Mara Jade Skywalker

Mara Jade came into the world in 17 BBY, a period marked by significant instability as Emperor Palpatine, also known as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and his apprentice Darth Vader were in the process of eliminating the remaining members of the Jedi Order. The Emperor took Jade from her parents at a very young age and brought her to the planet Coruscant, where he initiated her training in the Force, although publicly she was known as one of the Imperial Palace's dancers. Years later, Jade had few memories of her early life, except for her parents' reluctance to let her go and her own conviction that she would leave with the Emperor. She did remember having a falling-star globe as a child and getting into trouble for breaking it to see how it worked. Her master instructed her in the ways of the Force, transforming her into an agent of the Empire. Some members of the Imperial court believed her to be merely a dancer or one of Palpatine's concubines.

Throughout Jade's formative years, she was subjected to a demanding training program that involved learning alongside the Imperial Royal Guard and mastering covert espionage and assassination skills, which she excelled at by the age of fourteen. This led her to become an "Emperor's Hand," one of Palpatine's personal assassins, after passing a final test where she successfully infiltrated Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's private quarters. To accomplish this, Jade, disguised as a guest at a formal event at Tarkin's residence, pretended to be ill to excuse herself from the other guests. She then obtained a bag of equipment and descended the side of the building to the room containing Tarkin's private safe. While she was breaking in, a group of guards—actually droids—entered, and she engaged them with her blaster and lightsaber. However, sensing that one of the guards was alive, she knocked him out instead of killing a soldier willing to sacrifice himself in a training exercise. Vader and Sidious were pleased with her abilities, and she was declared the Emperor's Hand.

Despite the existence of multiple Emperor's Hands, she, like the others, was unaware of any other Hands. Because of her strong connection to the Force, she could hear Palpatine's voice from anywhere in the galaxy through a telepathic link. Jade carried out Palpatine's will on numerous worlds, eliminating corrupt Imperial officials, traitors, and others whom he deemed worthy of death or judgment. He held her in such high regard that he even allowed her time for relaxation, which was unusual for Palpatine. In addition to a personal starship and a protocol droid named K3 to assist her in her duties as Hand, she also had private quarters on Coruscant, where she kept her lightsaber and a lanvarok for left-handers—even though Jade was right-handed—among the items in her personal weapon collection.

Before the Battle of Yavin, the destruction of an Imperial superweapon known as the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, she was tasked with gathering intelligence to help hunt down any Jedi who had survived Order 66—one of whom was An'ya Kuro. Jade encountered a man trying to escape Imperial custody on Kuat, who provided her with information obtained from a Sacorrian smuggler. The smuggler told her that Kuro was on the fifth planet of the Cophrigin system. Jade unsuccessfully lobbied the Emperor to allow her to be the one to eliminate Kuro, but instead, Vader was sent. In the years following the Battle of Yavin and preceding the Battle of Hoth, Jade spied on Darth Vader and reported his actions to the Emperor, even observing, from a distance, his assault on the Massassi Temples about six months after the loss of the Death Star over Yavin Prime, which led to the capture of Rebel Commander Jan Dodonna. In later missions where she was assigned to discreetly observe him, Jade became envious of Vader and sensed a conflict within him, particularly because she didn't understand his obsession with a young Jedi named Luke Skywalker. Jade began to hope that Vader would betray the Emperor so that she could kill him and take his place as the Emperor's apprentice.

Despite these spy activities, she still performed tasks for Vader himself. Around 1.5 ABY, Jade was responsible for uncovering information about Rebel Alliance droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, for Vader, although Vader was either unwilling or unable to collect the information from her himself. Instead, he sent a spacer who had been working for the Empire to pick up the information from Jade on Naboo before returning it to him for a reward of 2,100 credits. Later that year, she participated in the celebration of Empire Day on Naboo. During the festivities, she tasked a group of Imperial operatives to rescue six Imperial officers from a prison facility inside the hidden Rebel base on the planet Corellia. The Imperial agents succeeded and were awarded the Imperial Badge of Meritorious Service for their accomplishment.

Around the time of the Battle of Hoth, she visited Belsavis.

Jade had also investigated Moff Glovstoak, posing as "Countess Claria," and discovered that he had been skimming tax returns to the Imperial Center. Feigning intoxication, she retired to a private room during a formal party Glovstoak was hosting, only to leave an inflatable dummy behind. After exchanging her formal wear for a combat suit, she quickly infiltrated his office and found six stolen paintings worth millions of credits in his palace. Jade returned to Imperial Center and reported her findings to Palpatine, but also saved General Deerian, whom she believed to be honest, from the fallout of Glovstoak's downfall.

Following Glovstoak's arrest, Jade also took on the task of discovering who had delivered the paintings and who had aided the Moff. First, she visited the auction house where the paintings had been sold but obtained little information. Next, she investigated secure storage sites and found a good match in the Birtraub Brothers Storage and Reclamation Center, where she sensed criminal connections. While observing the facility from a nearby tapcafe, the owners of the storage facility attempted to drug her, but her Force senses alerted her to the attempt. She confronted the owner, Pirtonna, who tried to kill her. She easily subdued him, and he admitted the involvement of a pirate group known as the BloodScars, a ruthless gang that aimed to unite several gangs to dominate the Shelsha sector.

Jade stowed away on one of the pirate ships she had been directed to, choosing a HT-2200 medium freighter that was being sent to attack a transport carrying Imperial military equipment. Around the time the craft launched an attack on the Happer's Way, Jade was discovered and attacked by a group of pirates. Undaunted, she quickly took control of the ship, captured Tannis, and signaled the Reprisal via the Happer's Way's communications relay to assist her and the freighter.

Boarding the Reprisal, Jade was coldly greeted by Captain Kendal Ozzel, who suspected she was investigating him for five stormtroopers who had deserted after killing Major Drelfin over Daric LaRone's refusal to kill civilians on Teardrop. Jade requested a pair of crewers for the ship, and Colonel Vak Somoril provided her with two ISB men to accompany her. Taking the two ISB men and Tannis with her on the Happer's Way, she went to infiltrate the pirate base at Gepparin, pretending to be an independent ship thief looking to join the BloodScars.

Jade arrived on Gepparin and was brought to meet the Commodore, who was suspicious of her. That evening, Jade was attacked by the two ISB men, who had been ordered to eliminate her, and their attack attracted the pirates' attention. She attempted to deal with the commodore, who ignored her and had his pirate accomplice Caaldra kill her. His attempt failed, but she was interrupted before she could stop him and the commodore. Aboard the Reprisal, Ozzel and Somoril, wanting to ensure she was dead, arrived over Gepparin and launched TIE fighters and an orbital bombardment to kill Mara and the pirates. Jade quickly raced to the command center and found the commodore's body next to a HoloNet message he was about to send to Shelkonwa. She shot down the TIE fighters, and the Reprisal left in pursuit of the Millennium Falcon and their rogue stormtroopers who had appeared in-system, allowing her to escape in a Z-10 Seeker. Journeying to Shelkonwa, she found Vader and the Executor already there in search of Rebel leader Leia Organa. Jade believed that Governor Barshnis Choard was a traitor and informed Vader of her findings. The Dark Lord of the Sith did not want any interference in his search, but he did allow Jade to investigate and deal with Choard. Upon landing, Caaldra attacked her with a purloined All Terrain Scout Transport, but she was aided by the group of rogue stormtroopers, dubbed the Hand of Judgment and led by Daric LaRone. Taking them under her command, she defeated the AT-ST, unknowingly with the help of Chewbacca in a freighter, but Caaldra escaped. With her newly drafted stormtroopers, she advanced on the governor's palace, where Caaldra once again tried to kill her. She ended his life when he tried to shoot her, and she redirected the bolt into him with her lightsaber. In the meantime, the Hand of Judgment had penetrated the governor's security. Rejoining the Hand of Judgment, Jade arrested Governor Choard and vouched for the rogue stormtroopers, even in front of Vader. Later, she learned their true story. She let them go, but warned them to lie low and lose their Hand of Judgment name, stating that she was the only Hand in the Empire.

Subsequently, Jade was tasked with eliminating a corrupt judge, Lamos Chatoor. Upon confronting the official, she was ambushed by a pair of armed guards but easily defeated both. Ignoring Chatoor's excuses and pleas, she executed him in the name of Imperial justice. Following her successful mission, she was contacted mentally by Palpatine after returning to her private Lambda-class shuttle. Palpatine had another assignment for her, sending her to investigate allegations of treason against Governor Bidor Ferrouz of the Candoras sector. Ferrouz had been reported to be collaborating with the Rebel Alliance, and Palpatine tasked her with ascertaining the voracity of the accusations and executing Ferrouz if they were substantiated.

To reach the sector capital of Poln Major, Jade decided she would need a different, less conspicuous ship than her own shuttle. She also decided that having willing stormtrooper accomplices would be useful. Having monitored the continued altruistic vigilantism of the Hand of Judgment despite her earlier warning to them, Jade decided to use them again. Jade tracked them to Elegasso based on her knowledge of their activities and her own intuition and soon found them on a nearby world where a corrupt local official named Bok Yost had captured them before they could interfere with the election he had rigged to secure his position. Jade burst into the holding area, killing the mercenaries hired by Yost. Faced with imminent death, Yost had no choice but to surrender his prisoners and resign his position in favor of holding new, fair elections, or else be slain. Jade released LaRone and his men and then recruited them to assist her infiltration of Poln Major. Knowing full well the leverage she had over them, LaRone agreed to her terms reluctantly.

Using the Hand of Judgment's modified Suwantek TL-1800, Jade and the Hand of Judgment flew to Poln Major. Upon arrival, Jade tasked them with surveying the stormtrooper security at the spaceport and obtaining ship logs while she sought to stake out security at the governor's palace. Her initial observations showed it was heavily fortified from all angles. To test security at the gate, she used the Force to manipulate the steering controls on a passing landspeeder, causing it to nearly crash into the gate. The response by the gates told her it would be possible to arrange a similar, more severe accident to have herself detained and brought into the palace, where she planned to escape. To aid in her plan, she purchased a remote-controlled toy airspeeder and modified it.

Having obtained the report from the Hand of Judgment on spaceport security and ship logs, Jade learned that a fair number of suspected Rebel Alliance ships were insystem, which she considered corroboration of the accusations against Ferrouz. She ordered the Hand of Judgment to meet her at the palace gates after helping them steal some stormtrooper armor with identification markings that would allow them to get close to the palace and had them assist in her entry. Having stolen a civilian landspeeder, Jade again faked a crash into the palace gates with the airspeeder toy in the vehicle as well. She was held up at the gate by suspicious guards when Hand of Judgment stormtroopers LaRone and Saberan Marcross arrived, accusing her of shoplifting from an electronics store. That charge, combined with a ruse where Jade faked that the airspeeder toy was rigged to sabotage speeder controls, earned her a trip to the detention area, precisely what she wanted.

Jade quickly escaped while being taken for interrogation and met up with LaRone after knocking out her captors. Jade then carved a hole into the ceiling and escaped into an abandoned wing of the palace, seeking a way to approach Ferrouz. Having confirmed her suspicions of his treason, she managed to sneak into his office, following a Rebel Alliance ambassador named Vestin Axlon. Ferrouz confessed his treason, but informed Jade that he'd only done so on instructions from the people who had kidnapped his wife and young daughter under the instructions of a powerful local warlord, Nuso Esva. Feeling some sympathy for the man, Jade forestalled his execution to help retrieve his family and deal with Esva first.

Before she could acquire a deeper understanding, Esva's infiltrators launched an assault on the governor's office, while his other accomplices ignited a disturbance at the gate to divert the attention of the guards. Jade defended against the attackers with all her might, finally subduing them when LaRone and Marcross surprised them from the rear. Subsequently, Jade, along with LaRone and Marcross, escorted Axlon and Ferrouz through the governor's secret passage, escaping the palace via the exit and drainage system. After summoning the remaining members of the Hand of Judgment, they established a tapcafe as a secure location until Jade could orchestrate the rescue of Ferrouz's family. Jade disclosed to Axlon that the governor was acting under coercion, which dashed his hopes of dissolving the alliance between the Rebellion and the Candoras Sector. Furthermore, she informed Axlon that she would grant the Rebel forces in the Poln system a two-day window to evacuate in exchange for a temporary ceasefire against Esva's forces. Drawing on intelligence provided by Ferrouz, Jade then inferred that a security officer named Pakrie, one of her former captors, was collaborating with Esva. She also discovered that Esva possessed a formidable space fleet, partially equipped with weaponry pilfered from the Empire by Pakrie.

Following this, Jade went back to the palace in search of Pakrie. In her absence, LaRone and the Hand of Judgment were ambushed by Axlon, who was also seeking favor with Esva and believed that orchestrating the governor's demise would endear the warlord to the Rebellion. The Hand of Judgment neutralized Axlon and apprised her of his treachery. Jade suspected that the kidnappers had utilized the safe room integrated into the governor's private exit and proceeded to investigate it. She instructed one of the governor's security officers to lure Pakrie into the safe room by feigning the governor's presence. She abducted him, but was beset by eight alien assassins before she could extract any information. Jade vanquished them all, but Pakrie managed to escape amidst the chaos. However, LaRone had a contact who supplied her with information regarding the family's location. Jade discovered a hidden passage that led to the location and followed it to a heavily guarded subterranean area. Upon learning this, Ferrouz contacted Pakrie and divulged his location to the deceitful officer to draw away some of the guards. The ploy succeeded, creating an opportunity for Jade.

Observing that the passageway was rigged with explosives, Jade detonated them using an alien cadaver as a diversion while she navigated along an overhead crane arm. Simultaneously, LaRone's contact, who was actually Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker, attempted to liberate the governor's family. After incapacitating some of the guards with his lightsaber, he came under fire, and Jade threw him her weapon. She then attracted the gunfire, deflecting it with her lightsaber as she approached the cabin where the governor's family was confined. Skywalker assisted in repelling the guards while Jade freed Ferrouz's wife and daughter. As Esva's forces converged, Jade instructed Skywalker to ignite a pool of flammable liquid she had spilled to cover their escape. The resulting explosion and Jade's combat skills dealt with the remaining guards. Concurrently, the Hand of Judgment repelled Esva's forces, and an Imperial fleet annihilated the warlord's Eastern Fleet.

Subsequently, Jade permitted Ferrouz to live after reuniting him with his family, acknowledging that his betrayal had been compelled by mitigating circumstances. Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance successfully escaped, although the Empire had arranged for them to acquire supplies that would lead them to select a remote, frigid location for their next base. Jade later sought out the Hand of Judgment to ascertain their whereabouts, but they had vanished without a trace.

A few months before the Battle of Endor, Jade was present in Palpatine's chamber when Darth Vader presented the Force-sensitive cyborg Lumiya to Palpatine as a potential Emperor's Hand. Jade was excused from Palpatine's presence before he formally accepted Lumiya's service, preserving her illusion of being the sole Hand, but Jade nonetheless detected immediate animosity from Lumiya. Following the Battle of Hoth, Jade became cognizant of Palpatine's concerns regarding Luke Skywalker; she was dispatched to infiltrate Jabba Desilijic Tiure's Palace on Tatooine, disguised as the dancing girl Arica, to await Skywalker's arrival. While awaiting Luke Skywalker, Jade observed the arrival of C-3PO and R2-D2 at the palace. Later, after the droids were compelled into the Hutt's service, C-3PO encountered Jade. Following a brief exchange, during which she inquired about Skywalker and introduced herself as Arica, Jade disappeared as C-3PO witnessed the execution of the dancing girl Oola.

However, Melina Carniss, a member of Jabba's covert security detail, suspected her of plotting to assassinate the Hutt and attempted to apprehend her. Jade reversed the situation, taking Carniss into custody and then employing the Force to induce Melina to shoot one of Jabba's Gamorrean guards. Jade fled through a tunnel and reached a ventilation shaft overlooking the rancor pit. After battling through three lines of guards, she was able to witness Skywalker slay the rancor. Subsequently, she entered the ventilation shaft of the rancor pit using a vibro-ax and employed the Force to open the trapdoor and follow the crowd out to the sail barge. Despite her pleas to join Jabba and the others in the Dune Sea, a suspicious Jabba instead provided her with a landspeeder and instructed her to leave and never return after she attempted to use the Force on him. Thus thwarted in her mission, she returned to Imperial Center—and a displeased Palpatine. Years later, a Force vision revealed to Skywalker that, had she been present at the Great Pit of Carkoon, Jade would have succeeded in preventing his escape.

Following her mission on Tatooine, the Emperor assigned Jade another task—to eliminate Dequc, a Jeodu who sought to revitalize Black Sun by integrating its remnants into his own organization, the Black Nebula.

Jade arrived on the planet Svivren, where she initiated the groundwork for her new assignment. She scouted the crime lord's base but realized that she required a distraction to infiltrate undetected. She approached the local Imperial garrison commander, General Touno, and requested two squads of stormtroopers and an officer. The officer assigned to her was Captain Strok, and together, he and Jade devised a raid on the building adjacent to Dequc's, although Strok was unaware that the raid was a diversion orchestrated by Jade. However, the following day witnessed the raid's complete failure, with the majority of the Imperials killed. Nevertheless, Jade was still able to exploit the distraction provided by the firefight to infiltrate and assassinate a Jeodu she believed to be Dequc.

Following the assassination, Jade informed the Emperor that the mission had been accomplished. As a reward for her efficiency, Palpatine granted her a vacation. She endeavored to enjoy her time off, but she found herself contemplating the events that had transpired on Svivren. She concluded that the assassination had been too straightforward and that any number of the guards present during her attack should have easily been able to stop her. Jade decided to validate her theory by simulating the assassination. She was only able to successfully kill "Dequc" and withdraw unharmed in two out of five attempts. She deduced that the person she had killed was not the real Dequc but a cleverly positioned decoy. Jade resolved that it remained her duty to pursue and assassinate the true leader of Black Nebula.

Jade attempted to use her Force link with Palpatine to inform him of her findings, but before she could, he allowed her to witness his demise at the hands of both Vader and Luke Skywalker. His final command resonated through the Force to her: YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER. She was overwhelmed by his death throes and lost consciousness. She remained in a dreamlike state for several days until she was apprehended by two of Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard's henchmen.

They transported Jade to Isard, who imprisoned her and employed intelligence tactics to coerce Jade into assisting her in her power grab. However, Jade managed to escape from captivity and secure passage to the remote world of Phorliss. Jade intended to lie low for the time being until she could accumulate enough funds to relocate. To better assimilate into her temporary surroundings, she obtained employment as a waitress at a local cantina owned by Gorb Drig. For several weeks, she worked for Drig under the alias Chiara Lorn until members of Black Nebula arrived to collect a debt owed by Drig. Jade was astonished to discover that Black Nebula had a presence on Phorliss—not wanting Drig to be harmed, Jade did her best to fight the more numerous gang members. She managed to retrieve her lightsaber and swiftly eliminate the remaining Nebula members, although not before they killed Drig and Jorshmin, a patron whom Jade had befriended.

Jade embarked on a search for the Black Nebula base on Phorliss and discovered that the real Dequc was based on Qiaxx. She infiltrated a casino owned by Dequc and managed by a lieutenant in Black Nebula. She disguised herself as Baroness Paltonae and claimed to represent a mysterious corporate entity that had developed dependable and undetectable methods to cheat at gambling and detect lock combinations—Jade, however, simply used the Force to create both illusions in an effort to be brought before Dequc. She succeeded and was taken to Black Nebula's hidden base in the Bubble Cliffs of Nezmi, where Dequc was awaiting her to discuss the corporate interest she "represented." However, once inside the Nebula's base, Jade unknowingly encountered Strok, the Imperial officer she had collaborated with on Svivren.

She discovered that he was, in reality, a Black Nebula agent who had been planted in the Imperial officer corps to provide Dequc with information. Jade was enraged by the discovery of an Imperial traitor but decided to deal with him later. However, she encountered him again in the base's barracks, and when he recognized her, Jade was compelled to kill him to safeguard her secret. His death, however, was soon discovered by Black Nebula, and she was forced onto the offensive. Jade eventually managed to reach Dequc's safe house, deep within the Bubble Cliffs. Once there, she used her lightsaber and a small explosive to eliminate Dequc and his guards; she was then able to escape through one of Dequc's secret passageways. After successfully withdrawing, Jade stole a private yacht belonging to Dequc, one that contained all of his private information regarding the inner workings of Black Nebula, and left it at an Imperial spaceport where it could be discovered by the authorities.

