When she reached Palpatine’s rooms, Mara slipped inside with a slight swaying of her graceful hips, for the benefit of an advisor who was waiting at the Emperor’s door. She saw a spark of outrage in the advisor’s eyes, that he should wait even longer while the Emperor dallied, and then she was inside. Palpatine’s rooms were sparsely decorated, and despite being well lit, had a sense of shadowiness to them.
“Come, Mara Jade,” said Palpatine from a side chamber. She found him in a tiny gallery of Jedi artifacts and lightsabers, each one representing a vanquished foe. “I have a mission for you, one well suited to your talents.” She stood very close to him, and he placed a fatherly hand on her red-gold hair. In a sense, he was her father. Mara’s parents had died when she was very young, and she remembered very little of them. Palpatine had brought her to Coruscant, and she had grown up there, thinking of the Emperor as her father figure, despite their infrequent contact. When she came of age, he had revealed his special plans for her, and she had been overjoyed. She had experienced a rocky start as his assassin, but her many successes won so much praise from him that they had eventually formed a strong working relationship. Ever since then, it had been her pride to serve as his agent, rooting out his evil enemies and bringing an end to their schemes. And now, here was another chance to do just that.
“What do you need me to do?” she asked eagerly.
“I have told you of how Lord Vader secretly proposed an alliance with the young Jedi, Luke Skywalker. Despite Vader’s poor judgment, I desire to retain him as my servant. Therefore, temptation must be removed from his path. Vader must not see my hand in this…that is why I have chosen you, my faithful assassin. The Jedi must die, because alone, Vader will not dare to assert his independence, and matters will return to normal. But there is another more important reason for your assignment. I have told you of my visions concerning Skywalker,” Palpatine said quietly. “You know that I believe I will face him, and that there is some…uncertainty surrounding the outcome. I fear that the Force itself conspires against me. But you and I, my dear Mara Jade, you and I will cheat fate. We will deny destiny. Skywalker will never trouble me if he dies at your hands.
“I have intelligence that Skywalker is going to Tatooine to rescue his friend, the Corellian, from the local Hutt crime lord. You will take full advantage of this knowledge, and find him on Tatooine. There you will see that our young Jedi meets a premature death.” He smiled at her warmly, conspiratorially. “I leave the details to your capable mind.”
Mara Jade was filled with feelings of determination, pride, and anger towards Skywalker. Anger that such a young terrorist could give the slightest vexation to her beloved Emperor, let alone threaten him. “As you command,” she said with conviction, “so shall it be done.”
Mara had traveled to that forsaken dustball and infiltrated the grotesque slug’s “Palace” as a dancer named Arica. How it had disgusted her to perform for that drooling monstrosity! But apparently her lithe figure and shining hair had delighted the Hutt from the moment he saw her. It was degrading, but it was a good cover. She had waited, biding her time among the sick menagerie that thronged the Hutt’s fortress. Then, finally, a few days later, Skywalker had shown up, walking into the Palace with arrogant self-confidence. Mara had almost been able to take a shot at him, but she had been stopped by Jabba’s employee, Melina Carniss. Carniss had suspected her of wanting to kill Jabba! As if she would have wasted her time on such filth. Mara had escaped Carniss, but by that time, Skywalker had already killed Jabba’s pet monster and earned the Hutt’s personal hatred. The Jedi was to be executed at something called the Pit of Carkoon. Suddenly everything was spinning out of control. She had deduced that Skywalker must have a hidden lightsaber, and that the bloated Hutt might not be able to overcome the Jedi. She was sure that unless she came along to make sure Skywalker died, he would escape.
So she had asked to go with Jabba on the sail barge. But somehow, Jabba had an inkling of her true motives. Wanting Skywalker for himself, he had dismissed her without explanation. She had even tried to use her Force skills on him, to no avail. And so, the sail barge and its prisoners had left without her. A day later, Bib Fortuna had made his way back to the Palace, the only survivor of what was to him an astonishing debacle. Jabba was dead, Boba Fett as well, and the Jedi had escaped. Mara had been consumed by a helpless rage. Fortuna, already busy with his bid to take over the organization, did not even notice when she left.