I read this for the first time on (I believe) the jedi council forums about a million years ago. And they're still wonderful. So glad I remembered this and ran into it again.

Well it’s good that he recognized it early on... this outta be good

Wow. I have yet to see the Dynamic between Luke and Mara, especially in a pre-VOTF fic, done so well.

X-D for Luke and twins!

Good part where Luke refuses to overuse the Force, something he forgot in the books

Really liked the conversation with Vader, preferable over Episode III

Interesting perspective on Padme for Vader. Usually he still pines for her, but you show him here as one who has rejected that part of his life :-)

Necessary part where being with Palpatine breaks down the doubts Mara was developing after being in the cell. However briefly

LOL for Han addressing the issue of the droids flying his ship before

Good detail where Luke points out that her training was carefully directed by Palpatine, and thus limited. Also appreciated the elaboration on Yoda's infamous line

Good work here on Mara's POV, and also sound reasoning for why Luke figures out the deception

Would of been cool if they had given in and done it down in the dirt and enjoyed what happiness they could have even down there. With just each other to get by. Probably would of been a good chance for some character growth.

OMG! SOSOSOSOSOOOOOO GOOD! CANNOT W8 2 KEEP READING!

A lovely story well worth the read. I love ALL of your stories. You are a most accomplished writer, and I always enjoy the adventures you take us readers on. I hope you keep writing, because I cannot wait to see what you come up with next.

"I want a souvenir!" LOL, I love that! And Luke telling Mara she was still in charge! Love it!

I am thoroughly enjoying this, I must say. I love the banter between Mara and Luke. Can't wait to continue. :)

I love the last couple of sentences. Ties the title of the stories and theme together perfectly. You have a remarkable talent with words!

Ha ha ha she's female! Sounds just like Lando! Of course she is also beautiful, if a little disheveled and dirty right now. He will have to shove his eyes back in his head when he sees her later! And Luke guiding Chewie to their location, thought you needed a force bond to to that. Or is it just that Luke is much more powerful than most?

Well technically, he didn't kill her. Remember the med droids saying for reasons they couldn't understand they were losing her? She just lost the will to live. That was Anakin's fault, so if he "killed" her, it was by breaking her heart, not because of the violence on her person. Of course he would have had no way of knowing that, even in the movie...and Palpatine did tell him he had killed her. Whether Palpatine knew the truth or not doesn't matter...it's not like he was above lying; and having Anakin think he was physically responsible for Padme's death served his purpose very well indeed!
I really like the way you are portraying Mara, under these very different circumstances. Very believable. And, Luke is a believable mix of idealism, honor, and a lingering naïveté mixed with a touch more maturity. Great story!
Are you still writing fanfiction at all? I hope so. You are on my list of favorites and I am "following" you just in case. We are probably close to the same age, or I am older. My husband and I were on a date when the first movie, ANH was released in the theaters. What an epic experience!