Her resentment towards Skywalker for causing the destruction of her master was deeply ingrained, and she pledged to kill the Jedi Knight. She did not realize that the Emperor's telepathic command was the source of her rage, intensifying it beyond any ordinary desire for vengeance. Meanwhile, her life was in disarray: the resources she had once had access to were all dependent on the Emperor, and her life of luxury, privilege, and purpose was over. Still pursued by Isard, she traversed the galaxy, performing odd jobs and manual labor to make ends meet. Her Force abilities waned, returning in sporadic bursts. Throughout it all, she remained haunted by the Emperor's final command: "You will kill Luke Skywalker."

During her travels, she arrived on Kintoni, where she noticed the Rebel general Crix Madine. Jade tailed him and infiltrated the building to observe Madine interrogating former Imperial Governor Barkale. Jade proceeded towards the imprisoned governor and discovered a datapad displaying the Executor along the way. However, she was intercepted in Madine's quarters by the general, who drew a blaster on her and summoned reinforcements. Jade shot his weapon and used the datapad to project the image of the Executor onto the sensor screens, deceiving the Rebels into believing the ship was pursuing them. She stunned the guards and struck a bargain with Madine to allow her and Barkale to escape.

Barkale escorted her back to his residence, but Jade noticed a sculpture that he had reported stolen or destroyed years ago, along with numerous other pieces of artwork. When she accused him of treasonous embezzlement, Barkale threw a vase at her. Jade, unfazed, executed him and then informed Madine of her discovery while departing the planet, reasoning that the Rebels would have discovered the artwork regardless and that executing Barkale was worthwhile.

Jade was on Chibias to attend the Coruscant Full Symphony when she encountered a young slicer named Zakarisz Ghent, who had unknowingly had a datacard planted on him. Jade took an interest in the man and, posing as a member of the concert hall staff, assisted him in evading Raines, a member of Governor Egron's staff who was attempting to capture Ghent. Jade escorted the startled Ghent back to her hotel room, informing him that his trip to the hall had been a setup. When she was unable to slice into records to determine why Ghent was being pursued, Ghent took over and effortlessly sliced through it, revealing the motive behind the attempted kidnapping.

Jade then proceeded to the governor's palace, where she confronted Raines about the absence of any record of him in the governor's personnel files. Raines informed her that he was a special aide to the governor and his name was Markko. She also revealed that he had been hired by the governor for computer work, rather than the governor needing Ghent's services, which was what Markko had initially told her. Jade, acting as Ghent's broker, agreed to bring him to the palace to slice the computer, which Markko had informed her was captured from the Rebel Alliance, after charging him an exorbitant fee.

However, she was followed on her way back to the hotel. Resolving to turn the tables, she evaded her pursuers and followed them back to their hideout. Markko confronted her and then led her at blasterpoint to the rest of the group, revealing that they were actually part of the Rebel Alliance. Jade agreed to bring Ghent to the palace as planned, seeing an opportunity to betray Markko and earn some credits. Upon arriving at the palace, Ghent learned that the captured computer was not a Rebel machine but actually a Star Destroyer's control node—Jade quickly ascertained that Egron was planning on selling the information. She stalled for time while using her lightsaber to cut an exit out of the wall with a Paparak cross-cut that would only be revealed when she kicked the wall in. After creating a diversion, she kicked the wall in and escaped with Ghent. However, Egron and Markko managed to intercept her before she could escape the palace. While she executed Egron, Markko took Ghent hostage. However, the two agreed to part ways, despite their ideological differences, with Markko returning Ghent. Outside, Jade instructed Ghent to return to his home of Sibisime, while she went to find work on a freighter. Little did she know that Ghent was hired by the smuggler Talon Karrde shortly after she and Ghent parted ways.

For the subsequent few years, Jade drifted from one temporary job to another under various aliases. Under the alias Merellis, she was a come-up flector for a Caprioril swoop gang. It was during that occupation that she lost the magenta-colored lightsaber she had been given by Palpatine in an encounter with Lumiya. Lumiya, dispatched by Ysanne Isard, located her and attempted to bring her back to Isard, but Jade refused. The two dueled, and Jade escaped, although she lost her lightsaber in the process. After her encounter with Lumiya, she later worked as a hyperdrive mechanic on Varonat under the name Celina Marniss.

Fortune finally smiled upon Jade when she rescued the smuggler baron Talon Karrde from an ambush on Varonat that claimed the life of Karrde's second-in-command, Quelev Tapper, and nearly killed Karrde as well. Jade had initially been employed as a hyperdrive mechanic at the spaceport, and her efficiency and striking appearance impressed Karrde, who was operating under the alias of Hart while Tapper was known as Seoul. While on a safari for Morodins, Karrde discovered both that the Morodins were sentient and that the safari leader, Gamgalon, was responsible for smuggling a catalyst for Tibanna gas grown in the jungle. Gamgalon discovered what Karrde knew, though, and planned on executing him, having already killed Tapper when he tried to resist. Fortunately for them, Jade remembered hearing about a smuggler who enjoyed wordplay such as "Hart and Seoul" in his aliases and ships and decided to assist them in hopes of securing a position with them. She followed them out to the jungle, killed Gamgalon and his guard, and rescued Karrde. Karrde was so impressed with Jade that he offered her a job on the spot.

The two of them were rumored to have been collaborating as early as 6 ABY, when Jade sold a Rodian statuette to New Republic Senator Baron Jonas Stern on Sluis Van. She and Karrde were later on Nkllon, with Jade again operating under the pseudonym Celina Marniss.

Jade joined Karrde's organization around 8.5 ABY. During her initial six months of employment with Karrde, Jade rapidly ascended through the ranks of his smuggling organization. Her Force-sensitivity, largely dormant since the death of Palpatine, reasserted itself when she brought Karrde's freighter, the Wild Karrde, out of hyperspace for a routine check right where Luke Skywalker's damaged X-wing was floating in space. Grand Admiral Thrawn, the leader of the resurgent Empire, had placed a substantial bounty on Skywalker, and Karrde contemplated selling him to Thrawn for the bounty or extorting funds from the New Republic to guarantee his return.

Karrde rescued the marooned Jedi, providing refuge at his Myrkr base. There, the ysalamiri native to the planet suppressed Skywalker's connection to the Force. Initially, Jade sought Skywalker's demise, a desire Karrde firmly opposed. Despite this, Karrde confined Skywalker and R2-D2, concealing them from Thrawn's view upon his arrival seeking ysalamiri. Skywalker, however, broke free using a Skipray blastboat. Jade pursued him, resulting in both crafts crashing within the vornskr-infested forest. Thrawn's presence on Myrkr to gather ysalamiri further complicated matters, preventing contact with Karrde, as Thrawn would then know Karrde had been hiding Skywalker. Jade, compelled to collaborate with Skywalker for survival, made her intention to kill him abundantly clear. After repelling numerous vornskr attacks, the pair reached Hyllyard City, only to be caught in a stormtrooper ambush. The timely arrival of Skywalker's allies, Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, and Karrde's associates, led to the stormtroopers' defeat, and Solo, Calrissian, and Skywalker's departure from Myrkr. Shortly thereafter, Karrde and his organization also abandoned Myrkr due to a substantial Imperial bounty placed on them.

As the last members of Karrde's organization evacuated Myrkr, Jade remained behind with Karrde, who chose to covertly observe the Imperial arrival on Myrkr from the Wild Karrde. As anticipated, Grand Admiral Thrawn arrived aboard the Star Destroyer Chimaera and swiftly seized control of the abandoned base. However, Thrawn unexpectedly deduced that the Wild Karrde was still in the system and summoned an Interdictor cruiser, the Constrainer, to ensnare the smuggler's vessel. Receiving a Force-induced premonition of the Imperials' arrival, Jade, to the surprise of Karrde and the crew, activated the Wild Karrde's engines, preparing for immediate departure. As the Constrainer entered the system, Jade piloted the ship beyond its range and initiated a hyperspace jump, her seemingly premature action saving them from an Imperial trap.

While establishing a new base for Karrde's organization on Rishi, Jade was confronted by a bounty hunter named Gunner Groth. After killing him, Karrde's organization was once again forced to flee. Sent to Abregado-rae to retrieve Karrde's impounded ship, the Etherway, her departure was interrupted by the arrival of the Victory-class Star Destroyer Adamant. Realizing Thrawn's relentless pursuit, Jade surrendered herself to Thrawn, resuming her role as the Emperor's Hand and offering the location of the Katana fleet in exchange for amnesty for Karrde and his associates. Thrawn, though suspicious, agreed, but secretly placed a tracking device on her ship. Upon her arrival at Karrde's new hideout, Imperial stormtroopers quickly followed and captured Karrde.

Disgusted by Thrawn's treachery and now feeling a stronger loyalty to Karrde, Jade resolved to rescue Karrde from the Imperial brig where he was held, but knew she required assistance. She traveled to Jomark with a ysalamir, where Luke Skywalker was training under Joruus C'baoth. C'baoth attempted to shoot her down with a barrage of rocks as she landed, but she managed to land her ship and proceed towards his residence, where Skywalker was located. While descending a cliff, she was almost blasted by R2-D2, who was controlling Skywalker's X-wing. She convinced the droid that C'baoth was working for the Empire and that Skywalker was indebted to Karrde, and was transported to Skywalker's location hanging from the starfighter's landing gear. After a brief confrontation with C'baoth that resulted in him being stunned by a near miss from a laser cannon fired by R2-D2, Jade intended to kill the insane Jedi Master, but Skywalker dissuaded her. Despite her reservations, she persuaded Skywalker to accompany her to rescue Karrde from Thrawn's ship, the Chimaera, using the Skipray blastboat she had used to reach Jomark. Using her access codes to infiltrate the computer system, she and Skywalker reached the detention block and freed Karrde. Thrawn disabled the ship's computer, but the trio successfully escaped in the Millennium Falcon, which the Empire had recovered from Endor after it had been abandoned there.

Jade and Karrde's group later returned to assist the New Republic in the Battle for the Katana fleet. Jade piloted a Z-95 Headhunter during the battle, but an ion cannon blast left her stranded in space. Fortunately, Luke Skywalker rescued her before she succumbed to the vacuum.

After being taken to Coruscant for a month of nerve-regeneration therapy, Jade found herself almost entirely isolated within the Imperial Palace. Desiring to leave the planet, she detected an Imperial intrusion team targeting the Solo family's living quarters. Accompanied by Lando Calrissian and Garm Bel Iblis, Jade pursued the intruders. After being pinned down, Jade utilized her knowledge of the palace's hidden passages to outflank the Imperial commando team. Employing the Force to communicate a plan to Leia Organa Solo, she successfully eliminated the entire Imperial squad. However, Major Molo Himron, the team leader, survived and implicated her in the attack, leading to her imprisonment under the orders of Colonel Jak Bremen.

While imprisoned, Jade learned from Organa Solo about Thrawn's use of clones and recalled the location of the Emperor's cloning facility. Realizing the potential for compromise through conventional channels, Skywalker, Solo, Calrissian, and Chewbacca orchestrated Jade's escape from prison and accompanied her aboard the Falcon. She provided them with the coordinates of Wayland and the cloning center, and the group successfully landed in the forest, along with R2-D2 and C-3PO. Jade was again compelled to work with Skywalker, who encouraged her to develop her Force abilities. Skywalker increasingly recognized that Jade was acting under Palpatine's telepathic command rather than her own free will. Jade gradually realized that she was being manipulated to enact a final act of vengeance upon the deceased Darth Vader. Skywalker pledged to assist her in breaking free from the command, despite the obvious risk to his own life. Both experienced premonitions of encountering the deranged C'baoth on the planet, which proved accurate upon reaching the Mount Tantiss stronghold after a difficult journey through the forest. Jade implored Skywalker to kill her rather than allow C'baoth to control her mind, but the Jedi promised that she would not face whatever awaited them in the stronghold alone.

While searching for a remote self-destruct mechanism for the facility, Skywalker and Jade encountered the crazed Jedi Master, who assailed them with Force lightning and pitted Skywalker against a clone of himself, wielding his father's lightsaber. Despite the assistance of the Solos and Karrde, they were unable to defeat the Jedi Master until Jade retrieved Leia Organa Solo's lightsaber and charged C'baoth. Skywalker wounded his clone and amplified Jade's strength with the Force, and she fulfilled the Emperor's command by slaying the clone. Enraged, C'baoth attacked them with a Force scream, Force lightning, and rocks, but Jade, fulfilling C'baoth's visions of bowing before him by kneeling to evade his attacks, stabbed him with the lightsaber. Skywalker's Force powers protected her from being harmed by the dark side energy released upon C'baoth's death, and they escaped in the Wild Karrde as Calrissian and Chewbacca detonated the facility. As a gesture of friendship, Skywalker gifted her his father's lightsaber, which she would continue to use in the years to come. With Luuke's death, Jade was liberated from Sidious's telepathic control.

Following the loss of Coruscant to the Empire, Jade was dispatched by Karrde to aid the New Republic. With communications disrupted, the New Republic had deployed couriers to various fleet segments to inform them of the retreat. As one fleet segment had relocated, the New Republic compensated Jade to rendezvous with the courier ship Messenger to update the crew. Coincidentally, Colonel Bremen, who had previously imprisoned her on Coruscant, was aboard the ship, much to Jade's amusement. However, a homing beacon within the Messenger attracted a Carrack-class cruiser, and Jade engaged some of its TIE fighters to facilitate the courier's escape.

Sidious, displeased with Jade's defection, dispatched several of his servants, including the enigmatic Blackhole, to intercept her en route to a Smugglers' Alliance meeting in the Senex sector, as punishment for her betrayal. Although she was captured, Kyle Katarn and his allies later freed her. During the rescue, they discovered information about an unidentified Sith temple.

Having fully rejected the dark side of the Force, Jade sought out Kyle Katarn to instruct her in the ways of the Jedi. They embarked on a reciprocal apprenticeship, a practice rooted in the ancient Jedi Concordance of Fealty tradition. In 10 ABY, she accompanied Katarn to the battlefront of Altyr V, where they assisted the New Republic base under siege from two artificial asteroids and attacked by the Dark Empire. Katarn successfully repelled the assault and destroyed both asteroids. While there, he got a lead about the planet Dromund Kaas having some importance to the Empire and went to investigate.

Jade, however, was left to handle her own missions. Her initial assignment for the Republic involved negotiating with Ka'Pa the Hutt regarding the New Republic's supplies. To secure Ka'Pa's cooperation, Jade was compelled to steal Takara's GCT device for him. While searching for Takara's lieutenant, Abron Mar, within the Katraasii Spaceport, Jade was ensnared by Takara. She escaped the stronghold by slaying a rancor and absconding with the device. Ka'Pa, pleased with the outcome, agreed to assist the Republic.

Jade's subsequent mission involved guarding a Jedi holocron aboard a Republic Corellian Corvette, when they were attacked by Kaerobani's pirates. Jade repelled the attackers, but the holocron was stolen. To recover the holocron, she decided to stow away in a cargo crate bound for Rathalay, the pirates' base. Utilizing her training, Jade reclaimed the holocron and escaped. There she encountered the severed head of droid 8t88, Katarn's old adversary, and noted that the droid was planning vengeance on whoever had decapitated it.

Following that, Jade finally arrived on Dromund Kaas in search of Katarn. While traversing the planet's swamps, she encountered and defeated numerous native creatures, including her own doppelgänger. After crossing the swamp, she reached the Dark Force Temple. Finally she found Katarn totally immersed in the dark side. Master and apprentice fought, but Jade managed to fend him off each time, while Katarn retreated deeper and deeper into the catacombs. On the final encounter, Jade voluntarily turned off her lightsaber and surrendered. Katarn realized that he could not follow that path and was able to turn back to the light side.

When Palpatine resurfaced in his new cloned body, Jade dismissed the notion of his true return, rejecting any consideration of rejoining his service. Instead, she aided the New Republic in evacuating Coruscant and transporting cargo for the government. In response, Darth Sidious replaced her and the other Hands with new Dark Side Adepts, including Sedriss QL.

After Katarn abandoned the Jedi and the Force and resumed his military career, Jade participated in a mission from Karrde to track down Jorj Car'das, where she pretended to be involved with Lando Calrissian as a cover for the mission. Their quest would at one point take them to the Kathol Rift, where she and Calrissian encountered Crev Bombaasa and helped him out of a tight spot. Karrde would later use that association and owed favor to his advantage.

In 11 ABY, Jade returned to the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 to learn the ways of the Jedi, arriving during the tumultuous time right after Gantoris's death and Kyp Durron's first act of rebellion, both events caused by the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Exar Kun. Initially, Jade and Corran Horn, himself a student under the assumed name of Keiran Halcyon, were not compatible, but they soon resolved their differences and developed a good rapport. She even permitted Horn to use her Headhunter, though Durron later commandeered it in his attempt to seize the Sun Crusher superweapon. Under Kam Solusar's guidance, Horn and Mara Jade trained together, engaging in physical activities such as running expeditions through the jungle, and learned to appreciate their differences—that proved to be a wise choice, as it was not long until the spirit of Exar Kun took control of Durron and wreaked havoc on the Jedi. She left the academy not long after, but later returned after she heard Kun had put Skywalker in a coma. While there, she helped Horn defeat Kun's spirit, as the Corellian had attempted to distract Kun by invading his temple. She arrived just in time, as Kun was nearing success with turning Horn's fears against him, and had also severely injured him. She helped Horn trick Kun into returning to the Praxeum to use fellow apprentice Streen against Skywalker, leading to the Sith Lord's destruction from the combined Force power of the students there. With Kun defeated, Jade helped the injured Horn back to the Great Temple. However, she again left the Praxeum after the incident.

During that time, she also became one of the leaders of the Smugglers' Alliance. Lando Calrissian, flush with cash from a recent string of successes, wanted to make a profit from mining glitterstim on Kessel. Jade led a group of Smuggler's Alliance vessels to Kessel to help him chase the present administrator, Moruth Doole, off the planet. However, Jade was not entirely thrilled with Calrissian, as she was not fond of his constant flirting with her, though she was impressed by him giving the Falcon to Han Solo as a gift even after winning it back in a game of sabacc. Not long after they took the planet, Jade, Solo, and Calrissian were confronted by a prototype Death Star, which destroyed Kessel's moon. Jade and all her Smugglers' Alliance ships took off and attacked the prototype, but it fled. Jade and the Falcon pursued the craft into the heart of The Maw, unwilling to let the superweapon escape. In an effort to knock out its superlaser, she and Calrissian made their way to the core of the prototype in environment suits, planning to plant thermal detonators along the reactor core, but they were attacked by a group of spacetroopers. The two saboteurs escaped, but a spacetrooper was able to remove all but one of their charges, causing less damage than the duo had hoped. Fortunately, Durron, freed of Kun's influence, led the prototype into a gravitational well, crushing it and ridding the galaxy of its use forever.

Some time later, while the Solos were on Belsavis, they contacted Mara Jade to see if she had information on the planet. Jade did know about the planet—she had broken into its secure file when she was working for the Empire. She told the Solos about a secret mission to attack one of the rifts and how Palpatine and Vader used a combination of drugs and the dark side to create crazed, mindless guards, such as the ones that the Solos had found in the smugglers' tunnels in the valley.

Later, she called the Solos after they learned of the presence of the Emperor's Hand on the planet and assumed it was her. All she had were some coordinates from a landing pad that Han Solo had asked for, but she was quickly informed of Leia Solo's disappearance and that an Emperor's Hand had been on on Belsavis years before, when she had never been on that mission. It was at that moment that Jade realized that the Emperor had lied to her—there were many Emperor's Hands, she had not been alone. Outraged, she grew angry when Han Solo told her the name of the other Hand: Roganda Ismaren. Jade was outraged to learn that Palpatine had been lying to her when he said that she was his only Hand, and later deduced that Lumiya was also a member of the Emperor's Hands. Jade immediately headed for Belsavis and en route, encountered Skywalker and a group of brainwashed crewers from the recently destroyed Eye of Palpatine. She brought them with her to Belsavis for treatment, after noting the serious injury to Skywalker's leg. She also pulled in an escape pod from the Dreadnaught, opening it to reveal Callista Ming, a Jedi who had escaped the Eye of Palpatine after helping destroy it, and who had fallen in love with Skywalker. On Belsavis, Jade helped round up the last of the insane guards, many of whom she had once known, though Roganda Ismaren and her son Irek escaped.

