Title: MOSAIC, Part One: Visions of the Past
Author: Nicole Niemiec
Email: Ahdriann@aol.com
Timeline: 3 years after Visions of the Future


PREMISE: A holocron has been recovered and brought to Callista Skywalker by her fiance,
Dayved Karrde. The holocron is the only one of its kind to be built since the formation of the
New Republic, and it is the teachings and history of the Skywalker family. When the potential
Jedi Callista holds it, an image appears and begins to tell her the tale of their heritage. It takes
place in three parts (hey, this is Star Wars, it's gotta be a trilogy or it just wouldn't be right).
Luke, Mara, Callista and some new characters are all in this one.
Part One: Visions of the Past--- Luke and Mara Skywalker have accepted and embraced their
path of life together. They are expecting a child, but the future can be a frightening thing. Mara
has visions she can't understand, and Luke is haunted by the feeling that old memories are about
to materialize once more. Will they survive what lies ahead, or will they give in to despair?
What do you think? 

MARA AND CALLISTA FANS: Where was it written that you must be at war? A Jedi is always
at peace. And since they are both Jedi (in spirit, if not in fact, yet) they can be at peace with each
other. This is a kinder, gentler version of what would happen if Callista were to come back. I
think it could be interesing. Besides, I think that Mara has a wonderful ability to be noble that
she hasn't discovered yet, and here was the best place I could think of to bring that out. But don't
worry--this isn't just a Luke and Mara story, although it starts out that way.

Warning: Spectre of the Past, Vision of the Future, Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, Planet of
Twilight and the origional Zahn trilogy spoilers. But if you're reading this story you should at
least be familiar with the events in those books.

Copyrights: I have no copywrite on the characters of this story that have appeared in any of the
movies or any pro-fiction. They all belong to George Lucas, Timothy Zahn, Barbara Hambly,
YKW and the other writers of the GFFA.  THERE IS NO MONEY BEING MADE IN THE
TELLING OF THESE TALES. My only payment is the inflation of my ego by those who tell me
how much they like it, and the loss of my pride by those who say they hate it (please be kind, but
not too kind).



