Natural Enemies

Summary: After a brief meeting as children, Galen Marek and Mara Jade next come face-to-face as secret apprentice and Emperor's Hand… and find a part of themselves that they never knew existed.

Disclaimer: Really, really, really not mine.

-

Even at their first meeting, things weren't simple. 'Simple' wasn't a word that had ever been able to describe either of them.

By this point- age eleven- Galen was only 'Galen' in his head. His master addressed him with variations of "my apprentice"; to PROXY, he was the master. The precious few others he came into contact with knew him only as Starkiller.

Galen knew he wasn't supposed to be snooping around the Star Destroyer. He was only here because Vader had been summoned by the Emperor and had had no choice but to go immediately to his side. The Sith lord had been none too happy that he couldn't leave his young apprentice behind, and had given Galen strict orders to stay on their ship. But it was the middle of the sleep cycle, and he had been careful- he'd sensed no life-forms in the vicinity. The small hanger bay held only the Lambda-class shuttle they'd arrived on, which no one would dare disturb.

Galen had been wandering around for a few minutes when he sensed something ahead of him- a strong presence in the Force; different from the sense he had of his master- brighter, somehow, less threatening. Galen had no idea who or what he had detected, but at this point he didn't much care. Self-preservation instincts had kicked in- he was just beginning to slowly back away when the little girl came around the corner.

She was young, no more than five standard years old. She wore a plain, loose-fitting tunic that seemed somehow to contrast with her brilliant red hair.

She was undoubtedly the one he had sensed- but why would so small a child feel this significant in the Force?

Galen was unarmed- his master didn't trust him yet to carry his own lightsaber- but crouched into a ready stance nonetheless, eyeing the child warily.

She's some kind of test, maybe, he thought. Some kind of child assassin from a planet where they mature incredibly quickly. Vader knew I'd leave the ship, and was just waiting to spring her on me.

This thought was quickly followed by another. If she's not a test, he might not find out I've disobeyed him.

"Who are you?" Galen asked, not relaxing his stance. She's pretty small, I could probably Force-push her out of the way if she turns out to be a threat. Although given what he'd sensed of her, he wondered if she wasn't a Force-user herself. Hadn't he been about her age when Vader had begun his training?

The child was looking at him with as much distrust as he felt. "You're not supposed to be here," she declared.

She was sure of that, it seemed. So it followed that she, in turn, either was supposed to be here, or, far more likely…

"Neither are you," he guessed.

A sharp fear shone in her eyes as she worked out what having a witness to her presence might mean. "I'll get in trouble!" she realized.

Galen tried not to feel sorry for her, but seeing a girl this young feel so afraid… of what? His master might want him to find out… but Vader couldn't know that he was here. If he found out that Galen had defied his orders…

Suddenly, he knew exactly how the little girl felt.

"So will I," Galen said, feeling a sick wave of dread as he imagined how his master would punish him for this infraction.

The girl looked like she was fighting back tears.

And Galen realized how he could save her, as well as himself. It involved violating another direct order- there must never be any witnesses- but hopefully it would set everything right.

"We never saw each other," he said urgently. "You go back to wherever you're supposed to be, and so will I. This never happened. Okay?"

She nodded eagerly, turning and scampering off the way she'd come.

Galen stood there for a moment, wondering why he felt sorry that they hadn't said goodbye.

Then, shaking the thought off, he headed back to his master's shuttle.

-

By the time the two met again, they'd established themselves. No longer children sneaking through corridors, they were well on their way to gaining their respective masters' trust and respect- or whatever emotions the Sith lords had to give in place of them.

For the Emperor's Hand, it was a simple assignment- another being, this one a traitor to the Empire, for her to kill. Her master had tracked her target to the world of Yurgot VIII. It would be an easy mark for her to carry out.

And for Vader's secret apprentice, the mission was routine as well. His master had many foes and it would not be the first time Galen had been sent to kill one.

She is a threat to us, Vader told him. And must be eliminated. She goes to Yurgot on a mission of her own- allow her to carry it out or not, it matters little. Kill her. Leave no witnesses.

Even if Galen had known what it was he was agreeing to, he could have answered no other way. It will be done, my Lord.

After he'd reached the planet, Galen tracked his quarry. Vader had given him no name and little information, but that was all right. Galen had carried out successful missions before with less to work with.

Galen pursued his mark across a savannah dotted with large grazing creatures to a small village. Its inhabitants were naturally distrustful of strangers and refused to speak to him. From this, he could extrapolate that the one he sought was not there- unless a preexisting arrangement had been made with the villagers, which he thought unlikely.

So he reached out with the Force. For a brief moment he sensed a definite presence- which was almost immediately closed off until he could barely sense it at all.

No matter- that had been enough. Enough for Galen to find her, and enough to determine that she had been Force-trained. He wondered why his master hadn't told him about this last. Either Vader himself hadn't known, or this was another test- and his master was very fond of testing him.