Some time after taking a large role in the Smuggler's Alliance with Lando Calrissian, Jade's contacts passed on word of a Hutt plot related to Orko SkyMine. Jade journeyed to the Yavin 4 Jedi Praxeum to warn Skywalker. Taking him on a ride in her ship, she relayed the information to him and told him that she occasionally enjoyed seeing him. He asked her to stay for dinner, where she met Callista Ming and asked her if she was Skywalker's new lady. Ming affirmed her statement, and asked if Jade was once interested in Skywalker. Jade replied that she had once wanted nothing more than to kill him, though the incident apparently didn't seem to cause much consternation between the women.

Jade continued her on-and-off association with Calrissian during that period. She was recently away from him and aboard the Wild Karrde with Karrde after they had spent a week together on Mon Calamari when he called for information and she told him about the bombing of the Senate Hall. She would also help Karrde deliver a pair of ysalamiri to Han Solo over Almania when he went in search of Kueller, the mastermind behind the bombing who was attempting to kill Skywalker. She even accompanied him to the planet's surface, partially out of her concern for Skywalker and partially because she feared what Kueller could do to the galaxy. Helping the Falcon blast its way to the surface through Kueller's forces, Jade accompanied Solo and Chewbacca and they brought the Force-empty bubble of the ysalamir to where Skywalker and his sister were confronting Kueller just in time to save Skywalker from certain death.

On one occasion, while commanding on the Wild Karrde in Karrde's temporary absence, Jade and the rest of the crew were captured by Ja Bardrin, a wealthy industrialist whose daughter Sansia had been captured by the slaver Chay Praysh. At gunpoint, Bardrin forced Jade to go to Torpris to rescue Sansia, who had, like all female Human prisoners of Praysh's, been forced to work in the slime pits. Jade had no choice but to comply, as she had no way of contacting Karrde and Bardrin threatened to execute the rest of the crew if she didn't do as he wished.

Jade entered the palace under the pretext of bringing a gift to Praysh, supposedly unaware that she was the gift. However, her lightsaber was discovered at the entrance and was thrown to the nearby scavengers, where it was caught by a Togorian named H'sishi. Upon seeing Jade, Praysh had his guards lash her with neuronic whips and throw her into the slime pits, unaware of her identity or intent. Jade made contact with Sansia, though Sansia told her that her father only wanted an experimental, heavily upgraded SoroSuub 3000 luxury yacht that had also been stolen. Jade then inflicted an injury on herself and was taken to the slave infirmary, where she used the Force to muddy the camera and steal some of the drugs and chemicals stored there. Once she was returned to the slave barracks, Jade used her skills as a saboteur to mix the chemicals into weapons. One combination created a fire that allowed her and Sansia to escape in the confusion. Other guards were dispatched with the acid she had created, but they were overpowered and forced to surrender. Dragged before Praysh to be interrogated, Jade was at a loss for what to do. However, the scavenger H'sishi entered with her lightsaber—actually Skywalker's—claiming that it bore the corporate signature of another weapons syndicate. H'sishi then stunned Praysh and threw the lightsaber to Jade, who easily defeated the guards. Jade and H'sishi then fled to the yacht, which Sansia had recovered after she had made her own escape during the fight.

Returning to Bardrin's mansion, Jade was surprised to find that Karrde, with the aid of some Noghri, had already taken the place and was preparing a mission to rescue her. Jade also got Bardrin to reveal that the entire abduction was a set-up, designed to help him take out Praysh and capture some stolen prototypes. Sansia, outraged, gave Jade the upgraded SoroSuub yacht, which she renamed the Jade's Fire. Around that time, Karrde started helping her set up her own independent trading company.

By the year 18 ABY, Mara Jade had temporarily stepped away from Karrde's organization and was managing a legitimate, independent trading firm. This venture was designed to equip her for eventually leading Karrde's operations. While she was present within the Talfaglio system, her vessel, the Jade's Fire, intercepted a drone carrying a message cube. This cube bore an Imperial code and was specifically addressed to Leia Organa Solo. Intrigued by this discovery, Jade set course for the Corellian system, deducing that the message was of significant urgency. Upon her arrival over Corellia, she attended a trade summit taking place in Coronet City, where she encountered both Leia and Han Solo. Jade informed them about the message cube, leading Leia Solo to escort Jade, accompanied by Han Solo, to her private quarters. The purpose was to unlock the message cube, which was secured by Leia Solo's fingerprints. Inside, the cube revealed the insurrectionary plans of the Sacorrian Triad and the Human League, led by Han Solo's cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo. Their scheme involved blackmailing the New Republic by deploying a superweapon to destroy several stars. Soon after this revelation, the Human League initiated riots and launched their insurrection, and Jade, having departed the Solos' apartment, vanished.

Subsequently, Jade was captured by the Human League and imprisoned alongside Leia on Corellia, coinciding with the escalation of the Corellian Crisis across the Corellian system. This situation, coupled with the disappearance of her crew, motivated her to actively oppose the Human League. Despite their mutual distrust, Jade and Leia decided to collaborate, escaping from their cells and rappelling down to Solo's former living space. There, they recovered Solo's lightsaber and blaster. Following this, Jade and Leia Solo left the planet aboard Jade's ship, the Jade's Fire, which Jade summoned using a beckon call. Both women were injured, they were simply glad to escape Human League captivity, and they opted to travel to Selonia. As they approached the planet, they detected the Bakuran fleet and a coneship carrying Han Solo and a Selonian, who had also escaped from the Human League on Corellia. Jade maneuvered the Jade's Fire to dock with the coneship, reuniting Solo with her husband.

The two vessels proceeded towards Selonia, but were intercepted by hostile fighters before they could land. The Jade's Fire provided cover for the defenseless coneship until Jade and Leia Solo eliminated the remaining fighters. On Selonia, the Solos and Jade attempted to sway the Selonians to reconsider their decision to hand over a planetary repulsor and assist them—but they were briefly imprisoned as well. Following Luke Skywalker's arrival, they were freed, and Jade played a role in convincing the Selonians to at least sell the operating instructions for the planetary repulsor. These instructions were crucial for stopping the Starbuster weapon on Centerpoint Station from destroying an inhabited system. She participated in the final battle at Centerpoint Station aboard the Jade's Fire, fighting alongside the Falcon and Calrissian's ship, the Lady Luck, against the Sacorrian Triad fleet, who were revealed to be the masterminds behind the Starbuster plot. With the help of the instructions Jade had helped secure and Bakuran technicians, the Solo children successfully prevented Centerpoint from destroying its intended target, neutralizing its weapon with a blast from the planetary repulsor on Drall.

Soon after these events, Jade became involved in the Caamas Document crisis in 19 ABY when she and Karrde arrived on Wayland to recruit Noghri to work for his organization. After receiving a call from Cakhmaim, the Wild Karrde forced down the ship piloted by Lak Jit, a Devaronian who had discovered information indicating that the Bothans had assisted Palpatine in the destruction of Caamas.

Later on, sensing a disturbance in the Force, Jade rescued Skywalker from the Cavrilhu Pirates while on a mission for Talon Karrde. Her task was to investigate pirate groups that might be using clones. Skywalker had been infiltrating the group but was discovered. Karrde dispatched Jade in the Starry Ice to check on him and the pirates. Her prompt arrival was crucial for his survival, allowing him to escape the pirate base's self-destruction by drifting a short distance across the vacuum to her ship in a Jedi hibernation trance. As they departed the pirate base, a small Chiss vessel flew past, examining them before jumping to hyperspace. This wouldn't be the last time Jade encountered such ships. After meeting Karrde on the Errant Venture, the Star Destroyer was overflown by another one of these ships. After the fighter jumped to hyperspace, Karrde and Jade were able to determine the ships' destination: the planet Nirauan. Subsequently, she decided to investigate the world aboard the Starry Ice.

Jade embarked on a mission to the Hand of Thrawn complex on Nirauan, losing contact with Karrde and his organization after landing on the planet in a Defender starfighter. While exploring the area near the fortress, she tripped and knocked herself unconscious on a rock. Her absence and failure to report in prompted the second-in-command, Faughn, to set out on the Starry Ice to seek assistance, leaving her stranded. Faughn informed Karrde, who was with Luke Skywalker at the time. Skywalker had been investigating a Force vision he had of Jade lying face down in water when he met Karrde, and the vision had disturbed both of them. The Jedi agreed to travel to Nirauan to rescue her, bringing her Jade's Fire and his X-wing to the remote planet.

After being stranded on Nirauan for fifteen days, Skywalker finally located the cave where she was hiding, surrounded by the local Qom Jha who had brought her there after she had fallen unconscious. The Qom Jha had taken her weapons and restricted her movements, but otherwise left her unharmed. They had also moved her starfighter inside the cave, as she was being hunted by the Chiss who occupied the fortress. Although Jade couldn't comprehend their Force-based communication, Skywalker could, and he taught her how to understand the aliens. Together, they managed to convince the aliens to assist them in infiltrating the fortress through a network of underground passages. As they journeyed through the caves, they used the time to resolve some of their differences. Jade revealed to Skywalker that she had desired attention while at the Jedi academy, but since it never happened, she stopped attending. She also told him that he should stop trying to do everything himself, as he hadn't fully gotten over his experience serving the reborn Emperor. The layered cortosis in the walls near the tunnel entrance, along with semi-sentient predators and fire creepers, slowed them down, but they were able to penetrate the fortress.

Accompanied by their native guides and R2-D2, they explored the lower levels but were forced to stop when a pair of Chiss gunmen opened fire on them with charrics, wounding Jade in the shoulder. Skywalker helped her back into the caves, where he placed her in a Jedi healing trance. By that point, Skywalker had realized that he was in love with Jade, expressing his feelings by kissing her while she was asleep. However, upon awakening, Skywalker confronted her about her past and her reluctance to dedicate herself to serving others, leading to an argument. Skywalker inquired about her relationship with Calrissian, while she brought up his experiences with Gaeriel Captison and Callista Ming. Jade calmed down somewhat and revealed to Skywalker that she and Calrissian were never truly in a relationship; it had been a cover story for Karrde's mission. Their discussion led to a reduction of the barrier between them, to the point where they were in close mental contact. The two re-entered the fortress, discovering the existence of the Empire of the Hand and their plans to transfer its considerable territory and resources to the Imperial Remnant.

Realizing that they needed more information, Jade went down to speak with the inhabitants of the fortress, where she encountered a group of ysalamiri and the leaders of the fortress, Voss Parck and Soontir Fel. Parck shared the true story of Thrawn's mission and history, while attempting to recruit her into the Empire of the Hand. He also informed her of numerous threats in the Unknown Regions, which the Empire of the Hand was meant to guard against. When she refused and they became aware of Skywalker's presence, they decided to imprison the two Jedi by forcing them into hibernation trances, specifically by inflicting non-lethal wounds on Jade. She tried to avoid being shot, but Parck was unconvinced. Fortunately, Skywalker intervened by cutting through the wall. Parck ordered his troops to stand down to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, and the two escaped, pursued by Chiss troops once they were clear of the officers. Arriving in the fortress hangar, they disabled the clawcraft there, taking one for their escape.

Outside the fortress, the two realized that they needed to return to the fortress to retrieve data on the threats Parck had mentioned earlier. While Skywalker rested in a hibernation trance, Jade made her sacrifice. Using a beckon call for her ship, she crashed the Jade's Fire into the hangar, preventing Parck from contacting and handing over his resources to the Remnant, which would use them against the New Republic. Sneaking in through a second passageway shown to them by their alien guides, Skywalker and Jade entered a different part of the fortress, that time encountering an unripe clone of Thrawn. However, two guard droids, layered with cortosis armor, attacked them on a floor laced with rope snares. Fighting back to back, the two joined minds to battle the droids in perfect coordination, though they had little chance of defeating the two droids. However, R2-D2 distracted one of the droids long enough for the two to cut through the wall, letting water from a lake on the other side of the wall into the room, and in the confusion from the flood, Skywalker destroyed the two droids. Realizing that the water had trapped them inside, Skywalker told Jade of a vision he had of her lying face down in water and also confessed his love to Jade, which she had completely realized when they had joined minds. As the water rose, Luke Skywalker asked her to marry him. She accepted.

Skywalker then realized that letting water into the fusion generator into the cloning chamber would create a blast big enough to blow through the wall. Jade actually made the cut, as she had more experience with the technique needed, a Paparak cross-cut. As the water roared through the newly created outlet, Skywalker put her in a hibernation trance, and they both flew through the water unconscious. The Jedi awoke first and pulled Jade from where she had been lying face down in the water, waking her with the phrase "I love you, Mara." With the aid of the Qom Jha and Qom Qae natives one final time, they boarded their ships, with both of them in the clawcraft they had taken, and left the planet for the New Republic. As an added bonus, R2-D2 had picked up Thrawn's copy of the Caamas Document while in the fortress, which they took back to resolve the conflict that had broken out over Bothawui.

Following the signing of the Pellaeon–Gavrisom Treaty, Skywalker and Jade spent a couple weeks on Garqi in the Outer Rim relaxing. However, back on Coruscant, Leia Solo announced their wedding, which was perceived by the press as a symbol of unity between the Imperial and New Republic factions. To further complicate matters, C-3PO became involved in the wedding planning, resulting in a grandiose ceremony, much to Jade's dismay.

As part of the wedding preparations, Jade had to contend with numerous dress designers vying for the opportunity to design her wedding dress, with options ranging from a masked dress to a black dress reminiscent of Imperial agents' attire to a minimalist dress that Jade refused to even step out of the dressing room in. Frustrated, she left Solo's apartment, where the designers had been convening, to take a walk. While on the streets, she encountered a disheartened Twi'lek female dress designer named Jari'kyn who had been trying to present her design to Jade but had been fired by her employer instead. Jade revealed her identity to the designer and was highly impressed with her designs.

Shortly after commissioning her dressmaker, Skywalker and Jade had a private, less formal Jedi wedding ceremony at the Jedi training area established on Coruscant. They were married by Kam Solusar, who joined two halves of a crystal together as a symbol of their union. However, Jade was later displeased to learn that Skywalker had been involved in a bar fight during his bachelor party. She was also troubled by a nightmare in which Palpatine had triumphed, and she was marrying a Skywalker corrupted by the dark side.

While Skywalker and his male friends recovered from their previous night's altercation, Jade and her bridesmaids—Leia Solo, Mirax Terrik Horn, Iella Wessiri Antilles, Winter Celchu, and Tionne Solusar—went to a spa to relax. While there, they became bored and relieved their stress on the slingball court, easily defeating a group of pilots from Champion Squadron. However, all the women made sure not to tell their husbands of that event, as they had already taken them to task for the bar fight.

Leaving the spa, Jade went to collect her gown from Jari'kyn and was impressed by its appearance. However, they were attacked by a former Imperial Royal Guardsman seeking to disrupt the wedding. Still carrying her lightsaber, Jade easily defeated him. On the day of her formal wedding, despite an Imperial plot to sabotage the wedding and a former Moff appearing at the climax of the ceremony threatening to shut down all communications, Skywalker and his friends were able to prevent any serious altercations. The Jedi calmed down the Moff, while the Rogues, Chewbacca, and Solusar dealt with the Imperials. The two exchanged vows and rings, and were introduced to the galaxy for the first time as the Skywalkers. Following their reception, Han Solo flew the couple to their honeymoon destination.

A year after their marriage, Jade Skywalker grew frustrated with Skywalker's time being constantly occupied by others as he mediated various disputes on a planet that revered Jedi wisdom. However, her husband had arranged a special second honeymoon for her, which pleased her greatly, although she playfully cautioned Skywalker against imitating their native host by calling her a "blushing bride."

Over the next few years, Skywalker dedicated most of his time to instructing his Jedi candidates at the Jedi Academy in the ways of the Force. Jade Skywalker, retaining some of her wanderlust, traveled extensively with smuggler Mirax Terrik Horn and assisted the fledgling Jedi Knights in departing Yavin IV. During this period, she and Mirax were brought up on charges, but were exonerated.

In 22 ABY, Mara Jade Skywalker concluded her alliance with Karrde in order to fully commit herself to her marriage and Jedi knighthood. This decision came after one final mission to smuggler Jerf Huxley to inform him that Karrde's group was terminating his employment. The angered smuggler attempted to intimidate her with a patched-together droideka, but the Skywalkers easily subdued the smugglers and destroyed the droid. Immediately afterwards, they were invited by the Chiss, via a message from Karrde, to represent the Jedi in the return of the ruins of the Outbound Flight Project. This project had been revealed to have been destroyed by Thrawn, and its remains were located in a Chiss stronghold known as The Redoubt. However, Karrde also warned them that the original message had been stolen by a former employee named Dean Jinzler. The Skywalkers traveled as honorary guests aboard the Chaf Envoy. Upon arrival to the Chaf Envoy, a cable detached from the ceiling and nearly struck Luke Skywalker, who skillfully avoided it. Although the incident was suspicious, the two Jedi were unharmed. Jade Skywalker investigated the fixture later. While examining the cable, she encountered Chak Fel, accompanied by four stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand. Fortunately, the stormtroopers and Fel appeared friendly, as they were also interested in the remains of Outbound Flight.

Before they had a chance to depart, the Chaf Envoy was approached by an outdated vessel carrying a people calling themselves the Geroons, who claimed to have been saved from slavery years ago by the Jedi aboard Outbound Flight. The Chiss allowed some of the Geroons to board the Chaf Envoy as representatives, and the impoverished people were awed by the two Jedi. Eventually, the assembled party made their way towards the Redoubt on the Chaf Envoy, along with Geroon representatives, Dean Jinzler, posing as a New Republic representative, Chak Fel and four stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand. None of the disparate groups of guests trusted any of the others or their Chiss hosts. During the expedition, the Skywalkers grew increasingly suspicious after several attempts to sabotage the mission, including someone setting an area near the fuel tanks on fire and the discovery of destructive line creepers running through the ship. In the former incident, the two Jedi, along with the four stormtroopers, were on hand to provide assistance. Charging into the burning compartment where the stormtroopers were already battling the blaze, Skywalker levitated his wife up into a position where she could use her lightsaber to slice through a coolant line. The result of her actions quickly doused the fire, and Chiss begrudgingly thanked them for their assistance. In another incident, one of the Geroons was shot by a mysterious assailant, and the Jedi, though responding quickly with lightsabers ready, were unable to determine the attacker and were reprimanded by the ship's captain for waving weapons around unnecessarily, to Jade Skywalker's annoyance. As they continued to their destination, Jade Skywalker began having doubts about her time as an Emperor's Hand though her husband managed to coax her out of it.

Upon arriving at Outbound Flight, the various members of the diplomatic party were separated by the Survivors, the last remnants of the crew of Outbound Flight and their descendants, in repulsor cars. The Skywalkers found themselves in a rigged repulsor car, but they managed to escape and return to the entry point. However, the Geroons revealed themselves to be the tyrannical Vagaari and to be far more numerous than initially believed. The aliens had already seized control of the Chaf Envoy and were moving throughout the derelict. Consequently, they were attacked by a group of Vagaari and their wolvkils while making their way back through the Dreadnoughts. The Skywalkers easily defeated them, as the Chiss had deliberately kept the Vagaari ignorant of the capabilities of Jedi and their lightsabers. After contacting Fel and the stormtroopers, they returned to rescue the Chiss diplomatic party, engaging numerous Vagaari. Eventually, they were able to rescue the Chiss and unite with the stormtroopers and Fel, who had also fought their way through Vagaari patrols. Following brief negotiations with the Survivors, the Skywalkers persuaded them to join the fight against the Vagaari. Her visit and acts of kindness left a lasting impression on many of the younger members of the Outbound Flight survivors, including a young man named Khedryn Faal.