PROLOGUE--HOLOCRON

     Callista Skywalker tapped her foot inpatiently against the smooth metal floor of the landing
bay. Her red hair was getting in her eyes, but she shoved it out of the way anxiously. The ship
had landed, but Dayved was taking forever in getting out of it to come and greet her.
     He finally appeared, tall and handsome in his black flight suit, his smooth silver helmet under
his arm. His warm brown eyes danced as he saw her, relishing her anxiety. "Been waiting long?"
he asked in a droll, but he didn't get much beyond that before she threw her arms around his
neck and cut off his oxygen supply.
     "Dally like that again, Dayvie," she warned, her voice husky in his ear, "and you're going to
realized how cold your bed can be."
     He laughed. "And after I brought you a present, too."
     She let go and looked up at him, her eyes--like blue-white newborn stars, Dayved had always
thought--trying not to plead with him but unable to help themselves. "Well?" she said, practically
dancing on her tip-toes. "Where is it?"
     He reached into his helmet and pulled the cube out. It was the size of his hand, with strange
markings on all sides, except for the top and bottom, which were the only giveaway that the cube
was some sort of an electrical device. "I wasn't sure," he said. "I mean, it fits the description
alright, but I'm not a Force sensitive. Only you would know."
     Now she hesitated, Dayved thought with mild annoyance. Her hands hovered a good foot
away from the device. 
     "The Skywalker Holocron," she whispered. "After all these generations...can it be?"
     "Touch it and find out," Dayved said, his voice deceptively calm. He was dying to know, too.
That thing had been locked in his ship for the last two weeks, and he'd gone through hell and
back to get it. But if it was what it truly claimed to be, all of that would be worth it. 
     So she closed her palms around it, and instantly something happened.
     He stepped away, then became afraid that Callista would instinctively react in kind and drop
it. So he reached out again and clasped her two hands--which cupped the holocron--from
underneath, holding them steady.
     For indeed, it was the holocron.
     The image that appeared on top of the cube was that of a woman. She was very beautiful,
even in the old tech image. Her hair seemed to be alive, the strawberry blond curls tangling
down her back like tentacles. And her eyes--a blue-green he hadn't seen even on the ocean
worlds of Chad. They shone out at them, but mainly on Callista.
     "Greetings," the image said, her voice rich and regal, like a woman of stately bearing. "My
name is Vaiya Jade Skywalker. I am the daughter of Jedi Masters Luke and Mara Jade
Skywalker, sister of Valery Ben Skywalker. You are Callista Skywalker, my great great great
granddaughter. How may I serve?"
     "It knows me," Callista whispered, her eyes on Dayved.
     "God preserve us, Callie," Dayved said, wanting to laugh in frustration. "Do I know that much
more about Jedi lore than you? Of course it knows you. Holocrons aren't just computers...they're
a part of the Jedi that created them."
     "Your friend is wise," said the image of Vaiya Jade Skywalker, "and is also Force strong,
although he does not know it. You are not Jedi yet," the image stated, almost casually, "but you
have much potential. How may I be of aid?"
     Callista swallowed. There was so much...."Many of the legends of the Skywalker family have
been told and retold through the centuries," Callista said respectfully. "Perhaps you could tell us
the true story of the Skywalkers. Luke Skywalker's aid in the building of the Republic is well
known, but nothing has been recorded of his and Mara Jade Skywalker's lives after their
marriage. Perhaps...you could fill in the gap history has left for our family."
     The image of Vaiya smiled. "A wise question. The past must always be understood to aid the
future. Very well, Callista Skywalker, you will learn the story of your ancestors. But it is not all
mine to tell. This Holocron is called the Skywalker Holocron for a reason. While I am its keeper,
there are the wisdoms of the other Skywalkers that are kept here. There is another to tell the tale
of my conception and birth."
     The image faded, and another appeared, this one bedecked in a vibrant green robe that
brought out her eyes, and hair as red as Callista's. She smiled at them, but it was a wry smile.
     "Greetings, Jedi-to-be," she said, her voice like a dry purr. "I see you have discovered the
Skywalker Holocron. The only Holocron to be built after the war between the Rebellion and the
Empire, as well as the only Holocron to contain the knowledge of four Jedi Masters, rather than
one." In a more humorous tone, she added, "Oh, the wonders in technology. But in reality, it took
four Skywalkers to come up with enough wisdom to take the trouble of building this Holocron.
Surely that doesn't make us an impressive family. I hope our generations have gotten smarter."
     Dayved laughed. "I like her."
     The image of Mara smiled. "Okay, you want the story. I warn you, I don't dress things up.
Picture, if you will.....me, fifty pounds overweight."