Galen followed a small trail out of the village. It sloped down and led him to the bottom of a gorge, where he found a young woman with vibrant red hair crouched over the dead body of a Yurgon.

He didn't think he'd given any sign as to his presence, but as he approached she stood, turning to face him.

She still seemed so young- if she'd been five the last time they met, she'd be fifteen now. Her hair was longer than it had been, and instead of tunics she wore a blue unisuit.

They regarded each other in suspicious silence for a moment. Finally, Galen cracked a small grin.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello," she replied guardedly.

"Looks like you handled him pretty well," Galen observed, gesturing towards the Yurgon.

"Wasn't difficult," she said with a toss of her hair.

Silence reigned again for a brief moment.

"Who are you?" asked the girl.

"Don't you remember?" Galen asked. He'd never quite forgotten her- he'd long wondered exactly who she was.

"Ah yes," she said with a growing smile. "The halls of an Imperial Star Destroyer, and neither one of us was supposed to be there."

"That's right," he said, finding himself returning her smile.

"I'm Mara."

He hesitated. "They call me Starkiller."

Mara raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? And your name?"

"Classified," he said immediately. Then he wondered why. It doesn't matter, since I am supposed to be killing her…

She seemed to accept this. "You work for the Empire?"

He nodded, though the fact was technically untrue. "As do you," Galen said.

He wasn't too surprised that Vader had sent him to kill an Imperial agent- he'd done it before. His master had many enemies within the Empire.

Mara inclined her head in agreement. "Why are you here?"

He didn't want to lie. "I was sent to… eliminate a threat."

She grinned. "Ah. Well, I took care of him."

She thought he was talking about the Yurgon, Galen realized with a pang. "I… can see that."

Suddenly, a warning from the Force. He ignited his lightsaber just in time to deflect the blaster fire that rained down on them from the top of the gorge, where a group of six Yurgons stood. Beside him, Mara was doing the same with a lightsaber of her own. The blade was crimson, only slightly darker than Galen's.

An agent of the Empire wielding a lightsaber? he thought as he continued deflecting blaster bolts. Who is she?

Galen was attempting to deflect the bolts back at the shooters. So was Mara. Only two Yurgons had fallen, though- the armor they were wearing was proving pretty effective. He needed a new strategy.

The top of the gorge was far too high to jump, even with help from the Force. He wondered, though…

Using the Force, Galen seized one of the Yurgons and pulled her off the edge before dropping her entirely. Grinning now, he repeated this on the rest, until all of their foes were eliminated.

Mara looked at him with frank admiration. "You're good," she said.

"Thank you," Galen replied with a nod.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. They were unquestionably rivals now, and although Galen sensed that Mara was as unwilling as he was to be so, neither of them had powered down their 'sabers.

Galen made the first move, shutting off his lightsaber and returning it to his belt. There are plenty of other ways to kill a being, after all, he told himself. That thought sent a queer feeling through him, and Galen realized that he truly didn't want to kill the girl.

It must be because she's so young, he thought. Or perhaps it was the thought of the disturbance in the Force her passing would cause. Mara was no longer shielding tightly- while they'd been fighting Galen had clearly been able to sense her in the Force. His sense of her when they'd met years before had been like a floodlight- a strong, bright, uncontrollable power. Now she put him in mind of a lightsaber- bright and deadly, but carefully controlled, focused.

Mara extinguished her 'saber as well, but kept it in hand. "So who are you?" she asked.

"I should ask you the same," Galen said.

"Are you-" she began hesitantly. "That is- he's said things that implied there were others. I never believed him, but…"

"Oh…" Galen realized. Of course. He'd been an idiot, thinking he was the only one. For thousands of years the Sith had kept to the Rule of Two, but obviously Vader had no qualms with breaking it. Force, how foolish had he been to assume that his master was training just one apprentice? Of course he'd have more, in case Galen failed him.

"You serve him too," Galen stated.

She nodded.

His mind raced. Vader had sent him here to kill Mara. Was this the ultimate test? Was Vader pitting his two apprentices against each other to see who was strongest?

"This is a set-up," he said.

She nodded. "Of course. Sending us to the same place on purpose… he must have wanted us to figure this out."

"But… you were sent on a routine mission?" Galen asked, gesturing towards the Yurgon she'd killed.

"Yeah," she said, confused. "Why'd he send you here?"

She is a threat to us, his master had said. A threat to us…

Galen smiled grimly. Vader had already made his decision. He had chosen Galen.

"He sent me here to kill you," he said.

Mara's eyes widened. She ignited her lightsaber- Galen, having sensed her intent, was only a fraction of a second behind.

She didn't attack right away. Galen wondered why- that split second would have been enough to give her the advantage. Could it be that she was reluctant, as well?

"Then I'll just have to kill you first," she said, eyes gleaming.

"No," he shook his head. "He wants me to win. I have the advantage- I'm older, stronger. You've been left in the dark."

