Mara Jade's birth occurred 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 surviving members of the Jedi Order. The Emperor removed Jade from her family and brought her to the planet Coruscant at a young age, where he initiated her training in the Force, while publicly presenting her as one of the Imperial Palace's dancers. In later years, Jade retained only fragmented memories of her early life, including her parents' reluctance to let her go and her own conviction that she was destined to leave with the Emperor. She also recalled an incident involving a falling-star globe she had as a child, which she broke in an attempt to understand its workings, resulting in her getting into trouble. Her master provided her with instruction in the ways of the Force, leading to her becoming an agent of the Empire. Some members of the Imperial court mistakenly believed her to be merely a dancer or one of Palpatine's concubines.

Throughout Jade's formative years, she underwent an intense training program, which included instruction alongside the Imperial Royal Guard and the acquisition of covert espionage and assassination skills. By the age of fourteen, she had become proficient in these areas and was designated as an "Emperor's Hand," one of Palpatine's personal assassins. This appointment followed a final test in which she successfully infiltrated Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's private quarters. To accomplish this mission, Jade, disguised as a guest at a formal event at Tarkin's residence, feigned illness to excuse herself from the other attendees. She then acquired a bag of equipment and descended the building's exterior to reach the room containing Tarkin's private safe. While she was in the process of breaking in, a group of guards, who were actually droids, entered the room, leading to an engagement in which she used her blaster and lightsaber. However, upon sensing that one of the guards was alive, she chose to knock him unconscious rather than kill a soldier willing to sacrifice himself in a training exercise. Vader and Sidious expressed their satisfaction with her abilities, and she was officially recognized as the Emperor's Hand.

Despite the existence of multiple Emperor's Hands, each operative, including Jade, was unaware of the others' existence. Due to her strong connection to the Force, she possessed the ability to hear Palpatine's voice from anywhere in the galaxy through a telepathic link. Jade carried out Palpatine's directives on numerous worlds, eliminating corrupt Imperial officials, traitors, and others whom he deemed deserving of death or judgment. He held her in such high regard that he granted 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 designed for left-handed individuals, despite Jade being right-handed, among the items in her personal weapon collection.

Leading up to the Battle of Yavin, the destruction of an Imperial superweapon known as the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, she was assigned the task of gathering intelligence to aid in the pursuit of any Jedi who had survived Order 66, one of whom was An'ya Kuro. Jade encountered a man attempting to escape Imperial custody on Kuat, who provided her with information obtained from a Sacorrian smuggler. According to the smuggler, Kuro was located on the fifth planet in the Cophrigin system. Jade unsuccessfully lobbied the Emperor to allow her to be the one to eliminate Kuro; instead, Vader was dispatched. 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 his assault on the Massassi Temples from a distance, approximately six months after the loss of the Death Star over Yavin Prime, which resulted in the capture of Rebel Commander Jan Dodonna. During subsequent missions where she was tasked with discreetly observing him, Jade developed envy towards Vader and sensed a conflict within him, particularly because she did not understand the basis of his obsession with a young Jedi named Luke Skywalker. Jade began to hope that Vader would betray the Emperor, allowing her to kill him and assume his position as the Emperor's apprentice.

Despite her espionage activities, she also carried out 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 retrieve the information from her personally. Instead, he dispatched a spacer who had been working for the Empire to collect the information from Jade on Naboo before delivering it to him in exchange 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 with rescuing six Imperial officers from a prison facility located inside the hidden Rebel base on the planet Corellia. The Imperial agents successfully completed the mission 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 the top off tax returns to the Imperial Center. Faking intoxication, she retired to a private room during a formal party Glovstoak was throwing, only to leave an inflatable dummy behind and, having exchanged her formal wear for a combat suit, 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 destruction.

Following Glovstoak's arrest, Jade also took on the task of identifying the individuals who had delivered the paintings, as well as those who had assisted the Moff. She initially visited the auction house where the paintings had been sold but obtained little information. She then investigated secure storage facilities and identified a potential 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-enhanced senses alerted her to the attempt. She confronted the owner, Pirtonna, who attempted to kill her. She easily subdued him, and he confessed to the involvement of a pirate group known as the BloodScars, a ruthless gang seeking to unite several gangs to dominate the Shelsha sector.

Jade stowed away on one of the pirate ships that she had been directed to, selecting a HT-2200 medium freighter that was scheduled 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. Undeterred, she quickly seized control of the ship, captured Tannis, and signaled the Reprisal via the Happer's Way's communications relay to provide assistance to her and the freighter.

Upon boarding the Reprisal, Jade was greeted coldly by Captain Kendal Ozzel, who suspected that she was aware of the five stormtroopers who had deserted earlier after killing Major Drelfin due to Daric LaRone's refusal to kill civilians on Teardrop. Jade requested a pair of crew members for the ship, and Colonel Vak Somoril provided her with two ISB agents to accompany her. Accompanied by the two ISB agents and Tannis on the Happer's Way, she proceeded to infiltrate the pirate base on Gepparin, posing as an independent ship thief seeking 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 was unsuccessful, but she was interrupted before she could stop him and the commodore. Aboard the Reprisal, Ozzel and Somoril, wanting to be sure she was slain, 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 brooked no 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 had escaped. With her newly drafted stormtroopers, she advanced on the governor's palace, where once again Caaldra tried to kill her. She put an end to him 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. Linking back up with 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, saying she was the only Hand in the Empire.

Subsequently, Jade received orders to eliminate a corrupt judge named Lamos Chatoor. Upon confronting the official, she was ambushed by a pair of armed guards, but she easily defeated both. Disregarding Chatoor's excuses and pleas, she executed him in the name of Imperial justice. After successfully completing her mission, she received a mental communication from Palpatine after returning to her private Lambda-class shuttle. Palpatine had another assignment for her, tasking her with investigating allegations of treason against Governor Bidor Ferrouz of the Candoras sector. Ferrouz was suspected of collaborating with the Rebel Alliance, and Palpatine instructed her to determine the validity of the accusations and execute Ferrouz if they were confirmed.

To reach the sector capital of Poln Major, Jade concluded that she would require a different, less conspicuous ship than her own shuttle. She also determined that having willing stormtrooper accomplices would be advantageous. Having observed the continued altruistic vigilantism of the Hand of Judgment despite her earlier warning to them, Jade decided to utilize them once again. Based on her knowledge of their activities and her own intuition, Jade tracked them to Elegasso and soon located 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 stormed into the holding area, eliminating 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 face execution. Jade released LaRone and his men and then recruited them to assist her infiltration of Poln Major. Fully aware of the leverage she held over them, LaRone reluctantly agreed to her terms.

Using the Hand of Judgment's modified Suwantek TL-1800, Jade and the Hand of Judgment traveled to Poln Major. Upon arrival, Jade assigned them the task of surveying the stormtrooper security at the spaceport and obtaining ship logs while she sought to stakeout security at the governor's palace. Her initial observations revealed that it was heavily fortified from all angles. To test the 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 guards at the gate indicated that 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 significant number of suspected Rebel Alliance ships were in the system, which she considered to be corroborating evidence of the accusations against Ferrouz. She instructed the Hand of Judgment to meet her at the palace gates after assisting them in stealing some stormtrooper armor with identification markings that would allow them to get close to the palace and had them assist in her entry. After stealing a civilian landspeeder, Jade again staged 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 further knowledge, Esva's infiltrators launched an assault on the governor's office, while his other accomplices instigated a disturbance at the gate to divert the attention of the guards. Jade defended against them with all her might, ultimately subduing the attackers 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, making their escape from the palace via the exit and storm drains. After summoning the remaining members of the Hand of Judgment, they established a tapcafe as a secure location until Jade could facilitate the rescue of Ferrouz's family. Jade informed Axlon that the governor was being coerced, as Axlon had hoped to undermine an alliance between the Rebellion and the Candoras Sector. Furthermore, she communicated to Axlon that, in exchange for a temporary cessation of hostilities while they confronted Esva's forces, she would grant the Rebel forces in the Poln system a two-day window to evacuate. Based on information provided by Ferrouz, Jade inferred that a security officer named Pakrie, one of her previous captors, was in league with Esva. She additionally discovered that Esva possessed a substantial space fleet, partially equipped with weaponry that Pakrie had pilfered from the Empire.

Subsequently, Jade made her way back to the palace to apprehend Pakrie. During her absence, Axlon, who was also seeking Esva's favor and believed that orchestrating the governor's demise would endear the warlord to the Rebellion, attacked LaRone and the Hand of Judgment. The Hand of Judgment eliminated Axlon and apprised her of his treachery. Jade, suspecting that the kidnappers had utilized the safe room integrated into the governor's private exit, initiated an investigation. She instructed one of the governor's security officers to lure Pakrie into the safe room by falsely claiming that the governor was present. She abducted him, but before she could extract any information, she was assailed by eight alien assassins. Jade dispatched them all, but Pakrie managed to escape amidst the chaos. However, LaRone had a contact who furnished her with intelligence regarding the location where the family was being held. Jade discovered a concealed passageway that led to the location and followed it to a heavily guarded underground area. Upon learning this, Ferrouz contacted Pakrie and disclosed his location to the deceitful officer in order to draw away some of the guards. The ploy proved successful, 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 traversed an overhead crane arm. Simultaneously, LaRone's contact, who was actually Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker, launched his own endeavor to liberate the governor's family. After subduing some of the guards with his lightsaber, he came under fire, and Jade tossed him her weapon. She then diverted the fire, 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 liberated Ferrouz's wife and daughter. As Esva's forces converged, Jade instructed Skywalker to ignite a pool of flammable liquid she had spilled to facilitate their escape. The ensuing explosion, combined with Jade's skills, neutralized the remaining guards. Meanwhile, 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 extenuating circumstances. Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance successfully escaped, although the Empire had orchestrated their acquisition of 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 fate, but they had vanished without a trace.

