in his head until all she could see was white and he slumped to the ground.

She ran forward once more and threw herself to the ground beside Papa, not caring that Aneela's flower bed was ruined. All she cared about was the fact that Papa wasn't moving and she couldn't *feel* him anymore. It was as if a part of her had been torn away and she was empty inside. She cradled his head in her lap. He was dead, she knew that, and the robed man standing over her had killed him without touching him while the troopers stood guard.

Anger welled up in her and she stood slowly to face her father's killer. She glared at him, feeling dead inside. When she met his eyes she felt a chill go through her, it was like staring into the eyes of a wraith.
"Such rage. You could go a long way with that my child." His voice rasped and she couldn't stop the shudder. He cackled a laugh at that and she thought she'd never heard anything so horrid in all her life. "What's your name child?"

She stuck her chin out defiantly and kept staring, she wouldn't tell him anything. The evil smile on his face dropped and his eyes flashed with rage. ‘Your name. Tell me what it is.'

She frowned, his mouth hadn't moved but she'd heard him clear as day - how was that possible? Was he... had he spoken to her inside her own mind? She shook her head firmly, both to dispel that thought and as a further refusal to him, and kept glaring at him.

Suddenly he cackled again, clearly he wasn't used to people denying him anything and he was amused. "Such green eyes, like jade." He spoke aloud this time, maybe she'd just imagined his voice echoing in her mind. "Perhaps that's your name. Little Jade."

"Forgive me my lord, if I may?" She whirled at the new voice. Aneela! Her father's wife was standing behind her looking strangely different. Gone were the flowing white gowns she always wore, instead she was wearing a sharply tailored grey suit which made her look like a soldier. Suddenly everything was clear - Aneela was a spy! She had manoeuvred her way into Papa's life to... she frowned. Why? What did Papa have that this man would want?

"Her name is Mara, my lord." Aneela continued. "She's the subject of the report I filed. She fits the profile. She's a Force adept."

A wordless scream escaped Mara and the small girl threw herself at the woman who had betrayed her and Papa. She clawed at the woman's face - how could she have done this? Papa took her in, loved her, and she led this man here to kill him? Aneela threw her arms up to protect her face from the girl's nails and teeth. Mara was fighting like a wounded cat, Papa was dead, the man who was somehow able to speak inside her head was responsible but right now all she could do was lash out at the liar who had shared her home for the past year.

She wished it was Aneela who was dead instead of Papa, she pictured it in her mind and saw the image of the woman lying motionless in her own ravaged garden so clearly that she thought for a moment that it was real. Aneela gasped suddenly and began clutching at her throat, struggling to breathe, just like Papa had. Mara fell back, it was like watching her imagination turn into reality. It was only when the woman collapsed to the ground next to Papa that Mara broke free of the paralysis that had overcome her the moment Aneela had first gasped for breath. "No!" She couldn't let this woman near Papa again - no matter what, not even in death.

As soon as the word escaped her lips Aneela took a huge rasping breath and struggled to her feet before doubling over as a series of hacking coughs tore through her. That horrid cackling laugh came again and Mara turned to see the robed man applauding her. As he approached her Mara felt all of her defiance fade and abruptly all she could feel was a terrible coldness and all she could hear was a voice inside her mind.
‘Very good. Do you see now what you could be? You will be my greatest creation, my secret weapon. My Hand.