Soon, with the assistance of the Imperials, the Chiss party, and the Survivors, the Skywalkers had the Vagaari in full retreat and forced them to activate their contingency plan. After the Vagaari reactivated, detached, and took one of the six Dreadnoughts that comprised Outbound Flight to rendezvous with their main ship, the Skywalkers pursued it in a Delta-12 Skysprite and intercepted the ship. On board, they fought through heavy defenses, including a fully programmed and activated droideka, and defeated the Vagaari leader. It was revealed that their entire visit had been orchestrated by the Chiss to lure the Vagaari into attacking them, allowing them to launch a full-scale war against them. At the end of the mission, Jade Skywalker told her husband that she felt that being at his side in the New Republic was where she felt she should be, despite its shortcomings and the attractiveness of the Empire of the Hand.

During this period, Jade Skywalker also took her niece Jaina Solo as an apprentice, bequeathing a modified Z-95 Headhunter to her. Jade Skywalker told Jaina that her first lesson was a flying one, and that she was to fly the ship to meet her family on Mon Calamari. Jade Skywalker was not feeling well, though, as a mysterious illness had begun affecting her.

During a diplomatic ceremony on Monor II to witness the accession of the Sunesi tenth priest-prince, Agapos the Tenth, Jade Skywalker served as a bodyguard for one of the attending minor diplomats. Nom Anor, a Yuuzhan Vong agent masquerading as a head of state, was also in attendance, and secretly infected all those present with coomb spores, a deadly Yuuzhan Vong bio-agent which killed everyone infected, except for Jade Skywalker. She was able to resist the disease through use of the Force, although no permanent cure could be found.

Before the Yuuzhan Vong's assault commenced, Leia Organa Solo, accompanied by Jaina Solo and Jade Skywalker, embarked on a diplomatic journey to Rhommamool. At that time, Rhommamool was embroiled in a civil war against its planetary neighbor, Osarian. The diplomatic effort proved fruitless, as Nom Anor, disguised as Rhommamool's leader, dismissed Organa Solo after extracting information, particularly about Jade Skywalker's health. The trio returned to Coruscant, where Jade Skywalker suffered another episode related to the illness affecting her, now impacting her unborn child. Simultaneously, her husband had just concluded a meeting with the New Republic Advisory Council, and Jade Skywalker cautioned him concerning the destabilizing actions taken by Jedi Knight Wurth Skidder regarding the Rhommamool situation. Subsequently, back on Rhommamool, Anor launched a missile attack on the Mediator, obliterating Osa-Prime and escalating the political tensions into a widespread conflict.

Feeling disillusioned with Coruscant's governing body, the Skywalkers and Solos journeyed to Calrissian's base on Dubrillion in pursuit of insights into Jedi operations within the Outer Rim territories. Jade Skywalker also utilized this opportunity to evaluate her apprentice's abilities by instructing Artoo to extract her from hyperspace at a location divergent from her anticipated destination. As anticipated, Jaina Solo demonstrated her competence by charting a course back to her family. Upon receiving a distress signal originating from the ExGal-4 outpost positioned on Belkadan, the Skywalkers collectively resolved to investigate. Upon arriving on Belkadan, they ascertained that the planet had been subjected to an ecological catastrophe resulting from Yuuzhan Vong terraforming activities. Jade Skywalker then perceived a connection between her ailment and the planet's devastation. She became the first Jedi to confront a Yuuzhan Vong warrior when Yomin Carr, the instigator of the planet's ruin, launched an assault against her. She narrowly succeeded in subduing the infiltrator.

Capitalizing on intelligence gathered from ExGal-4's databases, they proceeded to the Helska system, where Skywalker encountered an attack by hostile coralskippers as he descended his X-wing toward Helska IV's surface. Jade Skywalker intervened to assist him, and they retreated from the system, heading for Dubrillion. Skywalker determined that a return to investigate was imperative and devised a plan to utilize one of Calrissian's iceborers to infiltrate the planet's icy crust; Jade Skywalker was slated to pilot the transport vessel for the expedition. However, due to her weakened state from the illness, the Solo twins assumed control of the craft instead. When a New Republic fleet, spearheaded by the Rejuvenator, arrived, the Skywalkers shadowed the fleet to the Helska system, providing covering fire for Solo's iceborer while the New Republic fleet endured significant damage from the Yuuzhan Vong forces. Following Jaina Solo's retrieval of her brother, who had ventured into the Yuuzhan Vong stronghold and rescued Danni Quee, the Skywalkers transported Quee from the cramped iceborer to the Jade Sabre in a nearby system.

After conferring with the young scientist and Jacen Solo regarding the invaders, they readied themselves to return to Helska, accompanied by shieldships and starfighters from Dubrillion, aiming to employ the shieldships to melt the planet. Despite her declining health, Jade Skywalker piloted the Jade Sabre once more, recognizing the necessity of destroying the planet to eliminate the Vong within and the need for every available craft to protect the shieldships. However, amidst the intense battle, she succumbed to her illness, and Jaina Solo's attempts to seize control proved futile; her lapse had already resulted in substantial damage to the Jade Sabre. Only a last-ditch maneuver by Skywalker, utilizing his repulsor coils to propel the Jade Sabre away from the thawing ice planet, averted a fatal outcome. Nevertheless, the shieldships successfully melted the planet, and the Praetorite Vong were vanquished. In the aftermath of the battle, Jade Skywalker experienced a gradual recovery as she combatted the illness within her.

Following the conflict at Helska IV, Jade Skywalker journeyed back to Yavin IV, where Luke Skywalker had convened a gathering of all Jedi. During this assembly, Skywalker delegated various missions to members of the Order, assigning Jade Skywalker and her nephew Anakin Solo to Dantooine. This assignment served both as an opportunity for her recuperation and to combat her illness, as well as a reconnaissance mission to ascertain whether Dantooine lay within the Yuuzhan Vong's invasion path.

While on Dantooine, Jade Skywalker endeavored to recuperate and imparted a lesson to Anakin Solo regarding the importance of not trivializing the Force for mundane purposes, such as bartering with the indigenous Dantari. After several weeks on the planet, they detected the presence of Yuuzhan Vong forces. Anakin was compelled to fend off Yuuzhan Vong warrior hunting parties until Skywalker and Jacen Solo arrived to rescue them, as the Jade Sabre had been destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong. Subsequently, they participated in the Battle of Dantooine, although Skywalker requested that his wife remain with Leia and the noncombatants. Despite her initial agreement, Jade Skywalker found herself confronting three Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators clad in ooglith masquers within the refugee camp, aided by Leia and her Noghri bodyguard Bolpuhr. Swiftly eliminating the warriors, Jade Skywalker dispatched Leia to locate Danni Quee, a Force-sensitive individual capable of detecting Yuuzhan Vong, to identify additional infiltrators. Meanwhile, Jade Skywalker inspected other areas of the camp, eliminating one more warrior. The defenders successfully repelled the Yuuzhan Vong advance, albeit at a significant cost. Following the battle and the evacuation of the refugees, the Solos and Skywalkers, including Jade Skywalker, returned to Coruscant to deliver their somber report, their retreat covered by Bothan Admiral Traest Kre'fey.

On Coruscant, she, along with Corran Horn, Skywalker, Kyp Durron, and numerous other Jedi, convened another meeting to discuss the Order's role in the ongoing war. The Skywalkers and Horn sought to moderate the aggressive tendencies of Durron and his substantial faction, achieving some degree of success. Jade Skywalker remained largely silent during the meeting, preferring to observe and offer quiet support to her husband. Later, however, she and Anakin Solo discovered unauthorized access to files pertaining to ancient Imperial superweapons. The Skywalkers and Anakin swiftly identified Jedi Knight Daeshara'cor as their prime suspect, and Skywalker enlisted the assistance of a fringe information broker named Chalco, as Han was still grappling with grief over Chewbacca's demise. Skywalker discerned that Daeshara'cor intended to meet with former superweapon designer Qwi Xux on Vortex, prompting the trio to journey to Vortex aboard the Pulsar Skate with Mirax Terrik Horn to intercept the rogue Jedi Knight.

Upon arriving on Vortex, the Skywalkers encountered Xux, who denied divulging any information to Daeshara'cor. During their discussion, Jade Skywalker asserted that she would consider employing a superweapon under specific circumstances, although Xux maintained her pacifistic convictions. The Skywalkers departed, leaving Xux at the Cathedral of Winds, and continued their search on Garos IV, a planet renowned for its university and extensive database of antiquated Imperial records. They were alarmed to discover that Daeshara'cor had abducted Anakin after offering a trade: Anakin in exchange for information regarding Imperial superweapons. However, Anakin proved to be a formidable captive and, with Chalco's assistance, subdued the renegade.

Subsequently, the Skywalkers traveled to Ithor, an impending battleground in the war. Jade Skywalker refrained from participating in the releasing ceremony alongside the other Jedi but did manage to spend quality time with her husband. Jade Skywalker confided in her husband that she was prepared to confront the uncertainties of the future and expressed her long-standing desire to bear his child, although she wished to overcome her illness first. However, their tranquil interlude on Ithor was disrupted by the arrival of Yuuzhan Vong commander Shedao Shai with a substantial force of ships and warriors, initiating a coordinated air and ground assault on the planet. Jade Skywalker fought against his troops on Ithor's surface, performing admirably despite her relative frailty. In the process, she rescued Anakin from the Yuuzhan Vong, and the invaders were temporarily repelled. The struggle for Ithor concluded when Corran Horn challenged and defeated Shai in single combat, but his subordinate callously destroyed Ithor regardless. Horn was left to bear the blame, and Jade Skywalker supported his decision to temporarily abandon both the Jedi Order and the New Republic, despite her husband's objections.

On Kashyyyk, during a brief lull in the war, a memorial service was conducted for Chewbacca. Among those in attendance were Luke Skywalker, Han and Leia Solo, and their three offspring. Jade Skywalker was unable to be present at Chewbacca's funeral due to the intensity of her illness at that time. The memorial was a somber event, during which Han received one of Chewbacca's bowcasters. To Han's astonishment, two of Chewbacca's relatives opted to assume his life debt to the smuggler and his family, but Han declined, stating that he was not yet prepared for such a commitment. Following the funeral, Skywalker returned to Coruscant to Jade Skywalker. She disclosed to him that her morale was waning as the war persisted. Jade Skywalker had harbored hopes that conditions in the galaxy would have improved following the treaty with the Empire. While Skywalker was on Kashyyyk, Jade Skywalker had consulted with a resident physician on Coruscant who reiterated what she already knew regarding her illness: that it was a foreign and unidentified composite, that no known cures or treatments existed, and that the Belkadan beetle, which Skywalker had recovered, was also of an unknown species. However, Jade Skywalker swiftly redirected the conversation to the recent memorial for Chewbacca. Skywalker recounted the ceremony to her and expressed his concerns regarding Han and his coping mechanisms in the wake of Chewbacca's death. Jade Skywalker reminded her husband of the underlying reasons for Han's behavior and assured him that, with time and space, Han's wounds would eventually heal.

In the meantime, the priestess Elan, a Yuuzhan Vong operative, defected to the New Republic alongside her familiar Vergere, aspiring to gain proximity to the assembled Jedi leadership where a lethal virus could be unleashed, effectively eliminating the primary impediment to the Yuuzhan Vong's continued advancement. Upon defecting, the spy and Vergere furnished valuable intelligence on various matters, notably information pertaining to an impending assault on Ord Mantell, as well as revelations that the Yuuzhan Vong had disseminated a deadly virus throughout the galaxy long before their invasion. For the Jedi, particularly Skywalker, this represented the sole available piece of information discovered thus far that could aid Jade Skywalker in her battle against her illness. However, Elan stipulated to New Republic intelligence that all subsequent information would only be provided on the condition that she be permitted to meet with the convened leaders of the Jedi to personally furnish further details regarding the enigmatic virus they had introduced. Skywalker and the Jedi acknowledged the potential for a trap but also recognized that this information might hold the key to curing Jade Skywalker.

Nevertheless, the course of the war superseded the plans for a meeting between the Jedi and Elan. The Queen of Empire, a luxury liner repurposed as a refugee transport, came under attack by the Peace Brigade in an attempt to seize Elan and return her to the Yuuzhan Vong. The Peace Brigade was unaware of Elan's assassination mission. During the ensuing conflict, Han Solo, who was aboard the Queen of Empire, pursued Elan and narrowly escaped death when she attempted to exhale some of the lethal virus upon him. Elan ultimately succumbed to her own machinations, and Vergere escaped via an escape pod, but not before providing Han with a vial of tears, declaring that they must "reach the Jedi."

Despite Han's apprehension that the tears might be a concealed weapon, he nonetheless delivered them to the Jedi, who proceeded to conduct experiments on them. Their initial findings were shocking, but ultimately instilled hope within the Jedi. The tears were found to possess remarkable healing attributes. Convinced that the tears constituted an antidote for her ailment, Jade Skywalker seized the vial from her husband and ingested its contents. Immediately, Jade Skywalker began to experience a distinct sensation throughout her body, perceiving the tears as counteracting the illness within her. However, even though her illness appeared to be in remission, the Jedi remained uncertain as to whether the tears would provide lasting relief.

As the Yuuzhan Vong persisted in their conquest of the galaxy, the planet of Kalarba and its moon Hosk Station eventually fell under attack. The Yuuzhan Vong intended to replicate the devastation of Sernpidal by steering the moon on a collision trajectory with its primary planet. In response, the New Republic deployed Rogue Squadron to assist in stemming the enemy's advance. During the battle, however, Jaina's fighter was destroyed, forcing her to eject from the doomed aircraft. Across the galaxy, numerous Jedi sensed through the Force that something dire had befallen Jaina. On Duro, Jacen collapsed due to his and Jaina's twin bond; Leia, who was also on Duro, experienced the same pain that Jacen felt; and on Coruscant, both Skywalkers were cognizant that something had gone awry with Jaina but were confident that the situation would be resolved.

Concurrently, the Skywalkers had resolved to convene a meeting of several Jedi, including Anakin Solo and Kenth Hamner, on Coruscant to deliberate on the current state of the war. Jedi Master Cilghal reported on the immense toll the war was taking on life and the increasingly prolonged days for the Jedi healers. As the meeting unfolded, Jade Skywalker began to reflect on the war's progression thus far: her forced abandonment of the Jade Sabre, the remission of the mysterious disease following the gift of Vergere's tears, and Anakin's near-single-handed rescue of her during the Battle of Dantooine. Throughout the meeting, the Skywalkers listened to various reports from Jedi regarding their missions. During the meeting, Jedi apprentice Tekli informed the Skywalkers that she had overheard conversations in a local tapcafe, the Leafy Green, suggesting the presence of Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators donning ooglith masquers. Tekli believed that the matter warranted investigation by a Jedi with greater expertise in such affairs. It was ultimately decided that Anakin would investigate the claims under the supervision of Jade Skywalker.

Shortly thereafter, Jade Skywalker and Anakin departed for the Leafy Green, and along the way, she continued her previous lessons on espionage and infiltration with Anakin. Upon arriving at the tapcafe, they secured a table that afforded them a comprehensive view of the establishment while also providing a swift means of egress. It did not take them long to identify an individual whose presence and demeanor seemed incongruous. Utilizing the Force to probe their target, they swiftly determined that the individual emitted no signature in the Living Force. Unwilling to apprehend the Yuuzhan Vong operative amidst a large crowd, Jade Skywalker and Anakin finished their meals and trailed the operative as he exited the tapcafe. They pursued the operative and eventually cornered him in an alleyway. A fierce, but brief, skirmish ensued, during which the operative attacked with a concealed amphistaff. Jade Skywalker managed to subdue the operative after discovering that she could incapacitate the amphistaff with a blow to the center of its head. However, upon realizing that the Yuuzhan Vong were virtually immune to the effects of a blaster set on stun, she resolved to end the fight with a swift strike to the operative's temple. With the Yuuzhan Vong now unconscious, Jade Skywalker and Anakin transported the captured operative back for interrogation and study.

Jade Skywalker delivered the Yuuzhan Vong to Cilghal and the exobiologist Dr. Joi Eicroth, who proceeded to restrain the captured operative to a table for further examination. During this time, the operative recovered from the blow inflicted by Jade Skywalker and managed to use a hidden claw in its hand to sever some of the table restraints. Although Anakin was prepared to defend those present by killing the operative with his lightsaber, Jade Skywalker instructed Anakin to desist. The Yuuzhan Vong chose to slit its own throat with its claw rather than become a prisoner of the Jedi. She and Anakin expressed disappointment that their prisoner was now deceased, lamenting that the entire operation had been futile. Skywalker, however, reflected on the fact that they had succeeded in removing a Yuuzhan Vong infiltrator from the war and had also discovered a method of killing amphistaffs by targeting the snake head's crest directly.

Eventually, the Skywalkers were summoned to meet with various leaders of the New Republic's military. At the meeting, the two Jedi were briefed by Ayddar Nylykerka, the chief of Fleet Intelligence, on the recent losses to the Yuuzhan Vong, notably the planets Kalarba, Druckenwell, and Falleen. He continued by stating that even if the New Republic were able to defend and hold the planet Rodia, the Corellian Run would still be severed. The war, it seemed, was only going to escalate for the New Republic and the Jedi. During the meeting, they were informed that, following the debacle with Centerpoint Station during the Battle of Fondor, the immense weapon was now out of commission, a closely guarded secret. Subsequently, the meeting devolved into an anti-Jedi debate. Eventually, under intense scrutiny and with blame for the war being heaped upon the Jedi, the Skywalkers chose to depart the meeting rather than allow it to persist.

Following the disastrous meeting with the military leaders, the Skywalkers retreated to their home, where they were greeted by Jedi Master Tresina Lobi. They were soon informed that Master Lobi feared that her apprentice, Thrynni Vae, was in peril and had not been heard from for some time following her insertion onto the planet Duro. The Skywalkers were also alarmed by the news and resolved that they, along with Anakin, would journey to Duro to investigate the situation. After Master Lobi departed their home, Jade Skywalker began to experience a sudden and unsettling shift in her body chemistry, fearing that her illness was now mounting a concerted effort at resurgence. However, through probing with the Force, she was able to detect a small spark of life within her, one that carried Skywalker's essence. Jade Skywalker was astonished to discover that she was pregnant.

The Skywalkers and Anakin employed the Jade Shadow to travel to Duro, opting to dock at one of Duro's numerous orbital cities. During that time, the Skywalkers overheard a man denouncing the Republic and the Jedi. Something managed to capture their attention: the speaker employed the same speeches and mannerisms as Nom Anor, whom they believed had perished on Rhommamool. They concluded that the man could not have been Nom Anor and decided to proceed with their journey to the planet's surface. Once there, the Skywalkers and Anakin rendezvoused with Leia, who was now responsible for managing the escalating refugee crisis on Duro. Leaving the others to pursue her mission, Jade Skywalker donned a disguise to blend into the refugee environment of Duro and managed to access a computer terminal hardwired into the planet's various control and information systems. Utilizing her talents, Jade Skywalker was able to infiltrate the computer terminal to search for any information pertaining to the disappearance of Thrynni Vae. However, Jade Skywalker soon stumbled upon a familiar, but antiquated, military code, one that she had only witnessed being used by one other individual on one other planet: Nom Anor on Rhommamool.