In the months leading up to 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, thereby preserving her illusion of being the sole Hand. Nevertheless, Jade 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, assuming the guise of the dancing girl Arica, in anticipation of 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 to enter the service of the Hutt, C-3PO encountered Jade. Following a brief exchange, during which she inquired about Skywalker and introduced herself as Arica, Jade vanished as C-3PO witnessed the execution of the dancing girl Oola.

However, Melina Carniss, a member of Jabba's clandestine security detail, suspected her of plotting to assassinate the Hutt and attempted to apprehend her. Jade reversed the situation, taking Carniss into custody and subsequently employing the Force to induce Melina to shoot one of Jabba's Gamorrean guards. Jade fled through a tunnel and reached a ventilation shaft of the rancor pit. After overcoming three lines of guards, she was able to witness Skywalker's slaying of the rancor. She then infiltrated 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 Jabba to permit her to join him and others at the Dune Sea, a suspicious Jabba instead furnished her with a landspeeder and instructed her to depart and never return after she attempted to use the Force on him. Thus thwarted in her attempt to fulfill her mission, she returned to Imperial Center—and an irate 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 assignment on Tatooine, Jade received another directive from the Emperor: to eliminate Dequc, a Jeodu seeking to resurrect Black Sun by integrating its remnants into his own organization, the Black Nebula.

Jade arrived on the planet Svivren, where she initiated preparations for her new mission. She surveyed the crime lord's base but determined that she required a diversion to facilitate her undetected entry. 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 remained unaware that the raid was a diversion orchestrated by Jade. However, the following day witnessed the utter failure of the raid, resulting in the deaths of the majority of the Imperials. 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 reported to the Emperor that the mission had been accomplished. Palpatine, in recognition of her efficiency, granted her a vacation. She endeavored to enjoy her allotted time, but she found herself contemplating the events that had transpired on Svivren. She concluded that the assassination had been too effortless and that any number of the guards present during her attack should have been able to easily thwart her. Jade decided to test her hypothesis by creating a simulation of the assassination. She was only able to successfully kill "Dequc" and withdraw unharmed in two out of five attempts. She deduced that the individual she had killed was not the genuine Dequc but rather 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 reverberated 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 subordinates.

They conveyed Jade to Isard, who imprisoned her and employed intelligence tactics in an attempt to coerce Jade into assisting her in her bid for power. However, Jade managed to escape from captivity and secure passage to the remote world of Phorliss. Jade intended to remain inconspicuous for the time being until she could accumulate sufficient 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. Unwilling to allow 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, but not before they killed Drig and Jorshmin, a patron whom Jade had befriended.

Jade embarked on a quest to locate 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 asserted that she represented a mysterious corporate entity that had developed reliable and undetectable methods for cheating at gambling and detecting lock combinations. However, Jade simply employed the Force to create both illusions in an effort to be brought before Dequc. She succeeded and was escorted to Black Nebula's concealed base in the Bubble Cliffs of Nezmi, where Dequc awaited her to discuss the corporate interest she "represented." However, upon entering the Nebula's base, Jade inadvertently encountered Strok, the Imperial officer with whom she had collaborated on Svivren.

She learned that he was, in fact, a Black Nebula agent who had been planted within the Imperial officer corps to provide Dequc with information. Jade was incensed by the discovery of an Imperial traitor but decided to address 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 to take the offensive. Jade eventually succeeded in reaching Dequc's safe house, located deep within the Bubble Cliffs. Once there, she employed her lightsaber and a small explosive to kill Dequc and his guards. She was then able to escape through one of Dequc's secret passageways. After successfully withdrawing, Jade commandeered a private yacht belonging to Dequc, which was filled with all of his private information pertaining to the inner workings of Black Nebula, and abandoned it at an Imperial spaceport where it could be discovered by the authorities.

Her animosity towards Skywalker for ending her master's life was deeply rooted, and she pledged to kill the Jedi Knight. She did not know that the Emperor's telepathic command was central to her rage, making it more intense than any ordinary desire for revenge. Meanwhile, her life was in disarray: the resources she 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, she was still haunted by the Emperor's last command: "You will kill Luke Skywalker."

During her travels, she arrived on Kintoni, where she noticed the Rebel general Crix Madine. Jade shadowed him and infiltrated the building to observe Madine interrogating former Imperial Governor Barkale. Jade proceeded towards the imprisoned governor and discovered a datapad depicting 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 display the image of the Executor on the sensor screens, deceiving the Rebels into believing the ship was after them. She stunned the guards and struck a deal with Madine to allow her and Barkale to escape.

Barkale escorted her back to his residence, but Jade observed 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 hurled a vase at her. Jade, unfazed, executed him and then informed Madine of her discovery while she departed the planet, reasoning that the Rebels would have discovered the artwork anyway and 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 escaping from 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 failed to slice into records to determine why Ghent was being pursued, Ghent took over and easily 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 that his name was Markko. She was also able to reveal that he had been hired by the governor for computer work, rather than that the governor needed Ghent's services, which was what Markko had originally 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. Deciding to reverse the situation, 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 next few years, Jade drifted from one odd 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 engaged in a duel, and Jade escaped, although she lost her lightsaber in the process. After her run-in with Lumiya, she later worked as a hyperdrive mechanic on Varonat under the name Celina Marniss.

Fortune finally smiled upon Jade when she saved the smuggler baron Talon Karrde from an ambush on Varonat that resulted in the death 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 recalled 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 said to have been already working together 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 working with Karrde, Jade rapidly ascended through the ranks of his smuggling organization. Her Force-sensitivity, which had been 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 precisely where Luke Skywalker's damaged X-wing was drifting in space. Grand Admiral Thrawn, the leader of the resurgent Empire, had offered a substantial bounty on Skywalker, and Karrde contemplated selling him to Thrawn for the bounty or extorting money from the New Republic to ensure his return.

Karrde rescued the marooned Jedi, bringing him to his base on Myrkr. There, the planet's ysalamiri neutralized Skywalker's Force powers. Initially, Jade intended to kill Skywalker, a plan Karrde opposed. Instead, Karrde confined Skywalker and R2-D2, concealing them when Thrawn arrived to acquire ysalamiri. Skywalker, however, broke free using a Skipray blastboat. Jade pursued him, but both crafts crashed in the vornskr-infested forest. Adding to their predicament, Thrawn's arrival on Myrkr to collect ysalamiri prevented them from contacting Karrde, as Thrawn would then know Karrde had hidden Skywalker. Jade was compelled to collaborate with Skywalker for survival, clearly stating her intention to kill him. After repelling several vornskr attacks, the pair reached Hyllyard City, only to be caught in a stormtrooper ambush. The timely arrival of Skywalker's friends Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, and some of Karrde's forces led to the stormtroopers' defeat, after which Solo, Calrissian, and Skywalker departed Myrkr. Shortly after, Karrde and his organization also fled Myrkr due to a substantial Imperial bounty placed on them.

With the organization's last members departing Myrkr, Jade stayed with Karrde. He chose to secretly observe the Imperial arrival on Myrkr from the Wild Karrde. As anticipated, Grand Admiral Thrawn arrived aboard the Star Destroyer Chimaera and promptly seized the abandoned base. Unexpectedly, Thrawn deduced that the Wild Karrde was still in the system and deployed an Interdictor cruiser, the Constrainer, to ensnare the smuggler's ship. However, Jade, receiving a Force-related premonition of the Imperials' arrival, activated the Wild Karrde's engines, preparing for flight, surprising her crewmates and Karrde. As the Constrainer entered the system, Jade piloted the ship beyond its range and jumped into hyperspace, her seemingly premature engine activation saving them from an Imperial trap.

While establishing a new base for Karrde's group on Rishi, Jade was attacked by a bounty hunter, 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 to him, resuming her role as the Emperor's Hand and offering the location of the Katana fleet in exchange for amnesty for Karrde and his men. Thrawn, though suspicious, agreed but secretly placed a tracking device on her ship. Upon her arrival at Karrde's next hideout, Imperial stormtroopers quickly followed and captured Karrde.

Disgusted by Thrawn's betrayal and now feeling greater loyalty to Karrde, Jade resolved to break Karrde out of the Imperial brig where he was being held, understanding she needed help. She traveled to Jomark with a ysalamir, where Luke Skywalker was training under Joruus C'baoth. C'baoth tried to shoot her down with rocks as she landed, but she managed to land her ship and head towards his residence, where Skywalker was. As she was climbing down 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 owed Karrde. She was then carried down to Skywalker's location hanging from the starfighter's landing gear. After a brief confrontation with C'baoth, who was stunned by a near-miss from a laser cannon fired by R2-D2, Jade wanted to kill the insane Jedi Master, but Skywalker convinced her not to. Despite her reservations, she persuaded Skywalker to join her in rescuing Karrde from Thrawn's ship, the Chimaera, using the Skipray blastboat she had used to reach Jomark. Using her passwords to hack into the computer, 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.

