Mara Jade

From the personal journal of Voren Na'al, Director of New Republic Council Research. This is a confidential document, not for public dissemination.

 Mara Jade is a slim, athletic young woman, possessing the grace of a Galloan Wind Dancer and the fighting prowess of a cornered Tusken Raider. This ferocious young smuggler often radiates sheer bitterness, hatred and loss, marring her beauty.

A black, bitter hatred fills Mara's soul. It is directed at Luke Skywalker, the man she credits with destroying her life. Behind the anger rests a deep, lingering pain. Both her anger and her pain stem from the same source — the day in Jabba the Hutt's palace when she stood silently and watched as Luke Skywalker destroyed her life. For Mara Jade once served Emperor Palpatine, and her failure to her master led to his destruction.

At the height of her career, Luke Skywalker emerged from a grubby, sixth-rate farm on a tenth-rate planet to destroy her life. The Emperor had sent her to Tatooine, for he knew that Skywalker would attempt to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Mara went undercover as a dancer in the crime lord's court and waited. If she had been allowed to go on the sail barge with the rest of Jabba's court, Luke's vision would have been history instead of one possible past. But Jabba had refused to take her, and no amount of begging, cajoling or bargaining on her part would change his mind.

Mara Jade had been the Emperor's Hand. That was her code name in his inner court. She served him throughout the galaxy as an extension of his own dark will. She took on the jobs the Imperial Fleet and stormtroopers could not handle. Her one great talent was that she could hear the Emperor's call no matter where she was, and she could report back to him in the same way. She exposed traitors, brought down enemies, and helped control the mindless bureaucracies through subterfuge and violence. Jade even had rudimentary Force abilities, taught to her by the Emperor. Mara had prestige, power, respect and purpose. She lost it all when the Emperor died. For that, she has vowed to kill Luke Skywalker.

For the first year after the Emperor's demise, Mara dreamed of Luke's death almost every night. She dreamed about it, plotted ways to accomplish it. She outlined a thousand different scenarios, looking for a method that would bring her the most satisfaction — and him the most pain. This obsession has been the one cloud on her judgment, her only permanent companion. She knows his death won't bring her old life back, but she feels it is something she has to do — for herself, and for the memory of her master.

After Endor, Mara could not go to the remnants of the Imperial forces. First, the Empire was dying, and she wanted no part of that particular funeral. Second, none of those who remained knew her, at least not as the Emperor's Hand. She had been a shadow, working outside the normal lines of command and protocol. There were no records kept of her activities and no rank insignia she could show. Those few who had been introduced to her saw her as a minor bit of mobile decoration kept around the palace to amuse the Emperor. She had no contacts, no resources and no identity. So she spent four-and-a-half years sloshing around the rotten under side of the galaxy, doing whatever she could to survive. She eventually joined Karrde, working hard to get to her current station. But the bitterness and hatred remains.

The Empire had placed a bounty on Karrde's head because he helped Luke Skywalker escape on Myrkr. The bounty extended to the other key members of Karrde's organization, including Mara.

In the face of imminent capture by an Imperial Star Destroyer, she decided to play an old card. She sent a message to Grand Admiral Thrawn. It was the old recognition code that she had carried in her memory— Hapspir, Barrini, Corbolan, Triaxis; the Emperor's Hand has returned. She quickly told Thrawn that they had met at his secret promotion to Grand Admiral. She had been introduced as the Emperor's favorite dancer, Lianna. She explained that she stayed away for five years because there was nothing in the Empire for her — at least not until the return of a Grand Admiral. She made a deal to have the Empire lift Karrde's death mark in exchange for the Katana fleet.

Thrawn, of course, decided to change the deal to his own advantage. He followed her back to Karrde's base and captured the smuggler chief. Now came the hard part for Mara, for she wasn't the kind who gave her loyalty easily. And her loyalty, for the time being, was to Talon Karrde. She even tried to use the Force to kill Thrawn, but her powers were not that great, her control not that complete. For her trouble, he promised to deliver her to Joruus C'baoth for proper training. This only served to enforce her previous conclusion: the Empire she had once served proudly was gone forever.

Mara Jade had other resources to call upon. As Emperor's Hand, she knew about the private back door the Emperor had installed in the main computers of every Star Destroyer in the fleet. She could not be locked out of one of the Emperor's ships. She discovered the location of Karrde's cell aboard the Chimaera, then went in search of Luke Skywalker. She would ask the man she hated above all else to help her, because only he could. What surprised her was that he readily agreed, without threat or force or coercion.

