The Skirmish on Kavan was a final—as well as decisive and defining—conflict that Jacen Solo faced; he would have to choose whether to remain a Jedi Knight, or become the next Dark Lord of the Sith.
Mara Jade Skywalker followed Jacen to Kavan intending to kill him for partnering himself with Lumiya and potentially endangering her son. On Kavan, Mara used her Force presence to lure Jacen into a tunnel. Jacen entered and made idle threats. Suddenly Mara cannoned out, kicking Jacen's knee. Jacen was momentarily wedged so he lashed his lightsaber shaving off the bricks on the wall. Mara dropped to dodge the lightsaber then sprinted away down the tunnel. Mara lured Jacen further into an area that had a low ceiling so it would be difficult to swing a lightsaber. She then set a trap for Jacen by placing a rusty plate on the floor and using the Force to hold up a brick archway so that when he stepped on the bricks she would be aware of how close he was to her. Jacen impatiently hurried across the plate and fell right into Mara's trap. Now fully aware of where he was, she used the Force to block Jacen's escape from either direction by bringing down the walls. Jacen was trapped by the falling mortar and ended up buried beneath it all. When the dust settled, Mara saw Jacen's hand protruding from the rubble. She could also see Jacen's bloodstained face, but she didn't reach for his hand; it was a Sith trick she had used herself. She took out her blaster and fired a shot.
Though Jacen was wounded, he was far from dead or even being ready to die. He used a devastating Force Wave to deflect the blaster shot, and rubble went flying everywhere. Mara was also caught in the eruption and hit a wall. Jacen quickly scrambled to his feet because he knew if he didn't Mara would keep coming back until he was dead. It was then that he finally understood that Mara was to be his Sith sacrifice. It was her destiny to die by his hand in order for his ascension to be complete.
Mara rushed him with both her shoto and vibroblade, despite having suffered a deep scalp cut. She leapt at him and cut him in the cheekbone and chin. Jacen retaliated with a Force Push that sent Mara into into a wall, but still she pressed on. Jacen realized he needed space to fight and that Mara was slowly boxing him in. Jacen fired his dart gun, firing four shots all of which Mara deflected with her lightsaber. He then used the Force to hurl debris at Mara but she repeatedly leapt out of the way until she was close enough to jump onto Jacen's back. They rolled and she thrust her vibroblade into his chin. Jacen waved his saber around, unable to land a decent strike in such close quarters. He was quickly losing blood, stamina, and strength and realized that in such close quarters he couldn't win. With every thrust made by Jacen, Mara used her shoto to counter.
Jacen Solo killed his aunt in order to become a Sith Lord.
They grappled, using the Force liberally, but Jacen finally managed to Force Push her off him. Jacen tried to Force jolt her spine but she deflected it. Mara tried to summon his lightsaber away from him but Jacen clung to it. Mara leapt at Jacen but he Force pushed her into a pillar. Jacen walked backward and fell into a gaping crack. Jacen felt intense pain and his lightsaber went flying. It took him a moment to get up, just enough time for Mara to get up and come at him again and plunge her shoto under his collarbone. Jacen was in more pain than he could imagine, but still he managed to summon his lightsaber to him. He was not fast enough, however, to stop Mara from crashing into him and pinning him down. Mara was about to kill Jacen with her vibroblade but was delayed when Jacen grabbed her hair and pulled her head near his lightsaber. She struggled, hacking at him with her shoto but each time was blocked by Jacen's diminishing Force powers. Her vibroblade grazed his neck but he was busy looking for one of his extra poison darts. She used all her energy and jerked back leaving him with a handful of hair. Mara arched back intending to come down onto Jacen with her vibroblade and shoto, but Jacen realized that all she was thinking about was keeping Ben safe. Jacen stared into Mara's eyes and created the illusion of Ben's face over his to distract Mara, giving him the time to ram a poison dart into her leg.
Mara gasped, and looked down at her leg as the pain set in. Her weapons dropped and convulsed, trying to understand what had just transpired. She had been poisoned, and only then did she realize the truth. Jacen admitted his Sith affiliation and he told her that it was his destiny to become a Sith Lord, one who could bring order to the galaxy. Mara stated that Jacen was like Palpatine, just as cruel, manipulative, and dangerous. Her final words were clear when she told him that Luke would defeat him and bring an end to his evil intentions. Finally, she died a slow and painless death. Mara Jade Skywalker and Jacen Solo were now both dead, and Darth Caedus was born.
Mara's death was felt in the Force by many Jedi, including her sister-in-law Leia and niece Jaina. Even Jacen felt remorse for his actions. With her last reserves of Force strength, the dying Jedi Master reached out to her husband and son as a means of showing her love and saying goodbye. Luke was particularly devastated by the death of his wife, and ultimately killed the Dark Lady Lumiya in revenge; believing she to have been the one to kill Mara.
Luke later learned of his "mistake," and came to believe Alema Rar was behind Mara's death. Ultimately however, through Ben's investigations into his mother's death, it was learned that it had been Jacen who killed her. This led the Jedi Council to further turn against the former Jedi Knight and as such they sanctioned Jaina Solo's mission to destroy him; a mission that proved successful.
Lumiya was, indeed, the reason behind Mara's death, though not personally. It was through her apprentice — Mara's own nephew — that her one-time rival during their time as the Emperor's Hands had died. Her revenge was complete.
Jacen Solo, now Darth Caedus, and Mandalore Boba Fett later believed that the former's killing Mara was justified as self-defense, since she attacked him first.
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