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

After being taken to Coruscant for a month of nerve-regeneration therapy, Jade found herself almost entirely alone in the Imperial Palace. Desiring to leave the planet, she detected an Imperial intrusion team heading for the Solo family's 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 secret passages to flank the Imperial commando team. Using 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 by order of Colonel Jak Bremen.

While imprisoned, Jade learned about Thrawn's use of clones from Organa Solo, recalling the location of the Emperor's cloning center. Realizing the risks of using normal channels, Skywalker, Solo, Calrissian, and Chewbacca broke Jade out of prison and took her aboard the Falcon. She provided the location 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 gradually realized that Jade was acting under Palpatine's telepathic command, rather than of her own free will. Jade also gradually realized that she was being used to exact a final revenge upon the deceased Darth Vader. Skywalker pledged to help her break free from the command, even though being near her endangered his life. They both had premonitions of encountering the insane C'baoth on the planet, which proved true upon reaching the Mount Tantiss stronghold after a difficult journey through the forest. Jade asked Skywalker to kill her rather than allow C'baoth to control her mind, but the Jedi assured her that she would not face whatever awaited her in the stronghold alone.

While searching for a remote destruct for the facility, Skywalker and Jade encountered the crazed Jedi Master, who attacked them with Force lightning and pitted Skywalker against a clone of himself, wielding his father's lightsaber. Despite assistance from the Solos and Karrde, they couldn't defeat the Jedi Master until Jade retrieved Leia Organa Solo's lightsaber and charged C'baoth. Skywalker injured his clone and empowered Jade with the Force, and she fulfilled the Emperor's command, killing 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 shielded her from the dark side energy released upon C'baoth's death, and they escaped in the Wild Karrde as Calrissian and Chewbacca destroyed the facility. As a gesture of friendship, Skywalker gifted her his father's lightsaber, which she would use in the years to come. With Luuke's death, Jade was freed from Sidious's telepathic control.

Later, Karrde dispatched Jade to aid the New Republic after the loss of Coruscant to the Empire. With communications disrupted, the New Republic had sent couriers to inform various fleet elements of their retreat. When one fleet element changed location, the New Republic paid Jade to rendezvous with the courier ship Messenger to update the crew. Coincidentally, Colonel Bremen, who had previously detained her on Coruscant, was on the ship, much to Jade's amusement. However, a homing beacon in the Messenger attracted a Carrack-class cruiser, and Jade destroyed some of its TIE fighters to allow the courier to escape.

However, Sidious was not content with Jade's absense; to punish her for her treachery, he dispatched several of his servants, including the mysterious Blackhole, to intercept her en route to a Smugglers' Alliance meeting in the Senex sector. She was captured, but Kyle Katarn and some of his allies later freed her. During the mission, they uncovered information about an unknown Sith temple.

After fully rejecting the dark side of the Force, Jade sought out Kyle Katarn to train her in the Jedi ways. They engaged in 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, assisting the New Republic base under bombardment from two artificial asteroids and attacked by the Dark Empire. Katarn successfully repelled the attack and destroyed both asteroids. While there, he received a lead about the planet Dromund Kaas having some importance to the Empire and went to investigate.

Jade, however, was assigned her first solo mission for the Republic: negotiating with Ka'Pa the Hutt regarding the New Republic's supplies. To secure Ka'Pa's cooperation, Jade was forced to steal Takara's GCT device for him. While searching for Takara's lieutenant, Abron Mar, in the Katraasii Spaceport, Jade was captured by Takara. She escaped the stronghold by killing a rancor and stealing the device. Ka'Pa, pleased, agreed to aid the Republic.

Jade's second 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 retrieve it, she decided to "board" a cargo crate bound for Rathalay, the pirates' base. Using 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.

After 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. Eventually, she found Katarn completely consumed by the dark side. Master and apprentice fought, but Jade managed to resist him each time, while Katarn retreated deeper into the catacombs. In their final encounter, Jade voluntarily deactivated her lightsaber and surrendered. Katarn realized he couldn't follow that path and returned to the light side.

When Palpatine returned in his new cloned body, Jade refused to believe it was him, dismissing any thought of rejoining his service. Instead, she assisted 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 also participated in a mission from Karrde to track down Jorj Car'das, using a feigned involvement with Lando Calrissian as a cover. Their quest eventually led them to the Kathol Rift, where she and Calrissian encountered Crev Bombaasa and helped him out of a difficult situation. 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 Jedi ways, arriving during the tumultuous period following Gantoris's death and Kyp Durron's initial act of rebellion, both triggered by the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Exar Kun. Initially, Jade and Corran Horn, a student using the alias Keiran Halcyon, clashed, but they soon resolved their differences and became quite friendly. She even allowed Horn to use her Headhunter, though Durron later stole it in his attempt to seize the Sun Crusher superweapon. Under Kam Solusar's guidance, Horn and Mara Jade trained together, engaging in physical exercises like jungle expeditions, and learned to appreciate their differences—a wise choice, as Exar Kun's spirit soon possessed Durron and wreaked havoc on the Jedi. She left the academy shortly after, but returned upon hearing that Kun had put Skywalker in a coma. While there, she helped Horn defeat Kun's spirit, as the Corellian tried to distract Kun by invading his temple. She arrived just in time, as Kun was nearly successful in turning Horn's fears against him and had 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 through the combined Force power of the students present. With Kun defeated, Jade helped the injured Horn back to the Great Temple. However, she again departed 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 recent successes, sought to profit from mining glitterstim on Kessel. Jade led a group of Smuggler's Alliance vessels to Kessel to help him drive the current administrator, Moruth Doole, off the planet. However, Jade wasn't entirely thrilled with Calrissian, disliking his constant flirting, though she was impressed by his gifting the Falcon to Han Solo after winning it back in a game of sabacc. Shortly after they seized the planet, Jade, Solo, and Calrissian were confronted by a prototype Death Star, which destroyed Kessel's moon. Jade and her Smugglers' Alliance ships attacked the prototype, but it fled. Jade and the Falcon pursued the craft into the heart of The Maw, determined to prevent the superweapon's escape. In an attempt to disable its superlaser, she and Calrissian infiltrated the prototype's core in environment suits, intending to plant thermal detonators along the reactor core, but they were attacked by a group of spacetroopers. The two saboteurs escaped, but a spacetrooper removed all but one of their charges, causing less damage than hoped. Fortunately, Durron, freed from Kun's influence, steered the prototype into a gravitational well, crushing it and eliminating its threat 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, choosing instead to manage a fully legal independent trading company. This venture was designed to prepare her for eventually assuming control of Karrde's operations. While situated in the Talfaglio system, the vessel Jade's Fire intercepted a drone. This drone carried a message cube encoded with Imperial protocols and addressed to Leia Organa Solo. Intrigued, Jade set a course for the Corellian system, suspecting the message was of utmost importance. Upon arriving in orbit above Corellia, she made her way to the trade summit underway in Coronet City, where she encountered both Leia and Han Solo. Jade informed them about the message cube. Leia Solo, accompanied by Han, then escorted Jade to her private quarters to unlock the cube, which required Leia's fingerprints for decryption. The cube revealed the insurrection plans of both the Sacorrian Triad and the Human League, led by Han Solo's cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo. Their scheme involved blackmailing the New Republic by using a superweapon to obliterate several stars. Shortly thereafter, the Human League initiated riots and commenced their insurrection. Jade, having departed the Solos' apartment, vanished.

As the Corellian Crisis erupted across the Corellian system, Jade was eventually captured by the Human League and imprisoned alongside Leia on Corellia. This, coupled with the disappearance of her crew, motivated her to oppose the Human League. Despite their mutual distrust, the two women decided to collaborate, escaping their cells and rappelling into Solo's former living space, where they recovered Solo's lightsaber and blaster. Jade and Leia Solo then left the planet aboard Jade's ship, the Jade's Fire, after Jade summoned it using a beckon call. Injured but relieved to have escaped Human League captivity, they ultimately decided to journey to Selonia. As they approached the planet, they detected the Bakuran fleet and a coneship carrying Han Solo and a Selonian, both of whom had also escaped the Human League on Corellia. Jade maneuvered the Jade's Fire to dock with the coneship, reuniting Solo with her husband.

Subsequently, both vessels proceeded towards Selonia, only to be intercepted by hostile fighters before they could land. The Jade's Fire provided cover for the defenseless coneship until Jade and Leia Solo successfully eliminated the remaining fighters. On Selonia, the Solos and Jade attempted, unsuccessfully, to persuade the Selonians to reconsider their decision to hand over a planetary repulsor and assist them. Consequently, they were briefly imprisoned. 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, which 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 had orchestrated the Starbuster plot from the beginning. The Solo children, with the help of the instructions Jade had helped obtain and Bakuran technicians, successfully prevented Centerpoint from destroying its next target by using a burst from the planetary repulsor on Drall to diffuse its weapon.

Shortly thereafter, Jade became involved in the events surrounding the Caamas Document crisis in 19 ABY when she and Karrde arrived on Wayland with the intent of hiring some Noghri to work for his organization. After receiving a call from Cakhmaim, the Wild Karrde forced the ship of Lak Jit, a Devaronian who had discovered information indicating that the Bothans had assisted Palpatine in destroying Caamas, to land.