PART ONE--VISIONS OF THE PAST

1--Mara's Dream     
     As Mara got older, she realized that there were fewer things in the universe that she thought
she understood. Like this thing with her and Luke, for instance. How many years had they known
each other? How many before that had she spent hating him? And yet, all along, this had been
their destiny.
     She just didn't get it.
     Looking down with a sigh, she rubbed her protruding belly. *Only three more months to go,
little one,* she thought to herself. She smiled. They would have to pick a name soon, but nothing
seemed to work. Mara had wanted to call the baby Jade, no matter what the sex. Jade Skywalker.
It fit. She missed the use of her old name sometimes, but Mara Skywalker was such a title, such
an honorific that she had no desire to insert her old surname in between. That wasn't who she
was anymore, not really. She had changed. And she had stayed the same. She still had her
temper, her old predator instinct. She still loved to dance, and still enjoyed raking her husband
over the coals more than anything. She even loved calling him Skywalker, like she always had.
Except during the more passionate moments....
     The baby kicked. Mara let loose a small giggle, and then quickly looked around to make sure
no one had heard. Not that there was anyone around this deserted mountaintop, where she
usually did her morning meditations. She had a reputation to protect, after all. Speaking of things
that didn't change...her pride was one thing she couldn't shake, no matter what. Only Luke knew
her as she truly was, as she had truly become. To many, though, she was still Mara Jade,
smuggler, trader, ex-assassin. Ex- Emperor's Hand.
     Okay, so maybe they wouldn't call the baby Jade. Unless she had Mara's green eyes. Mara
knew that the child was a girl. She didn't need to be force sensitive. A mother just knew. Luke
had wanted to call the baby Bernadette (if it was a girl, he said, because Mara knew he deep
down wanted a son), a female derivative of his mentor and one-time teacher, Ben Kenobi. But
Mara couldn't imagine calling her child Bernie, so that was off. Beru, after Luke's aunt, also
came to mind, but that was discarded by Luke himself. The name did not seem to fit the mental
picture Luke had of his child in his head.  If it was a boy, there was little question of him being
called Ben. Mara did not even attempt to debate it.
     But this baby was going to be a girl. And this morning, Mara was determined to think of a
name.
     She sat down carefully--her belly made any sitting without a chair difficult, but Mara was in
good shape and had never needed any help, in spite of Luke's mother- henning of her since she'd
announced to him that she was pregnant.
     She laughed when she thought of the look on his face. She had seen it before, when he had
proposed to her and she had said yes. His eyes had just lit up from inside, like a child receiving a
birthday gift they had longed for their entire lives. She had never had any reason to doubt that he
loved her, but when she saw that look, it was like finding it out all over again. 
     Not that their "romance" had exactly been romantic. After all, how many couples could brag
of their kind of history? With her trapped on a planet where a band of renegade Imperials
awaited the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (or rather, his clone, as she and Luke had
discovered), he had come to her rescue, playing hero to her damsel in distress. She hadn't liked it
one bit, but after it had all ended, she knew why. She had been fighting destiny. Now that she
had accepted it, she would never understand why she had ever wanted to fight. But she had
fought so hard, and for so long. Even from the first moment she had laid eyes on Luke, in his
black Jedi garments, with that unshakable calm and tranquility that she had wanted all her life
but would never let herself have. The way he treated her, as if he knew it as well, as if he wanted
it but could not see past her hatred of him. Instead, he was reduced to playing pacifier, placating
her at every turn, giving her no reason to lose her temper or shoot off the inevitable blaster bolt
that would end his life and fulfill the Emperor's last command. No, Luke had known, somewhere
in that vast force-ability of his. She had always wanted to ask him how he had felt, being in that
position. Seeing her, knowing her in a way beyond human kinship, and yet unable to do anything
but wait, and watch. If he had been aware of the barrier, it might have driven him insane. But
apparently, there had been a barrier, because it had taken ten years for him to finally take that
last step toward her, giving her no choice but to see it, too. 
     The biggest clue, as she had come to realize in her meditations, had been when whe saved her
life during the Katana Fleet incident. Although it hadn't been the first and only clue. The first
clue had been when he'd come with her, with no suspicions or bargaining, to help her free
Karrde from that Imperial prison, after Thrawn had betrayed her. In the beginning, she dismissed
it as him realizing it was less dangerous to go with her and risk physical harm than stay with that
mad Jedi Cy'Both and eventually go insane. Then she'd dismissed it as his continuous crusade to
be the perfect Jedi Knight, and help everyone, even pity-cases like hers when she was obviously
not in control of her own feelings and didn't even know it. But later, after she had realized that
he'd saved her life *when he hadn't had to,* that he'd gone to all that trouble just to save her
because it was something he *felt* he had to do. 
     From then on, there had been no rhyme or reason in her relationship with Luke. She couldn't
see the obvious, and he wouldn't confront it. But that command in her head held her firmly in
place, at his side. After facing Cy'Both, on the roof of the Palace, when he had given her his