Mara was injured in the battle to possess the Katana fleet. It was only the actions of Jedi Skywalker that saved her from death. Judging from her comments, she considered death infinitely preferable to being saved by Luke. Despite Skywalker's efforts, Mara spent nearly a month unconscious and in recovery in the medical wing of the Imperial Palace. Welcomed into the Imperial Palace because of her actions in the battle, Mara began plotting her return to Talon Karrde's organization almost immediately.

Unfortunately, her reunion with the smuggler was delayed: an Imperial Intelligence team had infiltrated the Palace and was attempting to kidnap Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa Solo's children. It was during this attack that some of Mara's peculiar Force skills became evident. She was able to detect the attack before it happened, and was able to "mentally project" her thoughts to Organa Solo. Mara's actions apparently saved the day, and the Intelligence team was stopped.

Unfortunately for Jade, the team leader, an Imperial major named Himron, identified Mara as their contact inside the Palace. While this accusation was false — Himron was simply planting disinformation to confuse the New Republic — Palace Security felt that there was no choice except to confine Mara until a full inquiry could be carried out.

Realizing finally that "her" Empire was dead, and that Thrawn's Empire was not the Empire she desired to serve. Jade was rescued from confinement by Han Solo and Lando Calrissian after she offered to help them find Thrawn's hidden cloning facility. While Mara did not know the exact location, she had previously visited the Emperor's storehouse and eventually led the New Republic's heroes to the Mount Tantiss installation.

At Mount Tantiss, Jade and Skywalker confronted the menace of Joruus C'baoth, who claimed that both Mara and Luke would kneel before him. A fierce battle ensued, and with the combined efforts of Luke, Leia, Han, Karrde and Mara, C'baoth was slain. Mara Jade has since decided to train in the Force under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker, though she is still troubled by visions of the Emperor. After the battle at Mount Tantiss, Skywalker gave Mara his father's lightsaber, recovered from the rubble of the storehouse.

⊕ Mara Jade (as of the battle at Sluis Van)
Type: Merc
DEXTERITY 3D+2
Blaster 9D+1, blaster: hold-out blaster 10D+2, brawling parry 7D+2, dodge 8D+2, melee combat 8D+1, melee parry 7D+2, missile weapons 6D+2, pick pocket 8D+2, running 6D+2, thrown weapons 6D+2
KNOWLEDGE 2D+2
Alien species 8D+2, bureaucracy 7D+2, business 5D+2, intimidation 7D+2, languages 8D+2, planetary systems 5D+2, streetwise 6D, streetwise: Talon Karrde's organization 7D+2, survival 7D, value 4D+2, willpower 6D+2
MECHANICAL 2D+2
Astrogation8D+2, beast riding5D+2, communications 6D+2, ground vehicle operation 6D+2, repulsorlift operation 5D+2, sensors 5D+2, space transports 9D+2, starfighter piloting 9D+2, starship gunnery 9D+2, starship shields 8D, swoop operation 7D+2
PERCEPTION 2D+1
Bargain 5D+1, command 7D+1, con 6D+1, gambling 4D+1, hide 8D+1, investigation 4D+1, persuasion 5D+1, search 7D+1, sneak 8D+1
STRENGTH 3D+2
Brawling 6D+2, climbing/jumping 7D+2, lifting 5D+2, stamina 8D+2, swimming 6D+2
TECHNICAL 3D
Blaster repair 6D, computer programming/repair 7D, demolitions 4D, droid programming 3D+2, droid repair 3D+2, first aid 5D, ground vehicle repair 6D, repulsorlift repair 5D, security 8D, starship repair 6D+1, starship weapon repair 5D+1
Special Abilities:
Force skills: Control 2D, sense 2D+2, alter 1D+1
Force powers (these are only powers which Mara has demonstrated
to this point):
• Control: Absorb/dissipate energy, accelerate healing, control pain, emptiness, enhance attribute, hibernation trance, remain conscious, resist stun
• Sense: Danger sense, life detection, life sense, magnify senses, receptive telepathy, sense force
• Alter: Injure/kill, telekinesis
• Control and Sense: Projective telepathy
• Control and Alter: Inflict pain
• Control, Sense and Alter: Telekinetic kill
This character is Force-sensitive.
Force Points: 4
Dark Side Points: 5
Character Points: 37
Equipment: Hold-out blaster (3D), comlink


⊕ (as of the battle for the Katana fleet)
Force Points: 4
Dark Side Points: 5
Character Points: 21


⊕ Mara Jade (as of the attack on Mount Tantiss)
Lightsaber 4D+2
Willpower 7D
Persuasion 5D+2
Special Abilities:
Force Skills: Control 2D+2, sense 2D+2, alter 1D+2
Force Points: 4
Dark Side Points: 4
Character Points: 20
Equipment: Hold-out blaster (3D), comlink, lightsaber (5D)