Later, sensing a disturbance in the Force, Jade rescued Skywalker from the Cavrilhu Pirates while on a mission from Talon Karrde to investigate pirate groups potentially using clones. Skywalker had been infiltrating the group when he was discovered. Karrde dispatched Jade in the Starry Ice to check on him and the pirates. Her prompt arrival saved him from the pirate base's self-destruction sequence, allowing him to float a short distance across the vacuum to her ship in a Jedi hibernation trance. As they departed the pirate base, a small Chiss ship flew past, scrutinizing them before jumping to hyperspace. This would not be the last time Jade encountered such vessels. After meeting Karrde on the Errant Venture, the Star Destroyer was overflown by another one of the ships. Once 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 in the Starry Ice.

Jade journeyed 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 lost consciousness after hitting her head on a rock. Her disappearance 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 of Jade lying facedown in water when he encountered Karrde, and the vision had troubled both of them. The Jedi agreed to go to Nirauan to rescue her, bringing her Jade's Fire and his X-wing to the remote planet.

Fifteen days after becoming stranded on Nirauan, Skywalker finally reached the cave where she was hiding, surrounded by the local Qom Jha who had carried her there after she had lost consciousness. The Qom Jha had taken her weapons and restricted her movements, but otherwise had left her unharmed. They had also moved her starfighter into the cave, as she was being hunted by the Chiss occupying the fortress. While Jade couldn't comprehend their Force-based communication, Skywalker could, and he taught her how to understand the aliens. The two managed to persuade the aliens to help them infiltrate the fortress through a series of underground tunnels. As they journeyed through the caves, they used the time to resolve some of their differences. Jade told Skywalker that she had hoped for some attention while at the Jedi academy, but since it never happened, she stopped attending. She also advised him to stop trying to handle everything alone, as he hadn't fully recovered from 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 eventually penetrated the fortress.

Accompanied by their native guides and R2-D2, they explored the lower levels, but were forced to stop after 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 then, Skywalker had realized his love for 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 in which Skywalker questioned her relationship with Calrissian, while she referenced his experiences with Gaeriel Captison and Callista Ming. Jade calmed down somewhat and revealed to Skywalker that her relationship with Calrissian was never genuine; it was a cover for Karrde's mission. Their discussion led to a lessening of the barrier between them, to the point where they shared a close mental connection. The two re-entered the fortress, discovering the existence of the Empire of the Hand and their plans to cede their considerable territory and resources to the Imperial Remnant.

Recognizing the need for more information, Jade went to speak with the fortress inhabitants, encountering 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 defend 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, 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 they needed to return to obtain data on the threats Parck had mentioned earlier. While Skywalker rested in a hibernation trance, Jade made a 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, encountering an unripe clone of Thrawn. However, two guard droids, armored with cortosis, attacked them on a floor covered in rope snares. Fighting back to back, the two joined minds to battle the droids in perfect coordination, though they had little chance of defeating them. However, R2-D2 distracted one of the droids long enough for the two to cut through the wall, allowing water from a nearby lake to flood the room. In the confusion, Skywalker destroyed the two droids. Realizing they were trapped by the water, Skywalker told Jade about a vision he had of her lying facedown in water and confessed his love to her, which she had fully realized when they had joined minds. As the water rose, Luke Skywalker proposed marriage. She accepted.

Skywalker then realized that allowing water from the fusion generator into the cloning chamber would create an explosion large enough to breach the wall. Jade made the cut, as she was more skilled in the necessary technique, a Paparak cross-cut. As the water surged through the newly created outlet, Skywalker put her in a hibernation trance, and they both floated through the water unconscious. The Jedi awoke first and pulled Jade from where she was lying facedown in the water, waking her with the phrase "I love you, Mara." With the final assistance of the Qom Jha and Qom Qae natives, they boarded their ships, both in the clawcraft they had taken, and departed the planet for the New Republic. As an added bonus, R2-D2 had retrieved Thrawn's copy of the Caamas Document while in the fortress, which they took back to resolve the conflict that had erupted over Bothawui.

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

As part of the preparations, Jade had to contend with numerous dress designers vying to create her wedding dress, ranging from a masked dress to a black dress reminiscent of Imperial agents' attire, and 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 gathering, to take a walk. 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. Joining two halves of a crystal together as a symbol of their union, they were married by Kam Solusar. However, Jade was later displeased to discover that Skywalker had been involved in a bar fight during his bachelor party. She was also disturbed 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 grew 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 inform their husbands of this event, as they had already reprimanded them 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 incidents, with the Jedi calming 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. After their reception, Han Solo flew the couple to their honeymoon destination.

A year after their marriage, Jade Skywalker became frustrated with Skywalker's time being constantly occupied by others as he mediated numerous disputes on a planet that revered Jedi wisdom. However, her husband had arranged a special second honeymoon for her, which pleased her immensely, though she playfully warned Skywalker not to imitate their native host by calling her a "blushing bride."

For the next few years, Skywalker dedicated most of his time to the Jedi Academy, instructing his Jedi candidates 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 that time, she and Mirax were brought up on charges, but were exonerated.

In 22 ABY, Mara Jade Skywalker ended her partnership with Karrde to fully commit to her marriage and Jedi knighthood. This occurred after one final mission to smuggler Jerf Huxley to inform him that Karrde's organization was terminating his employment. The angered smuggler attempted to intimidate her with a jury-rigged droideka, but the Skywalkers easily subdued the smugglers and destroyed the droid. Immediately afterward, they were invited by the Chiss, through a message from Karrde, to serve as Jedi representatives in the return of the ruins of the Outbound Flight Project, which had been revealed to have been destroyed by Thrawn and whose remains were located in a Chiss stronghold known as The Redoubt. However, Karrde also cautioned 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 arriving to the Chaf Envoy, a cable detached from the ceiling and nearly struck Luke Skywalker, who skillfully avoided it. Despite the suspicious nature of the incident, the two Jedi were unharmed, although Jade Skywalker later investigated the fixture. While examining the cable, she encountered Chak Fel, accompanied by four stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand. Thankfully, the stormtroopers appeared friendly, as did Fel, 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 identifying themselves as the Geroons, who claimed to have been rescued 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 awestruck by the two Jedi. Eventually, the assembled party made their way toward 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, with none of the disparate groups of guests trusting 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 fire to an area near the fuel tanks and the discovery of a group of destructive line creepers running through the ship. In the former instance, the two Jedi, along with the four stormtroopers, were present to provide assistance. Rushing into the burning compartment where the stormtroopers were already fighting the blaze, Skywalker levitated his wife into a position where she could use her lightsaber to slice through a coolant line. Her actions quickly extinguished the fire, and the Chiss begrudgingly thanked them for their assistance. In another incident, one of the Geroons was shot by an unknown assailant, and the Jedi, despite responding quickly with lightsabers drawn, were unable to identify the attacker and were reprimanded by the ship's captain for brandishing weapons unnecessarily, much to Jade Skywalker's annoyance. As they continued to their destination, Jade Skywalker began to have doubts about her time as an Emperor's Hand, though her husband managed to reassure her.

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 convinced them to assist in fighting 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 aid 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, separated, and took one of the six Dreadnaughts that constituted Outbound Flight back 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. As it turned out, their entire visit had been orchestrated by the Chiss to lure the Vagaari into attacking them, thus 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 allure of the Empire of the Hand.

During that 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 disguised as a head of state, was also present and secretly infected all those in attendance with coomb spores, a lethal Yuuzhan Vong bio-agent that killed everyone infected, except for Jade Skywalker. She was able to resist the disease through the Force, although no permanent cure could be found.

Before the Yuuzhan Vong's invasion began, she joined Ambassador Leia Organa Solo and Jaina Solo on a diplomatic mission to Rhommamool, a planet then embroiled in a civil war with its sister planet, Osarian. The meeting proved unsuccessful as Nom Anor, disguised as Rhommamool's leader, dismissed Organa Solo after lecturing her; his only goal in requesting the meeting was to gather intelligence, particularly regarding Jade Skywalker's health. The three women then went back to Coruscant, where Jade Skywalker suffered another attack of the disease affecting her womb. Meanwhile, her husband had just returned from a meeting with the New Republic Advisory Council, and Jade Skywalker cautioned him about the destabilizing actions of Jedi Knight Wurth Skidder concerning Rhommamool. Later, back on Rhommamool, Anor launched a missile strike against the Mediator and destroyed Osa-Prime, causing the political tensions to explode into a full-scale war.

The Skywalkers and Solos, all feeling frustrated with Coruscant's government, journeyed to Calrissian's outpost on Dubrillion to gather information about Jedi activities in the Outer Rim. Jade Skywalker also used this opportunity to test her apprentice's skills, arranging for Artoo to drop her out of hyperspace at a location different from her intended destination. Jaina Solo, as expected, rose to the challenge and successfully charted her course back to her family. When a distress signal arrived from the ExGal-4 outpost on Belkadan, the Skywalkers decided to investigate together. On Belkadan, they found a planet devastated by an ecological disaster, the result of Yuuzhan Vong terraforming. Jade Skywalker then realized that her illness was somehow linked to the planet's destruction. When Yomin Carr, who had orchestrated the world's destruction, attacked her, she became the first Jedi to confront a Yuuzhan Vong. She barely managed to overcome the infiltrator.