father's lightsaber, that should have been the moment for him to say something, *anything,* give
her a chance to crush him cold and walk away, totally free. But he didn't. He let her go as she
pleased. He knew she wasn't ready, and quite frankly, neither was he.
     She stayed close, though. Through the years, she went from tolerating him to respecting him
and then even liking him. She never let herself think about what *might be* with Skywalker,
though. It was ridiculous, she always told herself when the thought came to mind. He was
running off from this place to that, building the Academy, recruiting force-sensitives, destroying
superweapons and....falling in love with Callista.
     Mara never questioned Luke's feelings for Callista. She didn't have to. Nor did she feel
jealous. She was here and Callista was not. Whatever their relationship had really been, it was
Luke's private business. Even though she knew he would never keep it from her, she understood
about lost loves. Now she did, anyway, once she'd had a chance to look back. That day she had
come to Luke's rescue, yet again, and watched as Luke realized that his former student, Cray, had
"stepped aside" so that Callista might have life again, she realized that her heart had broken and
she had never realized it. It was just as well. She probably would have acted even stupider than
she did. Going to Yavin IV, taking him for a joyride and giving him a silly line about how she
sometimes had the urge to "see" him was not one of her better moments. And of course, there
was her little chat with Callista. She'd felt sorry for the girl, really. Losing her force powers and
all. Callista had seemed so alone at that table in the mess hall, so set apart. Mara felt for her. She
knew what that was like more than she cared to admit. And then Callista had laid that line on her
about her being "interested" in Skywalker, something Mara had shaken off, even if--for a reason
that had seemed strange at the time but made perfect sense now--it had been a slow shake. Slow
enough to make Callie suspicious that she'd hit a mark. 
     Oh, well. Water under the bridge. Luke had chased her, caught her, and let her go. It was
over. Although the fact that Callista was still out there somewhere, possibly with the idea in her
head that Luke was waiting for her, did not make Mara feel all that comfortable sometimes. In
the beginning, she had jumped at every ship she heard land, worried that it would be *the* ship,
the final moment of truth. And even though Mara knew Luke loved her, there was a little voice
inside of her that made her worry about what Luke would really do if Callista ever came back.
Mara was his wife, his very *pregnant* wife now...but that wouldn't stop him from wanting....
     Mara shut her eyes against the thought. Luke and Callista had been a strange meeting, but at
least there had been real romance there. As for her and Skywalker, well...for a while she was
tempted to think that it was all brought on by duress, the belief that they were going to die, and
that there was no reason to hesitate any longer. She had been more than willing to let him out of
the deal, not wanting him to leave her but having no desire to trap him. Mara was, at heart, a free
spirit. She knew that Luke loved that about her. She would not change to please him because she
pleased him the most as she was. She was strong, she was loyal, and she was smart. She would
not run off and get herself killed, like so many of his past loves had tired to do. She would not
coddle him or protect him from herself, but she would not shut him out. She belonged to him as
surely as he belonged to her. She had known that the very moment their souls had touched in
that chamber, trapped by sentinel droids and fighting for their lives. They were bound together
for life.
     Nothing would change it. She had every faith in that.
     The morning breeze ruffled her clothes, but Mara was only vaguely aware of it as she sunk
deeper into her meditation. Memories gave way to more pure emotions, and emotion gave way
to the buzzing hum of the energy of the Force. It sounded like a hum to her, anyway, even though
Luke said that was unlikely. The Force wasn't like a power converter or a speeder, wires didn't
conduct electricity from the tree to the rock...or the land to the ship.
     It was this memory, even though it was Luke's, that she chose to focus on. The lesson Yoda
had taught him about size not mattering, and that belief was everything. If you do not believe,
you fail. It had touched her when Luke had shared it with her. In the beginning, she thought it
was a matter of confidence, of which she had spades of throughout her life. But it wasn't the
same thing. This was a matter of faith, something she had never had much of in anything but
herself until she had been freed of the Emperor's grasp on her. It was a puzzle she wanted to
figure out, had been trying to figure out for years but had never had a trustworth y guide...who
she could tolerate for long, anyway.
     What had kept her loyal to Palpatine for so long? She had served him unquestioningly, and
had completely believed in him and in the Empire. But now she was married to his worst enemy.
Was that explained away by it just being destiny? It couldn't be...it didn't make sense. And until
she reconciled it, she had a feeling that the name of her child would remain elusively out of her
grasp. 
     Why they were connected, she didn't know. She just knew they were.
     So Mara took the lesson Luke had learned about faith in that hellish swamp of Degobah so
many years ago and let it flow over what memories she could summon of her beginning years in
the Emperor's service. She didn't know how the pieces of this puzzle fit together, but they did
somehow, and she would figure it out before her child came into the world.