Mara laughed, mockingly. "You honestly think he cares whether it's you or I who serve him? He doesn't. All he cares about is that the more powerful survives."

Galen was still somewhat reluctant to harm her. "Are we going to play his game, then?" he asked.

"What choice do we have?" she replied. "Our lives are on the line."

"We could band together," Galen suggested.

"And do what? Overthrow him?" she scoffed.

"You're right," Galen admitted. "Even if we could defeat Vader, the Emperor would never allow us both to live… what?"

Mara had paled. She'd been holding her 'saber aloft in a ready stance, but now her posture drooped. "You work for Vader?"

He had a really bad feeling about this. "I'm his apprentice."

Her eyes blazed. "I'm the Emperor's Hand."

The Emperor's what? Galen wondered, but he was jerked from his thoughts as he felt a disturbance in the Force. Instinctively he turned to Mara, who nodded and placed a finger to her lips. She powered down her lightsaber, and Galen did the same, ears straining.

Sure enough, there was a faint rumbling in the distance. As they listened, it grew louder.

"It's a stampede," Mara realized.

"You mean- those creatures out on the grasslands?"

She nodded, and Galen swore. Those things were big.

"Come on," he said, turning towards the trail.

Mara, however, had turned the other way.

"Where are you going?"

"There's a way up further down," she said, pointing. "My ship's right there."

Galen shook his head. "This is closer. I'll comm my pilot, he can have the ship here in ten minutes!"

"And then what?" she asked. They were having to shout now in order to be heard over the noise.

Immediately he realized what she was thinking. If they went their separate ways…

Then nobody has to kill anyone.

He started. That hadn't been his thought.

"It's better this way!" she insisted.

Galen nodded. "You're right." The rumbling was almost too loud for speech, and the ground shook beneath them. Several rocks tumbled off the edge of the gorge.

"Not a word more of this than we have to!" he said. "We only tell our masters as much as they'll be satisfied with!"

Mara nodded, grinning.

Still looking out for me?

He smiled, indicated the trail. It was far too loud to be heard now. Mara waved him on.

Galen hoped she'd be careful.

May the Force be with you, he thought at her.

She nodded once, then set off at a sprint down the gorge.

Galen hiked up the trail, then transmitted the extraction code back to the Rogue Shadow. Ten minutes later the ship was overhead, and Galen took a Force-assisted leap onto the boarding ramp.

He headed straight to the cockpit, standing behind the pilot's chair and scanning the landscape.

"That's odd," his pilot said. "There's another ship down there. Wonder what they're doing way out here. Should I eliminate it, sir?"

"No," Galen said, allowing himself a small smile as the ship below powered up. Mara was safe. "Let it go."

-

"You have failed me, my apprentice."

Galen was knelt before his master- or, rather, PROXY's transmission of the Sith lord. "I apologize, Master. There was a stampede, and she managed to elude me. To follow her would have put my life at great risk."

"I am uninterested in your excuses," Vader said, voice somehow colder than usual. "I had not thought that this task was beyond you."

Galen quickly locked away the hurt he felt upon hearing his master's words. "She works directly for the Emperor, Master, I did discover that."

"She does. She is his Hand- for all intents and purposes, she is to him what you are to me. I was previously aware of that." A pause, and then, "She will never again be so vulnerable. A window of opportunity has closed."

Galen's heart sank. He was in trouble.

-

"He was Vader's agent," Mara addressed the holo of her master that she was knelt before. "The fact that he attempted to kill me proves that Vader has ambitions-"

"Ambitions to destroy what he views as competition only. It proves nothing else," the Emperor responded sternly.

"Yes, Master. But the fact that Vader has an independent agent-"

"Is unsurprising. It is traditional for the Sith to rise against their Masters. I had suspected that Vader was up to something, but I did not expect such outright treachery. I will have to keep a close eye on him in the future. Now that I know of the existence of this agent…"

Mara barely dared breathe. If her master began questioning her, she would not be able to lie.

But all the Emperor said was, "You have done well. Return to Imperial Center at once."

"Yes, Master."

-

Although their physical bodies were lightyears apart in space, Mara and Galen's thoughts were on much the same path.

When we overthrow the Emperor, Vader's secret apprentice thought. I'll convince my master to spare her life. And then…

Vader can't be around forever, thought the Emperor's Hand. He is merely the shadow of a man. Perhaps he will try to overthrow the Emperor, and be defeated. Or maybe, one day… I will take his place. And then…

Contentment spread through each of them as they imagined futures in which they met again. But Galen and Mara were not idealists or romantics, and after a moment they retired these thoughts like they would treasured belongings- carefully tucking them away somewhere safe.

Both knew that it would never happen. After all, he was Vader's apprentice, and she the Emperor's Hand! One might as soon hope for reconciliation between a vornskr and an ysalamiri.

They were natural enemies.

-

End.