Based on information obtained from ExGal-4's databanks, they traveled to the Helska system, where Skywalker was attacked by hostile coralskippers as he descended in his X-wing toward Helska IV. Jade Skywalker intervened to help him, and they escaped the system for Dubrillion. Skywalker determined that he needed to return for further investigation, planning to use one of Calrissian's iceborers to penetrate the planet's icy crust; Jade Skywalker was to pilot the transport ship for this mission. However, her illness had weakened her, so the Solo twins took the craft instead. When a New Republic fleet, led by the Rejuvenator, arrived, the Skywalkers followed them to the Helska system, where they provided covering fire for Solo's iceborer while the New Republic fleet suffered heavy losses against the Yuuzhan Vong. After Jaina Solo rescued her brother, who had infiltrated the Yuuzhan Vong stronghold and saved Danni Quee, the Skywalkers transported Quee from the cramped iceborer to the Jade Sabre in a nearby system.

After discussing the invaders with the young scientist and Jacen Solo, they prepared to return to Helska, accompanied by shieldships and starfighters from Dubrillion, intending to use the shieldships to melt the planet. Jade Skywalker flew the Jade Sabre once more, aware that destroying the planet was necessary to eliminate the Vong inside, and that every available craft was needed to protect the shieldships, despite her deteriorating health. However, she collapsed in the heat of battle, and Jaina Solo's attempts to take control were unsuccessful; her lapse had already resulted in significant damage to the Jade Sabre. Only a last-second maneuver by Skywalker, using his repulsor coils to push the Jade Sabre away from the melting ice planet, saved her life. Despite this, the shieldships successfully melted the planet, and the Praetorite Vong were defeated. Following the battle, Jade Skywalker began to recover as she fought the disease within her.

After the Battle of Helska IV, Jade Skywalker returned to Yavin IV, where Luke Skywalker had convened a meeting of all the Jedi. Skywalker assigned various missions to members of the Order, and Jade Skywalker was dispatched with her nephew Anakin Solo to Dantooine, both as an opportunity for her to recover and combat her illness, and as a small reconnaissance probe to determine if Dantooine lay within the Yuuzhan Vong's invasion path.

On Dantooine, Jade Skywalker sought to recuperate while also teaching Anakin Solo a lesson about not using the Force lightly, such as in his negotiations with the native Dantari. They had been on the planet for several weeks when they discovered that the Yuuzhan Vong had landed. Anakin defended against hunting parties of Yuuzhan Vong warriors until Skywalker and Jacen Solo rescued them, as the Yuuzhan Vong had destroyed the Jade Sabre. They then participated in the Battle of Dantooine, though Skywalker requested that his wife remain with Leia and the noncombatants. Despite this, even the refugee camp was not safe for her; she sensed and confronted three Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators in ooglith masquers with the assistance of Leia and her Noghri bodyguard Bolpuhr. After quickly eliminating the warriors, Jade Skywalker tasked Leia with finding Danni Quee, who possessed Force-sensitivity and could detect Yuuzhan Vong, to search for more disguised infiltrators. Meanwhile, Jade Skywalker inspected other areas of the camp, killing one more warrior. The defenders managed to repel the Yuuzhan Vong advance, but at a significant cost. Once the battle concluded and the refugees had been evacuated, the Solos and Skywalkers, including Jade Skywalker, returned to Coruscant with their grim report of the battle, their retreat protected by Bothan Admiral Traest Kre'fey.

On Coruscant, she, Corran Horn, Skywalker, Kyp Durron, and numerous other Jedi attended another meeting to discuss the Order's role in the war. The Skywalkers and Horn attempted to moderate the aggressive tendencies of Durron and his sizable faction, achieving some 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 on old Imperial superweapons. The Skywalkers and Anakin quickly identified Jedi Knight Daeshara'cor as their suspect, and Skywalker enlisted a fringe information broker named Chalco to assist them, as Han was still too grief-stricken by Chewbacca's death to be of help. Skywalker realized that Daeshara'cor was heading to Vortex to consult with former superweapon designer Qwi Xux, and the trio traveled to Vortex aboard the Pulsar Skate with Mirax Terrik Horn to intercept the rogue Jedi Knight.

On Vortex, the Skywalkers met with Xux, who denied providing any information to Daeshara'cor. During their conversation, Jade Skywalker stated that she would use a superweapon under the right circumstances, but Xux maintained her pacifist beliefs. The Skywalkers left Xux at the Cathedral of Winds, and continued their search on Garos IV, a world renowned for its university and extensive database of old Imperial files. They were alarmed to learn that Daeshara'cor had kidnapped Anakin after offering a trade: Anakin for information on Imperial superweapons. However, Anakin proved to be a difficult target and, with Chalco's assistance, subdued the renegade.

The Skywalkers then traveled to Ithor, which was soon to become a crucial battleground in the war. Jade Skywalker did not participate in the releasing ceremony to commune with the jungle alongside the other Jedi, but she did spend some time with her husband. Jade Skywalker confided in her husband that she was prepared to face the uncertain future and that she had long desired to bear his child, but she wanted to overcome her illness first. However, their peaceful time on Ithor was disrupted when Yuuzhan Vong commander Shedao Shai arrived with a large force of ships and warriors, initiating a combined air and ground assault on the world. Jade Skywalker fought against his troops on Ithor's surface, performing admirably despite her relative weakness. During the battle, she saved Anakin from the Yuuzhan Vong, and the invaders were temporarily repelled. The battle for Ithor concluded when Corran Horn challenged and killed 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 leave both the Jedi Order and the New Republic, despite her husband's objections.

A memorial service for Chewbacca was held on Kashyyyk during a brief break from the war. Luke Skywalker, Han and Leia Solo, and their three children were present, but Jade Skywalker was unable to attend due to the severity of her illness at the time. The memorial was a solemn event, and Han received one of Chewbacca's bowcasters. To Han's surprise, two of Chewbacca's relatives offered to assume his life debt to the smuggler and his family, but Han declined, stating that he was not yet ready for such a commitment. After the funeral, Skywalker returned to Coruscant to Jade Skywalker. She confided in him that her spirits were waning as the war continued—Jade Skywalker had hoped that the galaxy would have improved after the treaty with the Empire. While Skywalker was on Kashyyyk, Jade Skywalker had consulted a doctor on Coruscant who confirmed what she already knew about her illness: that it was a foreign and unknown composite; that there were no known cures or treatments; and that the Belkadan beetle, which Skywalker had recovered, was also of an unknown species. However, Jade Skywalker quickly shifted the conversation to the recent memorial for Chewbacca. Skywalker described the ceremony to her and shared his concerns about Han and how he was coping with Chewbacca's death. Jade Skywalker reminded her husband of the reasons behind Han's behavior and assured him that, with time and space, Han's wounds would eventually heal.

Meanwhile, the priestess Elan, a Yuuzhan Vong spy, defected to the New Republic along with her familiar Vergere in the hope of getting close to the gathered Jedi leadership, where she could unleash a deadly virus and eliminate the primary threat to the Yuuzhan Vong's continued success. After defecting, the spy and Vergere provided valuable information on several matters, most notably intelligence regarding an upcoming attack on Ord Mantell, and also revealed that the Yuuzhan Vong had released a deadly virus into the galaxy long before their invasion. For the Jedi, especially Skywalker, this was the only available information that could potentially help Jade Skywalker combat her illness. However, Elan informed New Republic intelligence that she would only provide further information on the condition that she be allowed to meet with the gathered leaders of the Jedi to personally provide more details about the mysterious virus they had introduced. Skywalker and the Jedi recognized that the meeting could be a trap, but they also acknowledged that the information might be the only way to cure Jade Skywalker.

However, the tide of the war overtook the plans for a meeting between the Jedi and Elan. The Queen of Empire, a luxury liner repurposed as a refugee transport, was attacked by the Peace Brigade in an attempt to capture Elan and return her to the Yuuzhan Vong—the Peace Brigade was unaware of Elan's assassination mission. During the ensuing fight, Han Solo, who was aboard the Queen of Empire, pursued Elan and was nearly killed when she attempted to exhale some of the deadly virus on him. Elan was ultimately killed by her own designs, and Vergere escaped in an escape pod—but not before providing Han with a vial of tears, stating that they must "reach the Jedi."

Although Han was concerned that the tears might be a concealed weapon, he provided them to the Jedi, who proceeded to conduct experiments on them—their initial findings shocked them, but then gave them hope. The tears contained tremendous healing properties. Convinced that the tears were an antidote for her illness, Jade Skywalker seized the vial from her husband and consumed its contents. She immediately felt a change throughout her body, sensing that the tears were counteracting the illness within her. However, even though her illness appeared to be in remission, the Jedi were unsure if the tears would provide permanent relief.

As the Yuuzhan Vong continued their conquest of the galaxy, the planet of Kalarba and its moon Hosk Station eventually came under attack. The Yuuzhan Vong planned to replicate the devastation of Sernpidal by pulling the moon into a collision course with the planet. In response, the New Republic dispatched Rogue Squadron to help counter the enemy assault. During the battle, however, Jaina's fighter was destroyed, forcing her to eject. Across the galaxy, many Jedi sensed through the Force that something terrible had happened to Jaina. On Duro, Jacen collapsed due to his and Jaina's twin bond; Leia, who was also on Duro, felt the same pain that Jacen felt; and on Coruscant, both Skywalkers were aware that something had gone wrong with Jaina, but they knew that the situation would be handled.