This discovery heightened Jade Skywalker's apprehension, and she disconnected herself from the computer terminal, rushing to inform Leia and Jaina of her findings. Upon hearing her theory that Nom Anor was actually alive and operating on Duro, Leia shared her own theories with her sister-in-law. Leia believed that a local doctor by the name of Dassid Cree'Ar was actually in league with the Yuuzhan Vong and that he might have ties with Anor as well. Jade Skywalker resolved to investigate the "doctor," and with Jaina, departed for Cree'Ar's laboratory. Jade Skywalker, posing as Baroness Muehling, and Jaina, disguised as Muehling's servant, traveled to Cree'Ar's lab to discuss his work on Duro. During their "meeting," Jade Skywalker kept Cree'Ar occupied with questions while Jaina probed the doctor through the Force. Jaina could not sense the doctor's presence. Convinced that he was a Yuuzhan Vong operative, Jaina used the Force to exert pressure on various points of the ooglith masquer. Eventually, she located the correct spot and unmasked Nom Anor, who had been using his disguise as Dassid Cree'Ar to covertly sabotage the New Republic's efforts on Duro. Following his unmasking, Anor taunted Jade Skywalker by revealing that he was the one responsible for infecting her with the deadly coomb spore. Although Jade Skywalker attempted to provoke Anor into an open confrontation, the Yuuzhan Vong chose to flee from the two Jedi. Jade Skywalker and Jaina hesitantly pursued Anor, but while they were in pursuit, Anor detonated various bombs in the underground tunnels, effectively trapping the Jedi. Jade Skywalker and Jaina, however, used the Force to project a bubble around them, enabling them to escape the perilous tunnels relatively unscathed.

Jade Skywalker and Jaina returned to their family, and Jade Skywalker informed her husband of her discoveries pertaining to Nom Anor, Duro, and the illness that had afflicted her. However, the planet of Duro was soon engulfed in conflict as it became the next target of the Yuuzhan Vong. During the ensuing battle, Tsavong Lah, Warmaster of the Yuuzhan Vong, warned the New Republic that any ships caught fleeing the system would not be tolerated. Jade Skywalker and the others, however, advised the other refugee ships that it was now left to their own personal discretion whether they decided to stay and surrender, or fight and flee. The ensuing battle turned into a rout for the New Republic: The Skywalkers used the Jade Shadow to transport a number of refugees away from the planet, numerous ships unsuccessfully tried defending the retreating Duro orbital stations during their own withdrawal, and the planet of Duro eventually fell to the advancing Yuuzhan Vong.

During their final withdrawal from the Duro system, Jade Skywalker received a vision through the Force telling her that her baby was a boy. Together, the Skywalkers traveled back to Coruscant to tell the New Republic leaders of the loss of Duro.

When Leia came back to Coruscant from Duro to get medical help for her leg injuries, which Tsavong Lah had caused when he briefly held her captive, the Skywalker family and the Solo children were there to greet her and watch over her as she got better. While she was on Coruscant, Skywalker witnessed the Appeasement Vote against the Jedi fail by a two-to-one vote, but she was still uneasy that a third of the Senate had voted against the Jedi. She was also present with Leia and Skywalker when her husband came up with the idea for the Great River network, which the Solos would later assist the Skywalker in creating as a secret route to safely move the Jedi around.

After Tsavong Lah was embarrassed by Jacen Solo when Jacen freed Leia and hurt him, he put out a bounty on the heads of all the Jedi, and many were handed over to the Yuuzhan Vong by collaborators from the Peace Brigade. Jade Skywalker was dealing with some of the less pleasant effects of being pregnant, like morning sickness and mood swings. After the Jedi Academy on Yavin was attacked, with Anakin Solo trying to defend it, the Skywalkers, Jacen, and Jaina had a meeting with Borsk Fey'lya to ask for assistance from the New Republic. The selfish Bothan turned them down flat and also said that Yavin was off-limits to the Jedi. To aid Karrde in his efforts to get all the Jedi off the planet, the Skywalkers sent Jacen and Jaina in the Jade Shadow to locate Booster Terrik and the Errant Venture and request their assistance. Jade Skywalker wanted to go on the mission herself, but Skywalker decided against it, as Fey'lya was likely watching their movements and would know if they had disobeyed his orders. Instead, Anakin Solo secretly left the planet, and Jade Skywalker enlisted Karrde's help to get the trainees away from the troubled academy.

During the eighth month of Jade Skywalker's pregnancy, while they were still on Coruscant, her husband took the opportunity to take her to a man-made beach that Lando Calrissian owned and had offered for their use. They talked about what they would name their baby, but the Skywalker agreed not to discuss the war, the Jedi, politics, or the Yuuzhan Vong. However, their relaxing time was interrupted by Jedi Knight Kenth Hamner's arrival.

Hamner informed them that Fey'lya had just issued a warrant for their arrest. Hamner explained that Fey'lya had proof of their involvement in the Yavin system after being told not to interfere there. However, he also pointed out that Fey'lya didn't intend to actually put them on trial, but just send them into exile where he wouldn't be responsible for their unauthorized actions. Naturally, Jade Skywalker was furious. Her further anger was cut short when she fainted. According to the MD-10 droid that examined her, the artificial tears she had been using after running out of the supply Vergere had given her were causing placental toxic shock, which was endangering her unborn son. Jade Skywalker refused to be admitted to a medical center, saying that it was their only chance to avoid arrest.

The Skywalkers and Hamner went back to their apartments, where they met with the healer Cilghal and the well-known physician Ism Oolos. They both determined that the synthesized tears were dangerous to her child, but that for now, it was healthy. Jade Skywalker decided not to induce labor at that time and also decided not to take any more tears for the final month of her pregnancy. Cilghal asked to go with them off Coruscant, and Jade Skywalker gratefully accepted the healer's request. Using a few mind tricks and erased memories, the Jedi boarded the Jade Shadow and took off, meeting with Jaina, who was flying her X-wing for fun, on their way to orbit. They quickly fought off a group of interceptors, and although Rogue Squadron offered to escort them, the Skywalkers declined, fearing that having the military help them would lead to a coup and total instability in the New Republic. Instead, they escaped to the Errant Venture, where Jade Skywalker was mostly confined to bed. Her physical discomfort had returned, as had her illness.

Furthermore, Cilghal discovered that Jade Skywalker's illness was spreading five times faster than before. With Jade Skywalker focusing all of her Force effort and energy on protecting her son from the disease, the rest of her body was deteriorating quickly. As she was dying on the Errant Venture, she, Skywalker, and their unborn son joined minds and completely eliminated the disease from her body, once and for all. Soon after that, their child was born, and the Skywalkers named him Ben. Also, Fey'lya called to inform them that the warrant for their arrest had been canceled, while Kam Solusar and Tionne told them they had found a secure world in the Deep Core to use as a Jedi refuge: Eclipse.

Throughout the war, two Twi'lek Jedi Knights had spearheaded a fierce resistance on New Plympto. Nevertheless, the sisters Alema and Numa Rar were compelled to evacuate the planet when the Yuuzhan Vong resolved to quash the resistance by obliterating the entire world. The Twi'leks managed to flee aboard the Nebula Chaser, only to be detected by a Yuuzhan Vong search unit employing newly engineered voxyn creatures, specifically designed to hunt Jedi. Numa met her demise at the hands of one of these beasts, while Alema narrowly escaped in an escape pod. Concurrently, Jade Skywalker and Jaina Solo, aboard the Jade Shadow, successfully rescued Alema Rar, bringing her back to Skywalker and the other Jedi for a comprehensive debriefing on the events that had transpired.

Subsequently, following Rar's rescue, the New Republic initiated a rescue operation targeting the planet of Talfaglio. Here, the Yuuzhan Vong were detaining prisoners, threatening their execution unless the Jedi divulged the whereabouts of Eclipse Station. The New Republic proceeded with meticulous planning for the large-scale rescue, while the Skywalkers, alongside other Jedi, devised a supplementary strategy to capture a Yuuzhan Vong war coordinator. Operation Safe Passage was set in motion, and during the ensuing space battle, Jade Skywalker conceived a tactic that involved Republic forces targeting the lead Yuuzhan Vong cruiser, while Jedi starfighters disabled their sublight engines and launched shadow bombs at a skip carrier, which was incessantly deploying enemy fighters—the maneuver proved successful, resulting in the destruction of both Yuuzhan Vong vessels. Amidst the chaos of battle, the Jedi executed their secondary plan, ultimately managing to capture the Yuuzhan Vong yammosk war coordinator who was present during the engagement.

In tandem, Anakin Solo spearheaded his Jedi strike team in their assault on Myrkr's voxyn-cloning facility, and while their mission achieved its objective, it exacted a heavy toll—several Jedi Knights, including Anakin, perished in the intense combat. Across the vast expanse of the galaxy, Anakin's passing reverberated through his mother, Leia, as well as the Skywalkers.

The Yuuzhan Vong soon commenced their invasion of Coruscant, and despite uniting forces with General Wedge Antilles's Fleet Group Three, the Jedi found themselves hopelessly outnumbered by Tsavong Lah's invading armada. While the Jedi managed to obliterate several enemy yammosks and Lah's flagship, the Sunulok, the Jedi starfighter wing suffered significant losses. During the monumental clash, the Skywalkers discovered that Viqi Shesh had abducted their infant son. Without hesitation, the Skywalkers disengaged from the space battle and embarked on a mission to rescue their kidnapped child. However, en route to her son's rescue, Jade Skywalker's fighter was shot down, crashing into the urban landscape of Coruscant, though she emerged unscathed from the wreckage. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian, YVH 1-1A, and C-3PO successfully recovered Ben, evacuating him from Coruscant, where he was eventually reunited with his parents. Upon receiving confirmation of Ben's safety, the Skywalkers joined forces with Leia and Han, contributing to the defense of Coruscant with a surface turbolaser battery. Nevertheless, the Yuuzhan Vong invasion intensified, overwhelming the Republic defenders. Alongside Han and Leia, the Skywalkers boarded the Falcon, escaping the besieged planet as the Yuuzhan Vong fleet continued their conquest.

Following Coruscant's fall, the Skywalkers were reunited with the rest of the Solo and Skywalker family on Hapes, where they convened to pay their final respects to the departed Anakin. Jade Skywalker became estranged from Jaina as she succumbed to her grief over her brother's loss, embracing the persona of the Yuuzhan Vong trickster goddess. They concluded their master/apprentice relationship amicably, and while Jaina sought apprenticeship under Kyp Durron, Jade Skywalker dedicated herself to her maternal responsibilities.

In the aftermath of Coruscant's capture by the Yuuzhan Vong, Jade Skywalker, accompanied by her husband and a contingent of Jedi, journeyed to Borleias with the intent of establishing a staging area for refugees, although she endeavored to minimize her involvement in the war to prioritize her son's well-being and protection. While stationed on Borleias, General Wedge Antilles appointed her as the Head of Intelligence for all in-system forces, granting her command over the personnel at the Borleias ground base. She maintained this position until the arrival of New Republic Intelligence agent Iella Wessiri planetside. Around that juncture, Jade Skywalker reluctantly parted ways with her son Ben to scout the Vong terraforming activities on Coruscant alongside Skywalker, Jedi apprentice Tahiri Veila, Danni Quee, and Wraith Squadron. The group ventured into the devastated capital, evading Yuuzhan Vong patrols and establishing contact with the survivors. Following Skywalker's guidance past a red devourer tank into a concealed chamber, Jade Skywalker's familiarity with antiquated Imperial codes facilitated their access to a clandestine laboratory where Irek Ismaren had been transformed into a mutant cyborg Dark Jedi. Plagued by the mental commands of Irek, now known as Lord Nyax, the three Jedi pursued the deranged Dark Jedi with the aspiration of thwarting his ambitions. Jade Skywalker nearly abandoned the pursuit upon spotting the traitorous senator Viqi Shesh in the company of Yuuzhan Vong, but Skywalker persuaded her to remain steadfast. Together, Skywalker, Veila, and Jade Skywalker extinguished the burgeoning menace of Lord Nyax before he could pose a significant threat to the Jedi Order and, by extension, the Republic.

Upon returning to Borleias, Jade Skywalker assumed the role of second-in-command of Blackmoon Squadron under her husband's leadership. Together, the couple provided cover for the Lusankya as it executed Operation Emperor's Spear during the concluding stages of the battle for Borleias, which culminated in a Pyrrhic victory for the Yuuzhan Vong and another New Republic retreat.

Subsequently, the husband and wife embarked on a journey to the provisional capital of Mon Calamari, where Jade Skywalker and Councilor Triebakk persuaded Alderaanian senator Cal Omas to vie for the position of Chief of State. Throughout his campaign, Jade Skywalker lent her assistance to Omas in her capacity as a private citizen, endeavoring to secure the pro-Jedi candidate's election. She also collaborated with Skywalker and Omas to devise a novel blueprint for the High Council, an advisory council for the Jedi comprising six Jedi and six non-Jedi. Later, she was in Skywalker's presence when Jacen arrived in-system with Vergere after escaping Yuuzhan Vong captivity. However, her responsibilities shifted when Calrissian and Karrde agreed to assist with Omas's campaign, and she commenced utilizing YVH-M droids to detect Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators who had bribed individuals for information, deriving satisfaction from her endeavors.

While shadowing a pair of disguised Yuuzhan Vong, she observed them boarding a submersible. Procuring another underwater vessel, she pursued them, preventing their assassination attempt on Omas and Triebakk with a pair of torpedoes by nearly ramming their craft and manipulating their own torpedo to loop back and strike the Yuuzhan Vong-piloted submersible. Omas would later emerge victorious in the election, assuming the mantle of Chief of State.

With his election, the High Council was established, with Jade Skywalker serving as one of its founding members. Shortly thereafter, she became aware of the genocidal bioweapon Alpha Red, engineered to eradicate the Yuuzhan Vong. The Skywalkers both opposed the utilization of the weapon, deeming it as the slaughter of an entire culture and an escalation of the war into an even more devastating conflict. Vergere overheard their discussion, however, and employed her tears to neutralize the weapon, temporarily averting the specter of Alpha Red. In the three-month delay in Alpha Red's development that Vergere had instigated, the New Republic resolved to implement Ackbar's long-standing plan for a series of limited engagements followed by a trap at Ebaq 9. Collaborating with New Republic Intelligence on Mon Calamari while Skywalker departed to enlist the assistance of Garm Bel Iblis and his fleet, Jade Skywalker meticulously leaked information to Yuuzhan Vong spies, divulging the bait—Jedi Knights and government officials—allegedly situated in the isolated Deep Core system. The outcome was the decisive Battle of Ebaq, which Jade Skywalker, Winter Celchu, and Ackbar observed from Fleet Command back on Mon Calamari.

Following the triumph at Ebaq Nine, Cal Omas convened a meeting of several prominent Jedi and government officials, including Jade Skywalker. Omas sought to initiate missions to reconnect the administration with regions of the galaxy that had been severed, and Skywalker proposed diplomatic endeavors to the Chiss and the Imperial Remnant with the aim of integrating them into the Galactic Alliance, although his underlying motive in venturing so near the Unknown Regions was to seek out the living planet Zonama Sekot. Jade Skywalker consented to accompany her husband in the Jade Shadow, along with Danni Quee, Saba Sebatyne, Tekli, R2-D2, and Jacen Solo. Prior to their departure, the Skywalkers checked on Tahiri Veila, who had sustained injuries and was grappling with conflicting personalities stemming from Yuuzhan Vong captivity earlier in the war. While the Skywalkers desired to remain and assist Tahiri, their mission was scheduled to depart the following day, necessitating numerous preparations, including consulting Jagged Fel for guidance on protocol with the Chiss.

Emerging from hyperspace near the Imperial capital of Bastion, they found themselves amidst the Battle of Bastion. After executing a microjump towards the retreating Imperial fleet, Jade Skywalker apprised Imperial admiral Gilad Pellaeon of the location of a yammosk carrier, and then, at Pellaeon's behest, withdrew the Jade Shadow back to Yaga Minor with the majority of the Imperial fleet. Despite an awkward and officious reception from Commander Keten and Moff Kurlen Flennic, they managed to meet with Pellaeon's protégé, Captain Arien Yage, who proved more welcoming than the Moff and Keten. Pellaeon had returned to Yaga Minor, but barely alive, and his absence from command rendered the Remnant less hospitable than previously, prompting Jade Skywalker to withdraw Jade Shadow while Jacen attempted to negotiate with the hard-liners. Fortunately, Pellaeon recovered sufficiently to resume command and, with the assistance of the Jedi, orchestrated the Battle of Borosk. Jade Skywalker participated in the battle aboard her beloved Jade Shadow, accompanied by Danni Quee, and became integral to Saba Sebatyne's plan to liberate Imperial prisoners from a slave-carrier vessel situated at the rear of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet that assailed Borosk. She docked the Jade Shadow in the docking bay of an antiquated Imperial Dreadnaught, heavily automated and modified to serve as a sacrificial vessel when flown near the slave-carrier. Once Quee and Sebatyne disabled the ship and released the prisoners, Jade Skywalker utilized the Shadow's tractor beam to bring them into the Dreadnaught's hangar bay and retrieve the two females. Their damaged Dreadnaught then executed a hyperspace jump, its mission accomplished, until the conclusion of the battle and the retreat of Yuuzhan Vong forces. Before departing the Remnant, Jade Skywalker and some of the other Jedi attended a meeting with Pellaeon and the Moff Council, during which she saved Pellaeon's life from Flennic's assassination attempt. Subsequently, they departed Imperial space for Chiss territory, escorted by an Imperial frigate, the Widowmaker, under the command of Captain Yage, to provide support and escort.

As the expedition progressed towards Chiss space, they were eventually contacted by a group of the enigmatic blue aliens over Munlali Mafir. The Chiss party requested that they visit Csilla for authorization to traverse Chiss space, and Jade Skywalker concurred that it was the most prudent course of action. Upon arriving at icy Csilla, the Jade Shadow landed on the planet, and Jade Skywalker, along with the other crew members of the Shadow, met with Commander Irolia and Chief Navigator Aabe, as well as members of the Chiss ruling families. The Chiss leadership denied them access to Chiss space but did grant them permission to peruse the Expansionary Fleet library on Csilla for information. The Skywalkers were escorted to the library by Soontir Fel, and they commenced their research through the vast repository of knowledge.

After hours of searching, the Skywalkers, Sebatyne, and Quee resolved to return to the Jade Shadow with the Fels on an ice barge for a respite. En route back to the spaceport, they were ambushed by rivals of the Fels in airspeeders. They feigned surrender; the airspeeders landed, and their assailants announced their intentions of killing them. At that juncture, the group sprang into action, and Jade Skywalker assisted in taking down two of the Chiss before commandeering an airspeeder to provide cover for the ice barge. Continuing to the spaceport, Jade Skywalker then maneuvered the Jade Shadow closer to the library. Not long afterward, Quee and Jacen experienced a flash of insight and refined their search to encompass captured moons instead of solely planets, discovering mention of the living planet.

Jacen surmised that Zonama Sekot was concealed within the Klasse Ephemora system, and Jade Skywalker steered the Jade Shadow and the Widowmaker towards the system, but hyperspace disturbances prevented them from jumping into the system, frustrating Jade Skywalker, who yearned to locate Zonama Sekot and return home to Ben. Shortly after Jacen discovered that their communications to Mon Calamari had been severed, the crew of the Jade Shadow sensed a disturbance in the Force emanating from Zonama Sekot. Quee, Jacen, Skywalker, Sebatyne, Tekli, and Jade Skywalker united their minds in a Force Meld to assist Jade Skywalker in tracing the disturbance as she piloted the Shadow towards its source, with the Widowmaker trailing behind. On their third jump towards the system, they managed to find a clear path through hyperspace and arrived to discover Zonama Sekot orbiting a gas giant and in the final stages of repelling a small Yuuzhan Vong war fleet.

Upon their arrival, a psychic blast struck their vessel, rendering the entire crew unconscious. Jade Skywalker, upon regaining consciousness, piloted the ship to the coordinates that Jacen had received from the planet. The Skywalkers then exited their craft and encountered Jabitha, the Magister of the planet. The planet's inhabitants, the Ferroans, expressed their displeasure at the arrival of the Skywalkers, yet Jabitha requested that they share the purpose of their visit at the village. However, Jade Skywalker became irritated when the native flora of Sekot rapidly enveloped the Shadow, effectively imprisoning it within a dense mass of vegetation. After a lengthy trek to the Ferroan village, the Jade Shadow crew were provided with lodging and an opportunity to address Jabitha and the Ferroan elders.

