DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc, 20th Century Fox, Timothy Zahn, Barbara Hambly, YKW and the other writers of the expanded Star Wars Universe. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
True to their plan, Luke and Mara left Yavin IV by the next day, and did exactly as they intended--they visited the galaxy.
Vaiya absorbed languages. It seemed to be her knack. She could understand Chewbacca perfectly by the age of six, and even imitate some of his noises. By the age of ten, Luke began her lightsaber training, letting her use Callista's lightsaber, like Mara wanted. But when puberty hit her at 13, she was ready to get off the Jaded Sky and get as far away from her mother and father as she could. She temporarily lost control of her ability to lift objects and there were a few incidents that some spaceports had to record in their logs of unusual phenomenon. Vaiya always apologized, but how could Luke and Mara punish a child who was locked up with them in a ship in the deep of space? What were they going to do-- ground her?
Vaiya had charm and grace. She had her father's innocent looks and her mother's guile. But if anyone were to ask her parents which one she was most like, the response was always, "Luke." She had a restlessness about her that sometimes scared the Jedi Master. He didn't want her running off and trying to blow up and Star Destroyers. But he also knew what it was like to be forced to stay in one place and desperately desire to be in another because of a parental figure who thought they were doing the best thing for the child.
They stopped at Yavin IV and Courscant regularly. Vaiya usually clung to her Uncle Han. She always said she liked the way Uncle Han's head didn't buzz. Han doted on her, realizing that she wasn't destined to be a nutcake like most of the Jedi's he'd known. This girl wanted to live a real life in the real world. And she was her mother's daughter. In spite of the spoted past he and Mara had had, if there was anything Han felt for the ex-assassin, it was respect.
There were reliefs for Vaiya every once in a while, when Luke and Mara would help complete the training of a Jedi Knight-- new people which mostly stood in awe of the ability of one so young. It would never last, and they were few and far between in the 11 years they spent on their travels. Mara's experience as the Emperor's Hand was sometimes the only thing that kept them interested--often, she would pop out interesting information about this planet here or that moon, and want to see if it was still that way. Every once in a while, they would land into some trouble, but nothing they couldn't handle. Mara would always say, "Just because Jedi's shouldn't crave adventure doesn't mean they shouldn't have any."
Finally, when Vaiya was 14, they returned to Yavin IV, to stay. She was so happy when she found out that she wound up giving her parents too big of a Force boost of joy and slamming their heads against the hull.
The jungles of Yavin IV had always fascinated her, since the very beginning. All the sounds and the textures, the animals and the colors. If left on her own for too long, she would wander too close into the outskirts. It was usually Mara who discovered her first--her mother always seemed to know where Vaiya was, no matter what.
Then there were the Jedi Knights. There had once been a legion of them, but Mara had gotten her way and the Academy was now more of a Pre-Jedi school. There were twenty or more young men and women, mostly humanoid but sometimes interesting aliens would pop up, and Vaiya was always testing her language skills.
Until, of course, she got her first crush. She was fifteen when he arrived--not exactly attractive by regular standards, but he was charming. He had bright eyes and a wide smile, and he treated Vaiya like she was a princess. She never escaped his notice, and he never escaped his. He was the same age as the Solo twins---who were well into their twenties, with Anakin only a few years younger--and managed to charm them as well. Once or twice, Mara said something to Luke about curbing the young man's flirtation skills--half of the female body of Yavin IV were talking about him. Derrin Nighttreader from Tatooine was definitely a hit among the Jedi-Knights-to-be.
Vaiya, however, was beyond serious in her infatuation for Derrin. The fact that he father, also a native from Tatooine, prized Derrin as a great hope for the future of the Jedi Knights, didn't help the matter. Luke would smile and shake his head at Mara, telling her not to worry--Vaiya would grow out of it.
Mara knew better.
The connection the two women shared Mara credited to what had happened before Vaiya was born. Terrified that she would die and her daughter would never know her, Mara shared her memories with the pre-born child. In Vaiya's head, hidden deep somewhere, was everything about Mara Jade's life. Perhaps even things she didn't know about herself. Mara had hoped that one day Luke would help his daughter uncover them, when the time was right. But Mara had lived. What to do about Vaiya?
Fortunately, her parents were the last thing on Vaiya's mind.