Meanwhile, the Skywalkers had decided to convene a meeting of several Jedi, including Anakin Solo and Kenth Hamner, on Coruscant to discuss the current state of the war. Jedi Master Cilghal reported that the war was taking a tremendous toll on life, and that the days were growing increasingly longer for the Jedi healers. As the meeting progressed, Jade Skywalker reflected on the war thus far: how she had been forced to abandon the Jade Sabre; the fact that the mysterious disease was now in remission after receiving Vergere's tears; and how Anakin had almost single-handedly saved her life during the Battle of Dantooine. As the meeting continued, the Skywalkers listened to various reports from Jedi regarding their missions. During the meeting, Jedi apprentice Tekli informed the Skywalkers that she had overheard a conversation in a local tapcafe, the Leafy Green, which suggested the presence of Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators wearing ooglith masquers. Tekli believed that the matter should be investigated by a Jedi with more experience in such situations. It was eventually 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 spying and infiltration with Anakin. They arrived at the tapcafe and found a table that allowed them to observe the establishment while also providing a quick escape route. It did not take long for them to identify a being whose presence and demeanor seemed out of place. Using the Force to probe their target, they quickly realized that the being emitted no signature in the Living Force. Not wanting to apprehend the Yuuzhan Vong spy in a crowded place, Jade Skywalker and Anakin finished their meals and followed the spy as he left the tapcafe. They trailed the spy and eventually cornered him in an alleyway. A fierce but brief fight ensued, during which the spy attacked with a hidden amphistaff. Jade Skywalker managed to knock the spy to the ground after discovering that she could kill the amphistaff by striking the center of its head. However, after realizing that the Yuuzhan Vong were almost immune to the effects of a blaster set on stun, she decided to end the fight with a quick jab to the spy's temple. With the Yuuzhan Vong now unconscious, Jade Skywalker and Anakin took the captured spy back for interrogation and study.

Jade Skywalker handed the Yuuzhan Vong over to Cilghal and the exobiologist Dr. Joi Eicroth, who proceeded to restrain the captured spy on a table for further examination. During this time, the spy recovered from the blow inflicted by Jade Skywalker and managed to use a hidden claw in its hand to cut some of the table restraints. Although Anakin was prepared to defend those present by killing the spy with his lightsaber, Jade Skywalker yelled at Anakin to stop—the Yuuzhan Vong chose to slit its own throat with its claw rather than be a prisoner of the Jedi. She and Anakin were disappointed that their prisoner was now dead, and it was remarked that the entire operation had been for nothing. Skywalker, however, reflected on the fact that they had managed to remove a Yuuzhan Vong infiltrator from the war and that they had also discovered a way to kill amphistaffs by aiming directly at the snake head's crest.

Eventually, the Skywalkers were asked 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—most notably the planets Kalarba, Druckenwell, and Falleen. He continued by stating that even if the New Republic managed to defend and hold the planet Rodia, the Corellian Run would still be cut off. It seemed that the war was only going to worsen for the New Republic and the Jedi. During the meeting, they were informed that, after the debacle with Centerpoint Station during the Battle of Fondor, the immense weapon was now out of commission—a closely guarded secret. Following this, the meeting quickly devolved into an anti-Jedi debate. Under harsh scrutiny and with blame for the war being placed on the Jedi, the Skywalkers chose to leave the meeting rather than allow it to continue.

After the disastrous meeting with the military leaders, the Skywalkers returned to their home, where they were met by Jedi Master Tresina Lobi. They were informed that Master Lobi feared that her apprentice, Thrynni Vae, was in trouble and had not been heard from for some time after her insertion onto the planet Duro. The Skywalkers were also concerned by the news and decided that they, along with Anakin, would travel to Duro to investigate the situation. After Master Lobi left their home, Jade Skywalker suddenly felt an unsettling change in her body chemistry—she feared that her illness was making a concerted effort to resurge. However, by probing with the Force, she was able to sense a small piece of life inside her, one that carried Skywalker's essence—Jade Skywalker was shocked to discover that she was pregnant.

The Skywalkers and Anakin used the Jade Shadow to travel to Duro, deciding to dock at one of Duro's many orbital cities. During their stay, the Skywalkers overheard a man speaking out against the Republic and the Jedi. Something about his speech caught their attention—the speaker used the same speeches and mannerisms as Nom Anor, who they believed had died on Rhommamool. They decided that the man could not have been Nom Anor, and they continued their journey to the planet's surface. Once there, the Skywalkers and Anakin met with Leia, who was now responsible for managing the growing refugee crisis on Duro. Leaving the others to their respective missions, Jade Skywalker used a disguise to blend into the refugee environment of Duro, and she made her way to a computer terminal connected to the planet's control and information systems. Using her skills, Jade Skywalker was able to access the computer terminal to search for information related to Thrynni Vae's disappearance. However, Jade Skywalker soon stumbled upon a familiar but old military code, one that she had only seen used by one other person on one other planet—Nom Anor on Rhommamool.

This discovery caused Jade Skywalker even greater concern, and she disconnected herself from the computer terminal, rushing to tell Leia and Jaina what she had found. 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 named Dassid Cree'Ar was actually in league with the Yuuzhan Vong and that he might have ties to Anor as well. Jade Skywalker decided to investigate the "doctor," and with Jaina, she left for Cree'Ar's laboratory. Jade Skywalker, disguised 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 sensed the doctor through the Force—Jaina could not feel the doctor there. Convinced that he was a Yuuzhan Vong spy, Jaina used the Force to press on various points of the ooglith masquer. Eventually, she hit the right spot and unmasked Nom Anor, who had been using his disguise as Dassid Cree'Ar to secretly sabotage the New Republic's efforts on Duro. After being unmasked, Anor taunted Jade Skywalker, telling her that he was responsible for infecting her with the deadly coomb spore. Although Jade Skywalker tried to provoke Anor into an open fight, the Yuuzhan Vong chose to flee from the two Jedi. Jade Skywalker and Jaina hesitantly pursued Anor, but while they were chasing him, Anor detonated several bombs in the underground tunnels, trapping the Jedi. Jade Skywalker and Jaina, however, used the Force to create a bubble around them, allowing them to escape the dangerous tunnels relatively unharmed.

Jade Skywalker and Jaina returned to their family, and Jade Skywalker informed her husband of her discoveries regarding Nom Anor, Duro, and the illness that had infected her. However, the planet of Duro was soon engulfed in conflict as it became the next target of the Yuuzhan Vong. During the ensuing fight, 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 up to their own personal discretion whether they decided to stay and surrender or fight and flee. The ensuing fight turned into a rout for the New Republic: The Skywalkers used the Jade Shadow to transport numerous refugees away from the planet, numerous ships unsuccessfully tried to defend 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 inform the New Republic leaders of the loss of Duro.

When Leia returned to Coruscant from Duro, seeking medical attention for leg injuries inflicted by Tsavong Lah during her brief capture, the Skywalker and Solo children were present to greet her and provide support during her recovery. While on Coruscant, Skywalker witnessed the failure of the anti-Jedi [Appeasement Vote](link url) by a two-to-one margin; however, she remained concerned that a third of the Senate had voted against the Jedi. She was also present with Leia and Skywalker when her husband conceived the [Great River](link url) network, which the Solos would later assist Skywalker in creating as a clandestine route for the secure transportation of Jedi.

After the humiliation he experienced at Jacen Solo's hands when Jacen rescued Leia and injured him, Tsavong Lah issued a demand for the capture of all Jedi, and many were handed over to the Yuuzhan Vong by Peace Brigade collaborators. Jade Skywalker was enduring unpleasant pregnancy symptoms, including morning sickness and mood fluctuations. Following the attack on the Jedi Academy on Yavin, where Anakin Solo was attempting to defend it, the Skywalkers, Jacen, and Jaina met with [Borsk Fey'lya](link url) to request assistance from the New Republic. The self-serving Bothan flatly refused their request and declared Yavin off-limits to the Jedi. To aid Karrde in his efforts to evacuate all the Jedi from the planet, the Skywalkers dispatched Jacen and Jaina in the Jade Shadow to locate Booster Terrik and the Errant Venture and solicit their assistance. Jade Skywalker initially desired to undertake the mission herself, but Skywalker decided against it, reasoning that Fey'lya would be monitoring their movements and would detect any defiance of his orders. Instead, Anakin Solo secretly departed the planet, and Jade Skywalker enlisted Karrde's assistance to relocate the trainees from the besieged academy.

During Jade Skywalker's eighth month of pregnancy, while still on Coruscant, her husband arranged for them to visit an artificial beach owned by Lando Calrissian, who had offered it for their use. They discussed potential names for their child, with Skywalker agreeing to avoid discussing the war, the Jedi, politics, or the Yuuzhan Vong. However, their peaceful respite was interrupted by the arrival of Jedi Knight Kenth Hamner.

Hamner informed them that Fey'lya had issued a warrant for their arrest, citing evidence of their involvement in the Yavin system despite being forbidden from interfering. He clarified that Fey'lya's intention was not to subject them to a trial but to exile them, thereby absolving himself of responsibility for their unauthorized actions. Understandably, Jade Skywalker was enraged. Her further outrage was cut short when she collapsed. According to the MD-10 droid that examined her, the artificial tears she had been using after exhausting Vergere's supply were causing placental toxic shock, endangering her unborn son. Jade Skywalker refused admission to a medical center, believing it was their only chance to evade arrest.