During their presentation, Jade Skywalker cautioned the planet about the impending arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong, who would overwhelm their formidable defenses with sheer numbers. After listening to her, Skywalker, and Jacen, Jabitha consented to deliberate on their request for Zonama Sekot's assistance in the war with the Ferroan elders, with discussions resuming the following day. However, during the night, their group was ambushed by Ferroans, who caused their dwelling to collapse and abducted Quee. Jade Skywalker was notably displeased, but Jacen and Sebatyne gave chase to the kidnappers, leaving the Skywalkers to manage the remaining Ferroan villagers. Jade Skywalker demanded an explanation from the Ferroans regarding the dissidents responsible for the attack, but received only denials and excuses. Furthermore, Jabitha had also been taken by the attackers, preventing any communication with her. Jade Skywalker was also troubled by reports of gravitational waves emanating from a nearby moon, potentially indicating the presence of a Yuuzhan Vong starship. However, the kidnapping incident and the Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper that launched from the moon were revealed to be a test orchestrated by Zonama Sekot to assess the character of the visitors. The Jedi passed the test by choosing not to endorse aggressive actions, as Skywalker prevented Widowmaker from destroying what they believed to be a coralskipper, and Jacen refrained from killing the kidnappers despite having the opportunity. Consequently, Sekot agreed to aid them in the war, preparing to return to known space. The planet also disclosed that a Yuuzhan Vong ship had survived the initial attack they witnessed upon entering the system, evading the defenses.

While the Skywalkers' group was on Zonama Sekot, the Yuuzhan Vong priest Harrar, along with Nom Anor, now disguised as the Shamed One leader Yu'shaa, Tahiri Veila, shaper Nen Yim, and Corran Horn, landed on a separate part of the planet. Following Nom Anor's betrayal of his companions by murdering Nen Yim, injuring Harrar, and sabotaging Sekot's planetary hyperdrives, he summoned a landing craft filled with Yuuzhan Vong warriors to extract him from the planet. However, the Skywalkers and Jacen arrived in the Jade Shadow, repelling the warriors and nearly killing Anor, although the treacherous intendant managed to escape. After rescuing Veila and Horn, they departed the area. Sekot then activated its hyperdrives while attempting to contain and repair the damage inflicted by Nom Anor.

Jade Skywalker remained on Sekot as it entered hyperspace, striving to regain control over its hyperdrive mechanisms. The planet experienced moderate surface damage, and the Jedi largely remained within shelters to avoid the traumatic atmospheric and seismic disturbances that the planet underwent. The Skywalkers also learned from Danni Quee that the priest Harrar, previously presumed dead at the hands of Nom Anor, was still alive.

She and the other Jedi proceeded to visit the priest, who was receiving treatment from Veila and Tekli for his injuries. Harrar revealed that Zonama Sekot shared many characteristics with Yuuzhan'tar, the ancestral home of the Yuuzhan Vong, and that Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord Shimrra held the planet in fear. Harrar also expressed his desire to reconcile the Yuuzhan Vong with the rest of the galaxy, working towards ending the war, although he admitted that Shimrra would not be open to reason. The group then journeyed to a Force nexus within a lava tube, where Sekot determined that the Yuuzhan Vong of the past had been stripped of the Force. Meanwhile, the other Jedi on Mon Calamari grew concerned about the lack of contact with their members on Zonama Sekot. As they remained on Sekot, unaware of their location or estimated time of arrival, Jade Skywalker began to worry about her son, longing to be with him. Furthermore, Skywalker's visions of the future did not necessarily include her. Consequently, she had him promise to care for Ben should anything happen to her.

Eventually, Zonama Sekot emerged from hyperspace in orbit near Coruscant. Jade Skywalker experienced a joyous reunion with her family and loved ones when Han and Leia, along with a full contingent of Jedi, arrived aboard the Falcon, accompanied by Mirax Horn from the Errant Venture. The Skywalkers then returned to Contruum in the Jade Shadow, joined by the Errant Venture, to meet with Galactic Alliance officials. The various leaders and politicians informed them of their plan to launch a decisive strike on Coruscant, and Skywalker pledged the support of the Jedi, although many of them remained on Zonama Sekot to bond with the new Sekotan craft that were being grown for them.

As the Recapture of Coruscant unfolded above, with some Yuuzhan Vong forces engaging the Galactic Alliance fleets and others targeting Zonama Sekot, Jade Skywalker accompanied a strike team on the Millennium Falcon down to Coruscant's surface. The group, consisting of the Solos, Skywalkers, Tahiri Veila, and Kenth Hamner, intended to prevent the World Brain from devastating the planet and to neutralize Shimrra. The group advanced towards his citadel, although Hamner and Veila separated from the group to assist the Shamed Ones, a pariah caste of Yuuzhan Vong who believed redemption was at hand and were staging a desperate revolt against the warriors.

However, before they breached the citadel, Skywalker requested that his wife accompany Veila and Hamner to aid the Shamed Ones. She reluctantly agreed, expressing her trust in his judgment. Fighting through hordes of warriors, the three Jedi and Galactic troops reached a group of embattled Shamed Ones, including Nom Anor. In the midst of the battle, Jade Skywalker and Veila found themselves near Nom Anor, and Veila apprehended him. Jade Skywalker had not forgotten who had first infected her with coomb spores, and neither had Anor. In a desperate attempt, he slashed at Veila with his coufee and temporarily escaped. Jade Skywalker relentlessly pursued the former executor through the ruins of Imperial City. Upon cornering him, she deactivated her weapon and subdued him with punishing unarmed combat. As she stood over him with her lightsaber poised to deliver the final blow, Anor pleaded for mercy. Jade Skywalker spared his life, but forced him to reveal an entrance to Shimrra's citadel.

Leading a small group of Shamed Ones, Anor guided her, Veila, and Hamner inside the fortress, where they fought against numerous Yuuzhan Vong warriors and rescued Han, Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, and the Noghri from Yuuzhan Vong capture. Jade Skywalker's group penetrated into the sanctum of the World Brain and prepared to use explosives to destroy it if necessary. However, Jacen communicated with the brain via his Vongsense, persuading it to disregard Shimrra's commands. As the Shamed Ones and Galactic Alliance forces secured the lower levels of the citadel, Jade Skywalker had Nom Anor lead them to the coffer at the top, where Skywalker, Jacen, and Jaina had been battling the Supreme Overlord and his slayer bodyguards.

Upon arriving near the top, Jade Skywalker found her husband poisoned by Shimrra's amphistaff venom after he had beheaded Shimrra in the same manner as his father had killed Count Dooku years earlier. Jade Skywalker immediately tended to her weakening husband. While Han, Leia, and Nom Anor searched for Jacen and Jaina, who had pursued Shimrra's familiar Onimi, Jade Skywalker and Veila brought Skywalker back down to the lower levels and out from the citadel. On the way, a Shamed One who had once been a shaper offered to help prolong Skywalker's rapidly diminishing life, and Jade Skywalker allowed the Yuuzhan Vong to do what he could. At that moment, Shimrra's escape vessel, with Onimi, Jacen, Jaina, Han, and Leia still aboard, detached and launched. Jade Skywalker loaded Skywalker onto the Falcon and took off in pursuit, with Harrar, Veila, and Hamner accompanying her on the ship and Jagged Fel flying escort. After Jacen defeated Onimi, the Solos fled the now-dying escape vessel in a Yuuzhan Vong landing craft. Skywalker picked them up, and Jacen used his tears to heal Skywalker, much as Vergere had done for his wife earlier.

The Skywalkers then returned to Zonama Sekot as the battle concluded in Galactic Alliance victory and a Yuuzhan Vong withdrawal. While he recovered, she retrieved her cherished Jade Shadow and spent the following weeks on the planet, repairing her ship and simply resting. With the death of Shimrra, Warmaster Nas Choka's surrender had brought the war to an end, effectively ceasing the fighting. Skywalker convened a meeting of the Jedi on Zonama Sekot and announced the construction of a new academy on Ossus, where the Skywalkers planned to relocate. However, first, they embarked on a vacation with Han and Leia, finally free from the shadow of galactic war.

In the years following the war, Jade Skywalker dedicated herself to the Jedi Order, dividing her time between the Jedi Academy on Ossus and the new Jedi Temple on Coruscant. She became a prominent advocate for the idea that the Jedi were not automatically obligated to the Galactic Alliance. Ironically, she now found herself aligning with Kyp Durron, and disagreeing with others, including Kenth Hamner and her longtime friend Corran Horn.

The central focus of Jade Skywalker's life during this period was her family: her husband, and perhaps even more importantly, her young son Ben. She was committed to being a loving mother and safeguarding her son's childhood innocence. Her protective instincts were heightened by the fact that Ben had severed his connection to the Force, seemingly in response to trauma experienced during his infancy, when he had been unable to shield himself from the pain and suffering of the war-torn galaxy. However, Ben's continued withdrawal also caused Jade Skywalker some distress, as she felt that his failure to develop Jedi talents made him a disappointment to her husband.

In 35 ABY, the Order received information from Chiss envoys that a group of rogue Jedi, including Jade Skywalker's former apprentice Jaina Solo, had allied themselves with the hive-minded Killiks in a border dispute with the Chiss. The three Skywalkers departed for the Unknown Regions to investigate. They discovered that the rogue Jedi had been responding to the former Jedi Raynar Thul, who had been assimilated by the Killiks and was now UnuThul, the all-powerful "king bee" of their hegemony, the Colony. The mission achieved partial success: although the rogue Jedi had all been partially assimilated by the Taat nest, most of them were persuaded to return to Alliance space. However, on Yoggoy, the Skywalkers were attacked by mysterious blue-black Killiks, about which UnuThul seemed to have no knowledge. These were, in fact, Gorog Killiks, part of the so-called Dark Nest, a shadowy influence capable of concealing its presence and its malevolent influence from the rest of the Colony.

Furthermore, as the Jedi returned to Alliance space, a Gorog assassin secretly boarded the Jade Shadow. The creature befriended Ben, who came to regard it as his pet. Unbeknownst to Ben, the Gorog insect began to brainwash him, intending to turn him against Jade Skywalker and transform him into a joiner, a Human drone of the Dark Nest. Back on Ossus, Jade Skywalker uncovered the plot, but Gorog managed to escape, along with the Twi'lek Jedi Alema Rar, who had been completely assimilated by the Gorog hive.

Confronted by the Gorog assassin about her own past as an Imperial assassin, Jade Skywalker found herself torn between her desire to protect her son's innocence and her determination to shield him from harm; however, the latter option aligned with her duty as a Jedi to protect the galaxy. Returning to the Unknown Regions as part of a Jedi strike team, she fought in the Battle of Kr, where she engaged in single combat with the Gorog assassin. Knowing that the creature was threatening to share its experience of the battle with Ben, she decided that he would simply have to learn to cope with the realities of conflict and swiftly killed the creature. In the final stages of the battle, however, she was severely wounded by a Gorog larva, and she received treatment from Killik healers before being placed in bacta aboard one of the Hapan warships that had intervened in hopes of establishing a peaceful resolution.

Mara Jade Skywalker also permitted her nephew Jacen Solo to become Ben's mentor, recognizing that her husband's nephew was capable of encouraging Ben to develop a closer relationship with the Force. With the Dark Nest seemingly destroyed, Jade Skywalker and her family once again experienced peace.

Eventually, however, the Skywalkers were summoned back to Killik space by UnuThul, who offered an explanation for the attacks on the Skywalkers and Solos during their initial visit to the colony. According to UnuThul, Gorog had specifically targeted Jade Skywalker since the first attack on Yoggoy, because it had been founded by the wife and daughter of a man named Daxar Ies. Taking his cue, Jade Skywalker explained that Daxar Ies had been one of her early targets as Emperor's Hand: when his wife and daughter interrupted her at the murder scene, she had instructed them to flee. UnuThul claimed that they subsequently became Gorog Joiners, shaping the Dark Nest around their determination to evade Jade Skywalker, and perhaps a desire for vengeance against her.

It was evident that UnuThul had acquired knowledge of the Ies family from an unknown source, and Alema Rar, now the Gorog Night Herald, would later assert that the memories of Daxar Ies's daughter Eremay were the origin of Gorog's overrides for R2-series astromech droids, which enabled her to taunt Skywalker with more of R2-D2's recordings of his parents. Capitalizing on the suggestion that the Dark Nest was ultimately a consequence of Jade Skywalker's past actions, Rar seized the opportunity to further divide the Skywalkers, by implying that Jade Skywalker, in her role as Palpatine's assassin, might also have been responsible for killing Skywalker's mother.

However, subsequent events revealed that the Jedi's earlier suspicions were largely accurate: the Dark Nest had been created in its present form by Lomi Plo, a former Nightsister and a Dark Jedi of the Second Imperium. While Skywalker and Han Solo were held captive by the Killiks on Woteba, Jade Skywalker returned to Ossus with Leia and the rest of the group. Subsequently, she adopted a militant stance, advocating without hesitation for UnuThul's assassination, and leading a StealthX flight into the Utegetu Nebula, in an attempt to circumvent the blockade imposed by the Galactic Alliance. Although Skywalker was later rescued, the Colony breached the blockade and launched an offensive against both the Alliance and the Chiss. The Swarm War had commenced.

Jade Skywalker immediately returned to the Jedi Academy on Ossus with her husband, where he sent a powerful Force-call to the entire Jedi Order. Although she was concerned for her husband's health after his intense meditation for a week in the meditation pavilion, she fully supported his decision to grant himself the title of Jedi Grand Master and assume complete control of the Jedi Order. She alone was privy to his plans going into the meeting.

Shortly after that announcement, the Skywalkers were visited by UnuThul's mother Aryn Thul, head of the powerful Bornaryn Trading empire, who attempted to negotiate for her son's safety. She also presented the Skywalkers with the droid R2-0, the prototype for the R2 series astromech droid, which would later enable slicer Zakarisz Ghent to access the hidden files in R2-D2's memory, including a recording of the young Darth Vader's strangulation of his wife. When Skywalker, his wife, and Jacen viewed the holograms, conflicts arose in their interpretations of the scenes. Jade Skywalker was disturbed by Anakin Skywalker's anger and threatening behavior, while Jacen saw no issue with his grandfather's actions. Furthermore, Skywalker was compelled to confront his doubts that his father Anakin might have been involved in the death of his mother Padmé. Adding to the tensions among the trio, Jade Skywalker would also confront Jacen about performing a memory wipe on Ben, but ultimately accepted his false explanation that he did it for Ben's own protection: in reality, he had done so to conceal the fact that he had fathered a daughter with Tenel Ka Djo.

During the Battle of Sarm, Jade Skywalker was part of the Jedi force leading an assault on a Killik nest ship. She was the first to reach an injured Jacen Solo and made a valiant effort to rescue him from the tangled wreckage of his StealthX. When Jacen regained consciousness, he joined Jade Skywalker in protecting Skywalker's flanks as he battled the deformed Dark Jedi Lomi Plo. Jade Skywalker sustained a severe injury when a shatter gun pellet pierced her vac suit and destroyed one of her kidneys. The month-long recovery period for her wounds meant that she would not participate in any further action during the Swarm War. When Jade Skywalker learned that her husband intended to face Lomi Plo and Raynar Thul alone, she became fearful for his fate. Jacen then used the mirror illusion Fallanassi technique to disturbingly fake Jade Skywalker's death, in order to demonstrate to Skywalker his own vulnerability to fear. Shortly thereafter, the three viewed the hologram of Padmé's final moments, which steeled Skywalker for battle and influenced him to reject Vergere's teachings. Skywalker's confidence and trust in his wife were also reinforced by the revelation that she had no role in Padmé's death.

Skywalker ultimately killed Lomi Plo and brought Thul back to the Galactic Alliance, albeit under heavy sedation. Jade Skywalker was still in rehabilitation at the conclusion of the Swarm War.

In 40 ABY, a civil war erupted between the Galactic Alliance and Corellia. Jade Skywalker's son and nephew were dispatched to Adumar, where they uncovered a secret missile factory. Missions of this nature, undertaken as the crisis continued to escalate, only intensified her anxieties for the safety of her family, particularly for Ben, her only son. When the Galactic Alliance decided to hold peace talks with Corellia in the Kuat system, Jade Skywalker accompanied her family to Toryaz Station. Shortly thereafter, the group was attacked by drugged Corellian commandos. Although the attack was thwarted, Corellian Prime Minister Aidel Saxan was assassinated. Her death fueled Corellia's anger, and all attempts at peace negotiations were abandoned.

Eventually, Jade Skywalker embarked on a mission with her husband to abduct Thrackan Sal-Solo, Head of State of Corellia. After overcoming the planet's security measures, Jade Skywalker ventured to Sal-Solo's mansion, where she rescued Jedi Knight Tiu Zax, who had previously infiltrated the structure and conducted further reconnaissance with her inside the mansion. Meanwhile, Skywalker visited Corran Horn and the newly established Jedi facility on Corellia, which housed new Jedi initiates. They successfully rescued Jaina's and Veila's team and escorted them to safety. Following the mission, they returned to Coruscant. While there, Jade Skywalker battled a distorted Force ghost of her son, Ben. Unaware that it was, in fact, a physically real Force projection of Ben, Jade Skywalker caught him off guard with a kick to his midsection.

As the Second Galactic Civil War intensified, Jade Skywalker was approached by Cal Omas to lead a new paramilitary organization designed to suppress Corellian insurgents and terrorists operating on Coruscant. When she declined, the command was instead given to Jacen Solo. She and her husband, along with the other Jedi Masters, were shocked to witness Ben and Jacen participating in GAG raids and disapproved of it.

Despite Skywalker's deep reservations regarding Jacen Solo and his relationship with their son Ben, Jade Skywalker was the only family member—besides Ben—who trusted Jacen, correctly surmising that her nephew was secretly conflicted over someone he loved. However, despite the accuracy of this insight, she mistakenly attributed it as the cause of Jacen's questionable behavior when, in reality, he was turning to the dark side. Her self-denial of Jacen's true motivations led her, for a time, to believe that Jacen was the best caregiver for Ben. However, she later came to believe Skywalker and considered that her nephew was falling to the dark side.

After deducing that her old adversary Lumiya was still alive, Jade Skywalker constructed a shoto to counter Lumiya's lightwhip and accompanied her husband on his quest to locate her and hopefully eliminate the threat she posed. Jade Skywalker would also oversee a sparring session between her husband and son.

In their pursuit of Lumiya, detectives called them in to examine Tresina Lobi's body at Fellowship Plaza. It was there that she discovered Skywalker had instructed Lobi to keep an eye on Ben and Jacen without her knowing. At the scene of the crime, they came across a holocube, leading them to Lumiya's residence. Inside the apartment, the Skywalkers uncovered proof connecting Lumiya to the Bothan killings. Overwhelmed by their discoveries, Jade Skywalker made the decision to separate Ben from Jacen.

After arriving at the designated meeting location where Jacen said Ben would be, Lumiya and Alema Rar ambushed the Skywalkers. While her husband confronted Lumiya, Jade Skywalker engaged in a duel with Alema Rar, who almost killed her with a dart. During the fight, Skywalker sustained serious injuries while battling Lumiya. However, Jade Skywalker managed to defeat Rar, rendering her unconscious, only to find a bomb attached to Rar. Upon witnessing Skywalker shoot Lumiya three times, Jade Skywalker warned him about the bomb and pulled him to safety. Reuniting with the rest of the family on Hapes, except for Han and Leia, Jacen allowed Skywalker to take Ben away as a safety measure. The three of them then made their way back to Coruscant.

Once back at the Jedi Temple, Kyp Durron informed the Skywalkers of Cal Omas' and Cha Niathal's request to elevate Jacen to the rank of Jedi Master. After Ben's disappearance, the Skywalkers correctly suspected Jacen's involvement and contacted him, but they gained little information from the encounter. Following their conversation with Jacen, they met with Jagged Fel at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He cautioned them about Alema Rar's survival, who had assisted in Tresina Lobi's murder. Shortly before the meeting concluded, Fel entrusted Skywalker with a specialized device to aid in Alema Rar's capture—the Skywalkers then handed it over to Master Cilghal for analysis. Subsequently, they received an encrypted message from Han and Leia, requesting a meeting on the Errant Venture.

While traveling on the Errant Venture, the Skywalkers reunited with Leia and Han, along with their longtime friends Wedge and Iella Wessiri Antilles, and Corran and Mirax Horn. They also used this opportunity to confront Jacen about his dealings with Ben, but a battle alarm allowed him to escape. Following the reunion, Jade Skywalker accompanied Skywalker, Han, and Leia to Gilatter VIII to rescue Jacen, unaware that the station was a trap for him and the Galactic Alliance. The rescue operation turned into a disaster as the three encountered Lumiya and Rar, as well as the station's security, while Jacen fled to the Galactic Alliance Guard Star Destroyer Anakin Solo.