The Skywalkers and Hamner returned to their apartments, where they consulted with the healer [Cilghal](link url) and the physician [Ism Oolos](link url). Both confirmed that the synthesized tears posed a threat to her child, but that, for the moment, the child was healthy. Jade Skywalker decided against inducing labor at that time and resolved to abstain from using the tears for the remainder of her pregnancy. Cilghal requested to accompany them off Coruscant, and Jade Skywalker gratefully accepted the healer's offer. Employing mind tricks and memory alterations, the Jedi boarded the Jade Shadow and departed, encountering Jaina, who was piloting her X-wing on a recreational flight, en route to orbit. They swiftly repelled a squadron of interceptors, and although Rogue Squadron offered an escort, the Skywalkers declined, fearing that military assistance would trigger a coup and destabilize the New Republic. Instead, they escaped to the Errant Venture, where Jade Skywalker was largely confined to bed. Her physical discomfort and illness had returned.

Furthermore, Cilghal discovered that Jade Skywalker's illness was progressing five times faster than before. As Jade Skywalker focused her Force abilities on protecting her son from the disease, her own body was rapidly deteriorating. While she lay dying on the Errant Venture, she, Skywalker, and their unborn son united their minds and eradicated the disease from her body permanently. Shortly thereafter, their child was born, and the Skywalkers named him [Ben](link url). Additionally, Fey'lya contacted them to inform them that the arrest warrant had been rescinded, while Kam Solusar and Tionne revealed that they had identified a safe haven in the Deep Core for the Jedi: [Eclipse](link url).

Throughout the war, two Twi'lek Jedi Knights had spearheaded a fierce [resistance](link url) on the planet New Plympto. However, the sisters Alema and Numa Rar were compelled to withdraw from the planet when the Yuuzhan Vong opted to eliminate the resistance by destroying the entire planet. The two Twi'leks escaped aboard the ship Nebula Chaser, but were ultimately discovered by a Yuuzhan Vong search party employing newly created [voxyn](link url) creatures that hunted Jedi. Numa was slain by one of the beasts, while Alema managed to escape in an escape pod. Meanwhile, Jade Skywalker and Jaina Solo, aboard the Jade Shadow, rescued Alema Rar and brought 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](link url) targeting the planet Talfaglio, where the Yuuzhan Vong were holding prisoners captive and threatening to execute them unless the Jedi disclosed the location of [Eclipse Station](link url). The New Republic proceeded with planning the large-scale rescue, while the Skywalkers and other Jedi developed a secondary plan to capture a Yuuzhan Vong war coordinator. Operation Safe Passage commenced, and during the space battle, Jade Skywalker devised a tactic that involved Republic forces firing on the lead Yuuzhan Vong cruiser, while Jedi starfighters deactivated their sublight engines and launched shadow bombs at a skip carrier that was continuously deploying enemy fighters—the tactic proved successful, and the two Yuuzhan Vong ships were destroyed. During the battle, the Jedi implemented their secondary plan and succeeded in capturing the Yuuzhan Vong [yammosk](link url) war coordinator present at the battle.

Concurrently, Anakin Solo led his [Jedi strike team](link url) in their assault on Myrkr's voxyn-cloning facility, and while their mission was ultimately successful, it came at a significant cost—several Jedi Knights, including Anakin, perished during the intense fighting. Halfway across the galaxy, Anakin's death was felt by his mother, Leia, as well as the Skywalkers.

The Yuuzhan Vong soon initiated their [invasion of Coruscant](link url), and despite joining forces with General [Wedge Antilles's](link url) Fleet Group Three, the Jedi were still vastly outnumbered by Tsavong Lah's invasion fleet. While the Jedi destroyed several enemy [yammosks](link url) and Lah's flagship, the Sunulok, the Jedi starfighter wing suffered heavy casualties. During the titanic battle, the Skywalkers learned that [Viqi Shesh](link url) had abducted their infant son. The Skywalkers immediately disengaged from the space battle to rescue their kidnapped son. However, en route to rescue her son, Jade Skywalker's fighter was shot down and crashed into the cityscape of Coruscant, although she was not injured. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian, [YVH 1-1A](link url), and C-3PO managed to recover Ben and evacuate him from Coruscant, where he was eventually reunited with his parents. Upon receiving word that Ben was safe, the Skywalkers located Leia and Han and joined them in defending Coruscant with a surface turbolaser battery. The Yuuzhan Vong invasion, however, soon intensified and overwhelmed the Republic defenders. Along with Han and Leia, the Skywalkers boarded the Falcon and escaped the planet as the Yuuzhan Vong fleet continued their conquest.

In the aftermath of Coruscant's fall, the Skywalkers reunited with the rest of the Solo and Skywalker family on [Hapes](link url) as they gathered to mourn Anakin's passing. Jade Skywalker became estranged from Jaina as Jaina succumbed to grief over her brother's loss, assuming the persona of the Yuuzhan Vong trickster goddess. They ended their master/apprentice relationship amicably, and while Jaina apprenticed herself to Kyp Durron, Jade Skywalker focused on her maternal responsibilities.

Shortly after the Yuuzhan Vong captured Coruscant, Jade Skywalker traveled to Borleias with her husband and a small group of Jedi, hoping to secure a staging area for refugees, but she sought to minimize her involvement in the war to remain with and protect her son. While on Borleias, General Wedge Antilles appointed her Head of Intelligence for all in-system forces, granting her command of the Borleias ground base personnel. She held this position until New Republic Intelligence agent [Iella Wessiri Antilles](link url) arrived planetside. Around that time, Jade Skywalker reluctantly left her son Ben to scout Vong terraforming activities on Coruscant with Skywalker, Jedi apprentice [Tahiri Veila](link url), Danni Quee, and [Wraith Squadron](link url). The group explored the devastated capital, evading Yuuzhan Vong patrols and contacting survivors. After Skywalker guided them past a red devourer tank into a secret chamber, Jade Skywalker's knowledge of old Imperial codes allowed them access to a secret laboratory where Irek Ismaren had been transformed into a mutant cyborg Dark Jedi. Haunted by the mental commands of Irek, now known as Lord Nyax, the three Jedi pursued the deranged Dark Jedi in hopes of stopping him. Jade Skywalker nearly abandoned the pursuit upon seeing the traitorous senator Viqi Shesh with a group of Yuuzhan Vong, but Skywalker convinced her to continue. Together, Skywalker, Veila, and Jade Skywalker extinguished the rising threat of [Lord Nyax](link url) before he could pose a genuine danger to the Jedi Order and, by extension, the Republic.

Returning to Borleias, Jade Skywalker became the second-in-command of [Blackmoon Squadron](link url) under her husband. Together, they provided cover for the Lusankya as it executed [Operation Emperor's Spear](link url) in the final stages of the [battle for Borleias](link url), resulting in a Pyrrhic victory for the Yuuzhan Vong and another New Republic retreat.

Husband and wife then journeyed to the provisional capital of Mon Calamari, where Jade Skywalker and Councilor [Triebakk](link url) convinced [Alderaanian](link url) senator [Cal Omas](link url) to run for the position of [Chief of State](link url). Throughout his campaign, Jade Skywalker assisted Omas as a private citizen, working to get the pro-Jedi candidate into office. She also helped Skywalker and Omas develop a new plan for the [High Council](link url), an advisory council for the Jedi comprising six Jedi and six non-Jedi. Later, she was with Skywalker when Jacen arrived in-system with Vergere after escaping Yuuzhan Vong captivity. Her duties shifted, however, when Calrissian and Karrde agreed to assist Omas's campaign, and she began using [YVH-M](link url) droids to detect Yuuzhan Vong infiltrators who had bribed people for information, finding satisfaction in her work.

While tailing a pair of disguised Yuuzhan Vong, she observed them entering a submersible. Renting another underwater craft, she followed them and prevented them from assassinating Omas and Triebakk with torpedoes by nearly ramming their craft and tricking their own torpedo to return and strike the Yuuzhan Vong-piloted craft. Omas would later win the election, becoming the new Chief of State.

With his election, the High Council was established, with Jade Skywalker as one of the founding members. Shortly afterward, she learned of the genocidal bioweapon [Alpha Red](link url), created to destroy the Yuuzhan Vong. The Skywalkers both opposed using the weapon, as it would constitute the slaughter of an entire culture and escalate the war into a bloodier conflict. Vergere overheard their discussion and used her tears to neutralize the weapon, temporarily averting the threat of Alpha Red. In the three-month delay of Alpha Red's development that Vergere had created, the New Republic decided to implement Ackbar's plan for a series of limited engagements, followed by a trap at [Ebaq 9](link url). Working with New Republic Intelligence on Mon Calamari while Skywalker went to recruit the aid of Garm Bel Iblis and his fleet, Jade Skywalker helped carefully leak information to Yuuzhan Vong spies, providing them with knowledge of the bait—Jedi Knights and government officials—allegedly located in the isolated Deep Core system. The result was the decisive [Battle of Ebaq](link url), which Jade Skywalker, Winter Celchu, and Ackbar observed from Fleet Command back on Mon Calamari.