The incident on Gilatter VIII left Jade Skywalker and the others wary not only of Jacen, but also of Rar and Lumiya. Concerned about her son's well-being, Jade Skywalker resolved to hunt down and eliminate Lumiya, believing that Lumiya was targeting Ben. To aid in tracking her son, Jade Skywalker also provided Ben with a vibroblade she had used during her time with the Empire, which also contained a nearly undetectable transponder. Refusing assistance from Skywalker or other Jedi, she embarked on her mission to eliminate what she considered the Sith threat to her son. Jade Skywalker found such a chance on Hesperidium, resulting in a bruised eye, split lip, burned neck, and bleeding forehead for herself, while Lumiya suffered severe lightsaber wounds. When her son, Ben, discovered the connection between Jacen and Lumiya, he informed his mother. Feeling betrayed and disturbed by the dark revelation, Jade Skywalker confronted Jacen and attempted to persuade him to return to the light side. After Jacen dismissed her warnings, Jade Skywalker concluded that Jacen had become too evil and dangerous to be left alive.

Jade Skywalker tracked Jacen to Hapes, where he was visiting Tenel Ka and Allana. Upon his departure from Hapes, Jade Skywalker ambushed him in her StealthX, leading to a dogfight in Hapan space that ended on the planet Kavan. In the tunnels of Kavan, a fight erupted between the two, devolving into a brawl. Initially, Jade Skywalker trapped Jacen under rubble by collapsing the ceiling and attempted to shoot him with a blaster. However, the ambush backfired when Jacen unleashed a Force Wave so powerful that it deflected the blaster bolt and the cave stones, also knocking her backward.

Even after sustaining a scalp injury and being painfully thrown into a brick wall multiple times, she continued to fight Jacen with her shoto and vibroblade, utilizing her assassin's training and physical skills effectively. As she prepared to finish him off, Jacen gazed into her eyes and instantly created an illusion of Ben's face beneath her using the Force, causing Jade Skywalker to hesitate for a split second. Jacen seized the opportunity to stab a poisoned dart into her thigh, causing a slow, paralyzing, and painless death. Her final words conveyed her belief that Jacen had become worse, more vile and cruel than Palpatine, and that Skywalker would defeat and strike him down. Jade Skywalker chose to leave her body behind instead of allowing it to become one with the Force, both to provide evidence of her killer's identity and to give her family a chance to say goodbye. Her final acts of the Force were to whisper in Ben's mind and ruffle Skywalker's hair. Other Jedi, including Leia, also sensed her passing through the Force.

Jade Skywalker's physical remains were preserved long enough for Cilghal to perform an autopsy and arrange her funeral on Coruscant. Numerous Jedi, including the entire Masters' Council, as well as government officials such as Cha Niathal, military supreme commander and co-Chief of State, attended. Although her sister-in-law Leia Organa Solo was scheduled to deliver her eulogy, a Galactic Alliance Guard squad prevented Leia and Han from arriving, seeking to detain them. Instead, Saba Sebatyne delivered the eulogy for the fallen Master, but Jacen Solo's late and discourteous arrival interrupted her. Jacen's role in Jade Skywalker's death remained unknown. As Jacen Solo, now known as Darth Caedus, arrived, Jade Skywalker's body began to fade and dissipate, ultimately becoming one with the Force. Her son Ben interpreted this as a sign that they should not trust Jacen. Sebatyne continued her eulogy, recounting Jade Skywalker's history and using her transformation from a life of serving the dark side and justifying sacrifices to make a point to Jacen Solo, who had done the opposite.

Jade Skywalker's demise spurred Ben to actively plot Darth Caedus' assassination, convinced he had murdered his mother. Her spouse, under the assumption that Lumiya had slain Jade Skywalker, pursued and killed her, only to later discover from Ben that Lumiya might not have been responsible. This realization intensified Skywalker's sorrow and grief, while Ben's rage and hatred toward Jacen escalated; he became willing to sacrifice innocent lives to end Jacen's.

As the Second Galactic Civil War continued to intensify, Ben resolved to find evidence of Jacen's involvement in Jade Skywalker's death, still harboring suspicions that Jacen was the culprit. Enlisting the help of a sympathetic Galactic Alliance Guard agent named Lon Shevu, Ben returned to Kavan, hoping to uncover clues about Jade Skywalker's death. On Kavan, Jade Skywalker appeared to Ben as a Force ghost, indicating that hair was involved and mouthing the words "I love you." With this revelation, Ben and Shevu decided to find a way to inspect Jacen's StealthX for traces of her hair.

Using a Coruscant Security Force forensics droid, Shevu and Ben were able to examine Caedus' StealthX and discovered a twenty-nine centimeter long hair belonging to Jade Skywalker, with a tag and blood on it, confirmed by comparison with one of her hairs that Luke Skywalker still possessed. Later, this evidence was supported by Caedus' confession to Shevu that he had fought with and ultimately killed Mara Jade Skywalker. Ben's recordings of the murder scene, the physical evidence, and a recording of Caedus' confession were all presented by Ben on Endor to his father, Han and Leia Solo, and Jaina. Shortly after the Second Battle of Fondor, Jade Skywalker visited her husband as an apparition, comforting him amidst his grief and wartime duties. Darth Caedus later worried about the merciless approach that Luke Skywalker would take in a future confrontation now that Skywalker knew that Caedus had slain Jade Skywalker. Ultimately, though, Skywalker rejected the idea of revenge and forced himself to not confront Caedus; that fell to Jade Skywalker's niece and apprentice, Jaina Solo, who killed the Sith. A year and a half after the war's end, Jade Skywalker appeared in a vision alongside Lumiya, Kam Solusar, and Lassin to Jedi Knight Jaden Korr and instructed him to travel to the Black Hole on Fhost, warning him of an impending problem. Journeying there, Korr discovered the remnant of an Imperial project from the Thrawn era designed to clone Force-users. The memory of Mara Jade Skywalker also remained with Khedryn Faal, a salvager Korr encountered. Faal remembered Jade Skywalker from her visit to Outbound Flight and his memory of her helped lead him to assist Korr in investigating the Imperial facility.

Three years following her death, Jade Skywalker's memory remained vivid with her husband and son. Ben decided to accompany Skywalker into exile partly because Skywalker would be investigating the reasons for Jacen's fall during his travels, and Ben saw that as helping lay Jade Skywalker's killer to rest. For his part, Skywalker still felt grief and guilt over having not foreseen Jacen's fall and preventing her death, which motivated him to accept his exile in order to perform his search. Ben and Skywalker would later use her ship, Jade Shadow, in their quest to find what led to Jacen's fall. Using the ship would remind both of them of the woman they had lost.

While they were inside the Maw Cluster, Skywalker and Ben were led to an out-of-body experience that took them both to a place called the Lake of Apparitions. As they walked along, they saw what appeared to be a reflection of Anakin Solo. After conversing with Anakin, they continued on. The next person that both Skywalker and Ben saw was Jade Skywalker. Ben's saying the word "Mom" brought her spirit to talk to them. She asked them what they were doing, as she was concerned for their well-being if they were talking to her, but they reassured her that they were alive and on a mission. Jade Skywalker told them that for her, the afterlife was a place of reflection, to think of what she had done. She also mentioned that she had done some things that had caused her anguish, namely going after Jacen with the intent of killing him, to protect Ben by ending his life. Jade Skywalker said that her actions weren't Ben's fault, and that he should learn from both her mistakes and Jacen's. Skywalker then asked her about a mysterious woman, known as Abeloth, they had seen in the mist near the Lake of Apparitions. Jade Skywalker replied that she knew very little about the woman, but that they should avoid her. She ended their conversation by telling her husband that she loved him and that the Force would be with them. As they continued their search, they thought they sensed Jade Skywalker's presence telling them to return to the Maw and attempt an out-of-body experience again. When Skywalker did so, Jade Skywalker met him again at the Lake of Apparitions and told him that it wasn't her they had sensed. Discomfited, they realized they had been misled by Abeloth.

Mara Jade's ghost later interacted with Luke Skywalker when he returned to the realm beyond shadows to stop and destroy Abeloth, although she was at a loss as to how to defeat Abeloth when Skywalker asked her. After Abeloth was defeated by Skywalker, Ben, the Sith apprentice Vestara Khai, and Darth Krayt, Skywalker was reeling from the effects of psychic wounds sustained fighting Abeloth and had no desire to return to corporeal existence. Jade Skywalker saved Skywalker from going into the Lake of Apparition which would have killed him, even though he said he was ready she said it wasn't time yet and wouldn't be for sometime. Knowing that Krayt had returned to corporeal planes, she told him that he couldn't give up yet as long as the galaxy needed him to help him fight the Sith. Additionally, she told him that she loved him but did not want to see him for sometime.

Jade Skywalker's descendants would all be raised on the Skywalker family histories in which she featured prominently. Family holos described the important events of her life to those who came after her. One such descendant was Cade Skywalker, a drug-addicted former Jedi haunted by the ghosts of his past. Hiding from his enemies on Ossus, Cade may have experienced drug-induced hallucinations after ingesting several death sticks; visions of Mara Jade and Anakin Skywalker, who then morphed into Darth Vader and warned him of the perils of falling to the dark side, though it is also possible the ghosts of the Skywalkers were quite real and had come to warn Cade.

Mara Jade Skywalker possessed an immense sense of pride, consistently striving for excellence in all her endeavors—a trait evident during her tenure as an Emperor's Hand. Her investigation of Moff Glovstoak showcased her efficiency and skill in dismantling the corrupt Imperial's operation. However, she didn't allow Glovstoak's downfall, or the Emperor's approval, to halt her mission—she persisted in delving deeper into the conspiracy, ultimately tracing the clues back to their origin. She refused to serve the warlords who seized power after the Emperor's death, deeming them unworthy of her service.

Furthermore, Jade Skywalker displayed unwavering devotion, adhering to what she perceived as Palpatine's will even after his passing. She later demonstrated loyalty to Talon Karrde and his organization, even at the expense of complete alienation from the Empire, and was infuriated when Thrawn compelled her to betray Karrde. She exhibited the same dedication to her husband, Luke Skywalker, and her son, Ben Skywalker, even refusing to participate in the defense of Borleias at one point to safeguard Ben.

Due to her upbringing under Darth Sidious, and also to the training she received from the Sith Lord, Mara Jade Skywalker learned how to maintain a calm and collected composure in almost every situation. During the First Corellian Insurrection, and though she harbored a vendetta against Luke Skywalker, she was able to prioritize the severity of the situation and place her differences with Skywalker aside—she proceeded to warn Leia and the Senate about the recently uncovered plot to destroy the New Republic. During her brief tutelage under Kyle Katarn, Jade was forced to face Katarn in an ancient Temple when he fell to the dark side. While he was fully engaged in the dark powers of the temple, Jade was forced to defend against Katarn's attacks, managing to fend him off each time. Eventually, Katarn and Jade found themselves deep inside the catacombs of the temple, and Jade voluntarily turned off her lightsaber and surrendered, maintaining her calm composure as she realized she could no longer fight her one-time friend. Due to Jade's self-control, Katarn was eventually redeemed and brought back to the light.

Despite her tough exterior, Jade possessed warmth and compassion. Even as an Imperial assassin, she displayed mercy, particularly when it served the greater good. She allowed the rogue stormtrooper unit Hand of Judgment to survive after recognizing their good intentions and after they aided her on one of her missions. She also allowed Governor Bidor Ferrouz to survive despite admitting to treason, since he had been forced to collaborate with the Rebel Alliance to save his kidnapped family. Jade was willing to make allowances using her official position in order to save the lives and careers of people she thought were good, though she had no qualms about using people as tools on her missions.

Through her love and marriage to Luke Skywalker, Jade Skywalker realized that her life of constant conflict had not provided her with everything she needed. However, through her experiences and relationship with Skywalker, she came to acknowledge her love for him and understand what his companionship offered her life—she realized that it was acceptable to let him past her defenses. A small way in which she showed Skywalker her love for him was through the playful nickname which she constantly called him—Farmboy. Jade Skywalker's love and compassion also manifested when she gave birth to her son Ben during the Yuuzhan Vong War. The war caused Jade Skywalker to develop a strong, and somewhat overprotective, demeanor towards Ben, constantly fearing that the war would find him and take him away from her and her husband. After watching the devastation that Anakin's death caused Leia, Jade Skywalker had no wish to experience that type of emotional pain. Later, during the Second Galactic Civil War, Jade Skywalker's love and protectiveness of her son was still evident. She was constantly worrying over Ben and his actions within the GAG, and even up until her death, her love for her husband and Ben was present in her mind.

In 3 BBY, Mara, at the age of 14, earned the title of "Emperor's Hand" following a successful mission infiltrating Grand Moff Tarkin's estate.

During the mission at Grand Moff Tarkin's estate in 3 BBY, Mara was referred to as countess. In 0 ABY, Mara used the guise Countess Claria to infiltrate Moff Glovstoak's party, during a mission to investigate suspicions of corruption.

Around 1.5 ABY, Mara Jade was presented to Thrawn as Lianna, one of Palpatine's court dancers, during Thrawn's promotion ceremony to Grand Admiral.

In 4 ABY, Mara introduced herself as Litassa Colay, Director of Offworld Special Events, to Imperial Councilor Raines on Chibias.

While infiltrating Jabba's Palace on Tatooine in 4 ABY, Mara assumed the identity of a dancer named Arica Pradeux. That same year, she reused the alias while investigating the motives of Imperial Councilor Raines and General Egron on Chibias.

While undercover on Tatooine in 4 ABY, Mara Introduced herself as Agent Green to General Touno.

Following the death of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, Jade sought refuge from Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard on Phorliss. She secured employment as a waitress at Gorb Drig's cantina under the alias Chiara Lorn.

During her time as a waitress on Phorliss, Jade also went by the alias Karrinna Jansih.

While evading Ysanne Isard on Phorliss, in 4 ABY, Mara impersonated Baroness Paltonae, to infiltrate a casino owned by Dequc and managed by a lieutenant in Black Nebula.

In 4 ABY, Mara went into hiding in the Outer Rim Territories. As a member of a Caprioril swoop gang, she adopted the name Merellis.

In 8 ABY, Mara worked as a hyperdrive mechanic on Varonat under the name Celina Marniss. Mara was also been reported to have used the name a year earlier, during a mission on Sluis Van in 7 ABY.

In 9 ABY, Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker were temporarily captured by Imperial forces in Hyllyard City on Myrkr. To facilitate their escape, they identified themselves as Jade (Luke Skywalker), a bounty hunter employed by Talon Karrde, and Senni Kiffu (Mara Jade), a thief who had a falling-out with Karrde's organization.

In 26 ABY, Jade used the alias Baroness Muehling of Kuat while assisting refugees on Duros.

Despite Calrissian's infatuation with her following the Thrawn crisis, Jade never reciprocated his frequent, and sometimes obvious, flirtations. However, in an attempt to impress her, he returned the Millennium Falcon to Han after winning it in a sabacc game, earning some of her respect. Despite his persistent interest, Jade did not return his feelings. After Calrissian replaced her wardrobe with clothes that he would have preferred her to wear around him, she retaliated by raiding his own supply of clothes. While their partnership lasted for some time, Jade later confided in Skywalker that much of it had been an unpleasant assignment originally given to her by Talon Karrde.

When Jade first encountered Skywalker after the destruction of the second Death Star, their relationship was initially strained, as she harbored a desire to kill him, although circumstances forced them to cooperate on numerous occasions. As they worked together, she gradually developed a grudging respect for him, which later evolved into admiration, tempered by her pragmatism and usual coolness. During a battle on Nirauan, they performed a Force Meld to coordinate their efforts, linking their minds. It was through this profound understanding of each other that they recognized the depth of their attraction. The two fell in love and were happily married. The Skywalkers had a son, whom they named Ben in honor of Skywalker's first master, Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi. Jade Skywalker remained by her husband's side throughout the Yuuzhan Vong War, providing unwavering support, even while battling a life-threatening illness during the initial stages. While they often disagreed, the Skywalkers trusted each other implicitly and supported one another. Upon her death, Skywalker was devastated by the loss of his wife and, consumed by grief, struck down Lumiya after believing her to be Jade Skywalker's killer. Although he felt as though his world had ended, Skywalker eventually regained his strength and resumed his role as the leader of the Jedi Order, knowing that his wife would not have wanted him to succumb to his grief.

Following the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade entered into a brief but unique mutual apprenticeship with Kyle Katarn, with Kyle initially assuming the role of master and Mara that of the apprentice. Despite their limited time together, Mara trusted Kyle (who had departed for the planet Dromund Kass and was subsequently corrupted by the dark side) enough to deactivate her lightsaber after their fight, leaving herself at his mercy. Kyle, in turn, could not bring himself to kill her and fully embrace the dark side, ultimately returning to the light. Due to Mara's actions in rescuing Kyle and her reassuring words, Kyle remarked that Mara had seemingly become the Master, and he the apprentice. Later, after her death at the hands of Darth Caedus, Kyle was among those present at Mara's funeral.

The diverse skillset of Mara Jade Skywalker was as varied as her personality, and she put them to use throughout her illustrious career. While not quite on par with Zakarisz Ghent, she was a highly capable slicer, able to infiltrate secure systems with relative ease. When Grand Admiral Thrawn launched his campaign against the New Republic, Talon Karrde found himself in Imperial captivity, prompting Jade Skywalker to undertake a daring rescue mission of the smuggler leader. Successfully infiltrating Thrawn's flagship, the Chimaera, Jade Skywalker leveraged her slicing abilities to breach the Star Destroyer's computer defenses, ultimately locating and freeing Karrde from the detention block. Furthermore, Jade Skywalker demonstrated proficiency with a wide array of weaponry, encompassing blaster pistols and rifles, melee weapons, and even heavy ordnance. She favored blaster pistols, often carrying a discreet hold-out blaster concealed within a sleeve holster. In addition to her weapons expertise, she was highly skilled in unarmed combat and possessed exceptional tactical acumen, rapidly assessing situations for potential threats and devising strategies to achieve her objectives. Moreover, Jade possessed a notable talent for rewiring electronic devices.

Throughout her lifetime, she gained considerable experience as a pilot, navigating various spacecraft in diverse scenarios. During the Thrawn Campaign, she piloted a Z-95 Headhunter and participated in the Battle for the Katana fleet, where she was ultimately disabled by an ion cannon. During the First Corellian Insurrection, Jade Skywalker piloted her personal vessel, the Jade's Fire, employing it in multiple engagements. Following her and Leia's escape from the Human League, Jade Skywalker skillfully maneuvered her ship through enemy lines, eventually linking up with Han Solo on Selonia. Subsequently, she piloted the Jade's Fire in the decisive battle at Centerpoint Station, contributing to the defeat of the Corellian forces. After the First Corellian Insurrection, Jade Skywalker piloted the Starry Ice to rescue Skywalker, who had encountered difficulties with the Cavrilhu Pirates. Skywalker's infiltration of the pirate group had been compromised, and Jade Skywalker's piloting prowess proved instrumental in ensuring his survival. During the Yuuzhan Vong war, Jade Skywalker distinguished herself during the Second Battle of Borleias, assuming the role of second in command of Blackmoon Squadron. In this capacity, she provided crucial cover for the Lusankya during Operation Emperor's Spear, which culminated in the command ship successfully ramming a Yuuzhan Vong worldship.

During her tenure as an Emperor's Hand, Jade Skywalker honed her skills in disguise and infiltration. In 0.5 ABY, she expertly employed her disguise abilities to infiltrate the court of Moff Glovstoak, adopting the persona of Countess Claria. During this operation, she uncovered Glovstoak's scheme of skimming tax revenue destined for the Imperial Center. Successfully navigating Glovstoak's palace, she discovered six stolen paintings valued at millions of credits, providing the Emperor with irrefutable evidence of the Moff's treason, leading to Glovstoak's swift demise. Following the destruction of the first Death Star, she directed her espionage capabilities against Darth Vader, meticulously documenting his actions and relaying reports to the Emperor. In the months leading up to Emperor Palpatine's death, Jade Skywalker was dispatched to Tatooine with the mission of infiltrating Jabba's Palace. Assuming the guise of the dancing girl Arica, she initiated her plans while awaiting Skywalker's arrival.

After the Emperor's demise, Jade Skywalker found herself pursued by Director Ysanne Isard; however, she skillfully evaded capture by disguising herself as a refugee. During her time as a smuggler, Jade Skywalker frequently utilized her spy skills for Talon Karrde, participating in a mission to locate Jorj Car'das, where she maximized her infiltration skills to complement her espionage expertise. Jade Skywalker's eventful life honed the skills necessary for her success as a spy. During the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War, Jade Skywalker's son Ben would boast to Jedi Knight Nelani Dinn about her abilities as a spy. During the Confederation-Galactic Alliance war of 40 ABY, she applied her talents as a spy to track and observe Jacen, eventually following him to Hapes, where he was visiting his lover Tenel Ka and his daughter Allana. From her initial training under Emperor Palpatine to her eventual ascension to Jedi Master, Jade Skywalker consistently demonstrated her prowess as a lightsaber duelist. During the Thrawn campaign, Jade Skywalker and her future husband encountered the deranged Jedi-clone Joruus C'baoth and the dark clone of Skywalker. Empowered by Skywalker through the Force, she triumphed over the clone, Luuke, and then confronted C'baoth. Evading a blast of Force lightning unleashed by C'baoth, she managed to impale him through the chest with her lightsaber. During the Yuuzhan Vong war, the Skywalkers journeyed to the ExGal-4 outpost on Belkadan to investigate the events that had transpired there. During their search, she was confronted by the Yuuzhan Vong spy Yomin Carr, initiating a fierce duel. Jade Skywalker found herself evenly matched by the Yuuzhan Vong warrior, who displayed a ferocity she had rarely encountered—she was taken aback by her opponent's lack of presence in the Force, his seemingly impenetrable armor, and his peculiar weapon capable of withstanding a lightsaber's blade. Nevertheless, she prevailed over Carr by severing both of his legs at the knee and stabbing him through the chest.

The Yuuzhan Vong war also witnessed the Skywalkers and Veila encountering the unstable Dark Jedi Lord Nyax, formerly Irek Ismaren. Nyax had been confined within an Imperial laboratory on Coruscant, where he had lightsabers surgically implanted in his elbows, knees, and forearms—granting him six lightsaber blades for combat. The ensuing lightsaber battle saw Nyax's superior strength nearly overwhelm the three Jedi. However, Veila managed to conceal herself in the Force and inflicted severe wounds upon the Dark Jedi. Ultimately, the Skywalkers and Veila managed to defeat Nyax with relatively minor injuries, despite Nyax effortlessly dispatching the Jedi-killing voxyn sent after him by the Yuuzhan Vong. Jade Skywalker continued to showcase her lightsaber skills during the Dark Nest Crisis and also mastered the technique of Force lightning, employing it against Alema Rar during the Battle of Kr. She was known to utilize the Ataru form.

During the Second Galactic Civil War, the Skywalkers found themselves facing an old adversary—Lumiya. They eventually tracked the Dark Lady and the Dark Jedi Alema Rar to Hapan space, where a violent duel unfolded aboard the space station Roqoo Depot. While Skywalker and Lumiya engaged in combat, Jade Skywalker and Rar entered into a deadly fight—Rar fired a poison dart at Jade Skywalker, but Jade Skywalker managed to defeat the Twi'lek, rendering her unconscious. The Twi'lek survived only because Jade Skywalker noticed the bomb on her chest that would detonate upon her death. As the war progressed, Jade Skywalker grew increasingly concerned about her son's safety and resolved to eliminate Lumiya once and for all. She eventually caught up with Lumiya on Hesperidium, leading to another lightsaber duel between the two women. Jade Skywalker fought Lumiya to a standstill, leaving both women severely wounded. Jade Skywalker also learned how to conceal herself in the Force from her son in 40 ABY, a skill that would aid her in her final pursuit of Jacen Solo—who would later become known as Darth Caedus.

After extensive training and numerous battles, Mara Jade Skywalker possessed highly refined Force abilities. Skywalker himself often relied on his wife's danger sense over his own, a skill Jade Skywalker had cultivated to survive as an Imperial agent. Her acute danger sense provided her with warnings of impending threats, saving her life on countless occasions. As the Emperor's Hand, she could perceive Palpatine's voice through the Force—and shortly before her marriage to Skywalker, she discovered that they had developed a similar telepathic connection. By the time she ascended to Jedi Master, Jade Skywalker had become a formidable member of the New Jedi Order. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, she successfully employed the Force to prevent her disease from harming Ben within her womb. She could imbue her weapons with the Force, enhancing her accuracy and damage output. By the time of the Second Galactic Civil War, Jade Skywalker's Jedi Master abilities had advanced to the point where she could levitate herself across open terrain within a bubble of Force energy, maintaining stillness in the surrounding air and minimizing her heat emissions to evade detection by sensors.

Jade Skywalker excelled at quickly reading and assessing any situation or individual, and the Emperor provided her with memory retention techniques to further enhance her abilities. She also possessed sufficient talent to secure various odd jobs while on the run, including as a hyperdrive mechanic.

As an Emperor's Hand, Mara wore a black, skintight combat suit complete with high boots, a weapons belt, knee pads, and detachable sleeves. She carried a variety of weapons, including a wrist-mounted Sith lanvarok, a hold-out blaster, a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol, a DL-18 Blaster Pistol, a sleeve gun, a grappling spike launcher, a pair of palm grippers, and other armaments. Jade's usual sidearm was a K-14 blaster, alongside her lightsaber and concealed holdout weapons. She also possessed a vibroblade which she gifted to her son Ben in 40 ABY. Unbeknownst to Ben, it contained a tracking device that Mara used to locate him whenever she couldn't sense him through the Force. It was through this vibroblade that Jade discovered his presence on Vulpter during the assassination of the Corellian Prime Minister, Dur Gejjen, by a Galactic Alliance Guard assassin, who was Ben Skywalker himself. Mara later reused the tracking device while following Lumiya; however, Ben had left it in Lon Shevu's apartment, and was actually tracking Mara. The vibroblade was also equipped with one of the two hyperspace transponders Jade owned in her lifetime: one she used during her time as Emperor's Hand (hidden in the vibroblade bequeathed to her son and promptly used as a tracking device) and the other she used to track Lumiya after their fierce lightsaber duel on the moon of Hesperidium.

Mara officially wielded two lightsabers during her lifetime. The first was a magenta-bladed lightsaber used during her time as an Emperor's Hand, but lost in a duel with Lumiya shortly after the Emperor's initial death. She then used the blue-bladed lightsaber formerly belonging to Luke and his father Anakin, which Luke gifted to her. Upon Luke Skywalker's awareness of Lumiya's re-emergence during the Second Galactic Civil War, he had his wife Mara Jade construct a blue-bladed shoto.

During her service as an Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade Skywalker was provided with a massive cargo ship that served as her mobile base of operations. This ship was essentially her home, housing a vast collection of books, personal belongings, and an extensive arsenal of weapons for various missions. While she was away on assignments for the Emperor, the protocol droid K3 managed the ship, supported by a small crew of trusted Imperials. The ship's spaciousness included its own hangar bay, where Jade Skywalker stored numerous craft, including ground vehicles like landspeeders and personal starfighters such as Z-95 Headhunters.

During her tenure as an Emperor's Hand, and later as a smuggler and Jedi student, she frequently chose to pilot a Z-95 Headhunter starfighter. The Z-95 was a dependable and reliable fighter that combined speed and firepower in a compact package. While searching for Black Nebula, Jade Skywalker used a Headhunter to infiltrate the planet Svivren, initially remaining undetected during the mission. Later, during the Grand Admiral Thrawn campaign, she again opted for a Z-95 Headhunter, notably at the Battle for the Katana fleet. In that battle, Jade Skywalker fought alongside the New Republic space forces against Thrawn's fleet, but was struck by an Imperial ion blast. She then manually steered her damaged Headhunter into the hangar of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, ejecting at the last moment before her craft exploded. In the years following the Thrawn campaign, Jade Skywalker decided to attend Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum, arriving in 079, a Z-95, intending to use it as a personal escape if her time with the Jedi did not go as planned. During her time on Yavin 4, she lent her Headhunter to fellow Jedi student Corran Horn, who used it to destroy four Sithspawn monsters.

Following her adventure on Wayland, she piloted a Skipray blastboat on a mission to assist a New Republic courier.

Jade Skywalker briefly entered a mutual apprenticeship with Jedi Kyle Katarn. However, her apprenticeship was unfortunately cut short when Katarn departed to explore the mysterious world of Dromund Kaas. Deciding to follow him, she used the ship Shrike to pursue and eventually aid Katarn. The Shrike was a prototype starfighter produced by Incom Corporation, privately owned by the smuggler Talon Karrde. During Operation Shadow Hand, Karrde permanently loaned it to Jade Skywalker for her personal use. For a short period, she operated a ship called Hunter's Luck, originally a wealthy individual's private yacht, later captured by pirates.

By that point, Jade Skywalker had captained numerous ships, but never owned one registered in her name. Her first privately owned ship was the Jade's Fire, a Personal Luxury Yacht 3000 previously named the Winning Gamble, gifted to her by Sansia Bardrin. During the First Corellian Insurrection, she piloted the Jade's Fire alongside the Lady Luck and Millennium Falcon at the Battle of Centerpoint Station. When Jade Skywalker and Skywalker departed for their mission to Nirauan, Jade's Fire was destroyed during an attempt to infiltrate the Chiss fortress. The Jade's Fire stood out from other ships Jade Skywalker had piloted due to its special "shoot back" system, automatically firing on any attacking vessel.

After the Jade's Fire was destroyed, Luke Skywalker presented her with the Jade Sabre as a wedding gift. The Jade Sabre required a single pilot but was designed to carry up to fifteen passengers and 100 metric tons of cargo. For defense, Skywalker equipped the ship with four concealed quad laser cannons and a tractor beam projector. In 22 ABY, the Skywalkers used Jade Sabre to travel to Crustai on the edge of the Chiss Ascendancy, where they met with the Chiss who offered to lead them to the remains of Outbound Flight. Three years later, in early 25 ABY, Jade Skywalker flew the Jade Sabre with Jaina Solo and Leia Organa Solo to Rhommamool, where Leia was asked to serve as a New Republic envoy to deal with the upstart Nom Anor. As the galaxy descended into full-scale war with the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Jade Skywalker and her nephew Anakin Solo piloted Jade Sabre to Dantooine, hoping Jade Skywalker could enjoy a vacation. However, the Yuuzhan Vong soon invaded the planet, forcing the two Jedi to abandon Jade Sabre when they were cut off from their landing site by warrior patrols.

Several months after losing Jade Sabre, Lando Calrissian gifted Jade Skywalker a space yacht he had recently acquired from spice merchants. Calrissian's wife, Tendra Calrissian, named the ship Jade Shadow because of its non-reflective gray hull. Over time, with her husband's assistance, Jade Skywalker installed a tractor beam projector and reconfigured the aft docking bay to accommodate her modified Z-95 Headhunter or even an entire X-wing. Jade Skywalker used her new ship throughout the remainder of the Yuuzhan Vong war, using it as a base of operations when the Skywalkers decided to search for the living planet Zonama Sekot. Following the Yuuzhan Vong's defeat, she continued to operate the Jade Shadow during the Second Galactic Civil War. However, Jade Skywalker was also a capable starfighter pilot, flying X-wings and E-wing escort starfighters during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Later, she would also fly the StealthX variant of the X-wing fighter in the Dark Nest Crisis and the Second Galactic Civil War.

Mara Jade Skywalker's character was created by author Timothy Zahn, debuting in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire. She quickly became one of the most popular characters in the Expanded Universe, evidenced by her numerous significant appearances. Zahn intentionally chose the name "Mara," as the Hebrew word "Mara" signifies bitterness. Furthermore, one of Zahn's dictionaries listed "discarded woman" as a meaning for Jade, leading to the creation of the name Mara Jade. Zahn conceived the Mara Jade character while considering what Emperor Palpatine would have done had he learned of Darth Vader's offer to Luke Skywalker to overthrow him and rule the galaxy together in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.

In 1988, when asked why Luke Skywalker didn't have a love interest in the story, Star Wars creator George Lucas replied, "You haven't seen the last three yet." After the character's introduction, according to author Jonathan W. Rinzler and Lucasfilm executive Pablo Hidalgo, Lucas did not approve of Mara Jade, especially her marriage to Luke, as it contradicted the monastic lifestyle of a Jedi Knight. This notion of Lucas disliking Jade's character was previously supported by the DVD bonus features for Robot Chicken: Star Wars. In 2008, Lucas stated that the Expanded Universe's story regarding the events after Episode VI "isn't at all what I would have done with it," specifically saying, "Luke doesn't get married."

In a 1997 poll by Star Wars Insider magazine about fans' favorite Star Wars characters, Mara Jade ranked 20th, the highest-ranked character not appearing in a Star Wars movie. She was described as the character of Zahn's to whom fans connected the most. Jade Skywalker also won a Wizards of the Coast trading-card game "You Make The Card Contest," where users voted on which Expanded Universe character should be made into a trading card for the Star Wars Miniatures game. In a Wizards.com poll in 2003, Mara Jade Skywalker was overwhelmingly chosen by users to have a card created for an expansion set, her vote total exceeding her nearest competitor by more than six to one.

Mara Jade Skywalker's character has been embodied by various actresses and models. The most recognizable of these is Shannon McRandle, previously known as Shannon Baksa, who portrayed Jade in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. After Decipher received approval from [Lucasfilm](/article/lucasfilm], they initiated a casting search, which led to McRandle being selected as the visual representation of Jade Skywalker. A photographer at Decipher suggested McRandle for the role, ultimately securing her the part. Before her portrayal, McRandle had limited familiarity with the Expanded Universe; however, she familiarized herself with some comic books and a portion of Heir to the Empire before her depiction. The Star Wars Customizable Card Game marked McRandle's initial portrayal of Mara Jade Skywalker. Subsequently, McRandle's image has been featured on numerous products representing Jade Skywalker, encompassing book covers, action figures, and trading cards. Furthermore, she has attended numerous conventions across the United States, as well as international locations like Japan and Mexico. Despite this extensive involvement, McRandle was informed that Mara Jade was never intended for any cinematic representation.

In the Return of the Jedi radio drama, C-3PO interacts with Arica, whose voice is provided by Samantha Bennett. In Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Heidi Shannon lent her voice to Mara Jade. Edie Mirman voiced her in Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi, while Kath Soucie provided the voice in Star Wars: Empire at War.

Within the Darth Vader campaign of Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, players can uncover Mara Jade through the use of cheats in several missions. She can be found lurking on the edge of the map, appearing briefly before disappearing offscreen. Additionally, she is available as a playable unit when creating a map using the scenario editor. Furthermore, Mara Jade serves as the narrator for this particular campaign.

In another non-canonical appearance, Mara Jade is featured in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game as a playable character within the duel mode for the Nintendo Wii and PSP. Players can also unlock her as a playable skin in the game's story mode by inputting MARAJADE as a cheat code.

According to Timothy Zahn, the originator of Mara Jade Skywalker, the character possesses "a certain kind of attitude, an alertness, an awareness of what's going on." Zahn further elaborated that his envisioned physical attributes for Jade Skywalker consisted of a dancer's physique, red hair, and green eyes. He also expressed that the character was written to contrast with Skywalker, and their pairing was designed as an inversion of Han and Leia's dynamic. Zahn portrayed Jade Skywalker as a multifaceted character, encompassing both emotional and intellectual dimensions. In the author's view, her personality renders her a heroic figure, as she acts in accordance with what is right, even when it is not to her liking. Zahn characterized her as a complex character, but one that was not difficult to write. In an interview, Zahn noted that Jade Skywalker's past traumas significantly influenced her personality. Despite struggling to connect with others, she harbors a deep desire for trustworthy relationships.

Zahn further explained that Palpatine abducted Jade Skywalker from her home at a young age and trained her to be his servant. Consequently, her abilities were largely derived from her connection to Palpatine, albeit without the Sith philosophy. Zahn employed this aspect to elucidate the sharp decline in her powers and abilities following Palpatine's demise. He described her, even during her tenure as the Emperor's Hand, as "definitely willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and let the chips fall where they may." Moreover, Zahn emphasized his intention to preserve certain traits of Jade Skywalker, such as her loyalty and pursuit of justice, throughout her career as both the Emperor's Hand and later as a Jedi Knight.

Zahn stated that he intentionally delayed the romantic development between Jade Skywalker and Luke Skywalker in his writings to allow her sufficient time to process her animosity towards Skywalker. He expressed that, prior to the New Jedi Order book series, Jade Skywalker would likely settle down with her husband, take a respite from combat, and potentially start a family. Kevin J. Anderson, who contributed to several Star Wars books featuring Mara Jade, revealed that Zahn initially did not intend for Jade and Luke Skywalker to become romantically involved—at least not when he began writing the Jedi Academy Trilogy. However, Anderson perceived their eventual romance as an obvious development but refrained from pursuing that narrative direction after discussing it with Zahn. Instead, he paired Jade and Lando Calrissian, noting their shared interests. Ultimately, Anderson attributed Lucasfilm's decision to establish Jade as Luke Skywalker's primary love interest to the positive fan reception of the character.

Michael Stackpole, the author of the Union comics depicting the wedding of Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker, highlighted the challenge of incorporating action, humor, romance, beauty, and adventure into the series. He also characterized Union as "a kind of Star Wars family album, and a cap to the Bantam novel continuity. This is a postscript to the last of Timothy Zahn's novels." These novels prominently featured Mara Jade.

During a Hyperspace celebrity chat, Mark Hamill expressed his endorsement of the Mara Jade character and the overall direction of Luke Skywalker's narrative in the post–Return of the Jedi fiction. Hamill's first encounter with McRandle occurred at a fan convention in 2004.

Lucasfilm's decision to eliminate Mara Jade Skywalker was made for the storyline of the novel Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice. Karen Traviss, the author of Sacrifice, stated that she conceived the idea of Jade Skywalker's death and felt compelled to personally write the scene. Traviss further conveyed that she was an admirer of the character and desired Mara Jade Skywalker's demise to serve a greater purpose, acknowledging the difficulty she experienced in writing the death scene. While crafting Jade Skywalker's narrative, Traviss emphasized the importance of Ben to the character, as well as her warrior spirit. In response to Mara Jade Skywalker's death, Shannon McRandle, the model who has frequently portrayed Mara Jade Skywalker, voiced her dissatisfaction with the events, particularly the cover of Sacrifice. Furthermore, Timothy Zahn, when questioned about Jade Skywalker's death during a writing workshop, expressed his disapproval of the decision to kill off the character in Sacrifice. He stated that Del Rey not only neglected to inform him of the death and has not contacted him since, but he would still be open to writing another novel centered around the three Skywalkers.

Mara Jade was among the initial Expanded Universe characters to be immortalized as a Hasbro action figure and a Gentle Giant bust. While the initial Hasbro figure did not utilize Shannon McRandle's likeness, the Gentle Giant product did. Additionally, a limited-edition replica of Mara Jade's lightsaber was produced by Master Replicas, swiftly selling out. In August 2007, Hasbro unveiled a second Mara Jade action figure as part of its Comic Packs line, which included two figures and a reprint of a comic book. Jade was packaged with a Luke Skywalker figure and issue #5 of Heir to the Empire by Dark Horse Comics.

Wizards of the Coast created five Mara Jade figures for the Star Wars Miniatures collectible board game. The first set, Rebel Storm, featured an Imperial version, Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand. This was subsequently reprinted in a complete reprint set, Rebels and Imperials. The second was a New Republic version, Mara Jade, Jedi in Alliance and Empire, a 30th anniversary set. The fourth was an older New Republic version, Mara Jade Skywalker in the Legacy of the Force set. The fifth was an Imperial version again, Arica in the Imperial Entanglements set.