Following the victory at Ebaq Nine, Cal Omas convened a meeting of prominent Jedi and government officials, including Jade Skywalker. Omas sought to launch missions to reconnect the administration with isolated parts of the galaxy, and Skywalker proposed diplomatic missions to the Chiss and the Imperial Remnant to bring them into the Galactic Alliance, although his primary objective in venturing so close to the [Unknown Regions](link url) was to search for the living planet [Zonama Sekot](link url). Jade Skywalker agreed to accompany her husband in the Jade Shadow, along with Danni Quee, Saba Sebatyne, Tekli, R2-D2, and Jacen Solo. Before their departure, the Skywalkers checked on Tahiri Veila, who had sustained injuries and was experiencing conflicting personalities as a result of her Yuuzhan Vong captivity earlier in the war. While the Skywalkers wanted to stay and aid Tahiri, their mission was scheduled to depart the next day, and they had numerous preparations to make, including consulting [Jagged Fel](link url) for advice on protocol with the Chiss.

Emerging from hyperspace near the Imperial capital of [Bastion](link url), they arrived in the midst of the [Battle of Bastion](link url). After executing a microjump toward the retreating Imperial fleet, Jade Skywalker informed Imperial admiral Gilad Pellaeon of the location of a yammosk carrier and then, at Pellaeon's request, withdrew the Jade Shadow back to [Yaga Minor](link url) with most of the Imperial fleet. Despite a rigid and officious greeting from Commander [Keten](link url) and Moff [Kurlen Flennic](link url), they managed to meet with Pellaeon's protégé, Captain [Arien Yage](link url), who was more welcoming than the Moff and Keten had been. Pellaeon had returned to Yaga Minor, but barely alive, and his absence from command made the Remnant less receptive than they had been previously, so Jade Skywalker withdrew the Jade Shadow while Jacen attempted to negotiate with the hard-liners. Fortunately, Pellaeon recovered sufficiently to resume command and, with the Jedi's assistance, planned the [Battle of Borosk](link url). Jade Skywalker flew in the battle in her beloved Jade Shadow, accompanied by Danni Quee, and became part of Saba Sebatyne's plan to liberate Imperial prisoners from a slave-carrier vessel located behind the Yuuzhan Vong fleet that attacked [Borosk](link url). She docked the Jade Shadow in the docking bay of an old Imperial Dreadnaught that was heavily automated and modified to be sacrificial while flown near the slave-carrier. Once Quee and Sebatyne disabled the ship and released the prisoners, Jade Skywalker used the Shadow's tractor beam to bring them into the Dreadnaught's hangar bay and retrieved the two females. Their damaged Dreadnaught then jumped to hyperspace, its mission accomplished, until the conclusion of the battle and the withdrawal of Yuuzhan Vong forces. Before leaving the Remnant, Jade Skywalker and some of the other Jedi attended a meeting with Pellaeon and the Moff Council, where she saved Pellaeon's life from Flennic's assassination attempt. They then departed Imperial space for Chiss territory, accompanied by an Imperial frigate, the [Widowmaker](link url), under the command of Captain Yage, to provide support and escort.

As the expedition progressed toward Chiss space, they were eventually contacted by a group of the enigmatic blue aliens over [Munlali Mafir](link url). The Chiss party requested that they visit [Csilla](link url) for authorization to travel through Chiss space, and Jade Skywalker agreed 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](link url) and Chief Navigator [Aabe](link url), as well as members of the Chiss ruling families. The Chiss leadership denied them access to Chiss space but granted them permission to peruse the Expansionary Fleet library on Csilla for information. The Skywalkers were escorted to the library by Soontir Fel, and they began their research through the vast repository of knowledge.

After hours of searching, the Skywalkers, Sebatyne, and Quee decided to return to the Jade Shadow with the Fels on an [ice barge](link url) for a rest. En route back to the spaceport, they were attacked by rivals of the Fels in airspeeders. They feigned surrender; the airspeeders landed, and their assailants announced their intention to kill them. At that moment, the group sprang into action, and Jade Skywalker helped take down two of the Chiss before commandeering an airspeeder to provide cover for the ice barge. Continuing to the spaceport, Jade Skywalker then brought the Jade Shadow closer to the library. Shortly afterward, Quee and Jacen had a flash of insight and refined their search to include captured moons instead of just planets, discovering mention of the living planet.

Jacen surmised that Zonama Sekot was hiding in the [Klasse Ephemora system](link url), and Jade Skywalker led the Jade Shadow and the Widowmaker to the system, but hyperspace disturbances prevented them from jumping into the system, frustrating Jade Skywalker, who desired to find 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 from Zonama Sekot. Quee, Jacen, Skywalker, Sebatyne, Tekli, and Jade Skywalker joined their minds in a Force Meld to help Jade Skywalker trace the disturbance as she piloted the Shadow toward its source, with the Widowmaker following behind. On their third jump toward the system, they were able to find a clear path through hyperspace and arrived to find Zonama Sekot orbiting a gas giant and in the final stages of repelling a small Yuuzhan Vong war fleet.

Just as the ship arrived, a surge of psychic force slammed into it, rendering the entire crew unconscious. Jade Skywalker, upon regaining consciousness, piloted the vessel to the designated landing coordinates provided to Jacen by the planet. The Skywalker family then disembarked and were greeted by Jabitha, the Magister of the planet. Although the indigenous Ferroans expressed their hostility, Jabitha invited the Skywalkers to explain their purpose at the village. Jade Skywalker's annoyance was evident when the native flora of Sekot rapidly enveloped the Shadow, effectively trapping it in a web of vegetation. Following a lengthy trek to the Ferroan village, the crew of the Jade Shadow 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 its formidable defenses with sheer numbers. After hearing the warnings of Skywalker and Jacen, Jabitha consented to discuss their plea for Zonama Sekot's assistance in the war with the Ferroan elders, with discussions to resume the following day. However, Ferroans attacked their group during the night, collapsing their dwelling and abducting Quee. Jade Skywalker was deeply displeased, leading Jacen and Sebatyne to pursue the kidnappers, while the Skywalkers remained to deal with the other Ferroan villagers. Jade Skywalker demanded an explanation from the Ferroans regarding the dissidents responsible for the attack, but was met with denials and excuses. Furthermore, Jabitha had also been taken by the assailants, preventing any communication with her. Jade Skywalker was also troubled by reports of gravitic waves emanating from a nearby moon, potentially indicating the presence of a Yuuzhan Vong starship. Ultimately, the kidnapping and the Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper launched from the moon were revealed to be a test orchestrated by Zonama Sekot to assess the character of the visitors. The Jedi passed this test by refraining from aggressive actions; Skywalker prevented Widowmaker from destroying the perceived coralskipper, and Jacen spared the kidnappers when given the chance. Consequently, Sekot agreed to aid them in the war, preparing for its return to known space. The planet also disclosed that a Yuuzhan Vong ship had survived the initial attack they witnessed upon arrival, eluding the defenses.

During the Skywalkers' stay 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 different region of the planet. Nom Anor betrayed his companions by murdering Nen Yim, injuring Harrar, and sabotaging Sekot's planetary hyperdrives. He then summoned a Yuuzhan Vong landing craft to extract him from the planet. However, the Skywalkers and Jacen intervened aboard the Jade Shadow, repelling the warriors and nearly killing Anor, although he 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 sustained moderate surface damage, and the Jedi largely remained in shelters to avoid the traumatic atmospheric and seismic disturbances. The Skywalkers also learned from Danni Quee that the priest Harrar, previously believed dead, was still alive.

She and the other Jedi visited Harrar, who was receiving treatment from Veila and Tekli for his injuries. Harrar revealed that Zonama Sekot shared many similarities with Yuuzhan'tar, the ancestral home of the Yuuzhan Vong, and that the Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord Shimrra feared the planet. Harrar also expressed his desire to reconcile the Yuuzhan Vong with the rest of the galaxy, working to end the war, though he admitted that Shimrra would not listen to reason. The group then traveled to a Force nexus in a lava tube, where Sekot deduced that the Yuuzhan Vong of antiquity had been stripped of the Force. Meanwhile, the other Jedi on Mon Calamari grew concerned about the lack of contact with their colleagues 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, wishing to be with him. Furthermore, Skywalker's visions of the future did not necessarily include her. Consequently, she made him promise to care for Ben if anything were to happen to her.

Eventually, Zonama Sekot emerged from hyperspace in orbit near Coruscant. Jade Skywalker experienced a joyous reunion with family and friends when Han and Leia, accompanied by a full complement of Jedi, arrived aboard the Falcon, along with Mirax Horn from the Errant Venture. The Skywalkers then returned to Contruum in the Jade Shadow, accompanied by the Errant Venture, to meet with Galactic Alliance officials. Informed of the planned decisive strike against Coruscant, Skywalker pledged the assistance of the Jedi, although many remained on Zonama Sekot to bond with the new Sekotan craft being grown for them.

As the Recapture of Coruscant unfolded, with Yuuzhan Vong forces engaging both the Galactic Alliance fleets and striking at Zonama Sekot, Jade Skywalker joined a strike team aboard the Millennium Falcon to descend to Coruscant's surface. The group, consisting of the Solos, Skywalkers, Tahiri Veila, and Kenth Hamner, aimed to prevent the World Brain from devastating the planet and to neutralize Shimrra. The group advanced towards his citadel, while Hamner and Veila separated to assist the Shamed Ones, a pariah caste of Yuuzhan Vong who believed they were on the path to redemption and were revolting against the warriors.

Before breaching the citadel, Skywalker requested that his wife accompany Veila and Hamner to aid the Shamed Ones. She reluctantly agreed, trusting his judgment. Fighting through swarms 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 seized him. Jade Skywalker had not forgotten who had 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 unarmed combat. As she stood over him, lightsaber ready to deliver the killing blow, Anor begged 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 ignore 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, mirroring Vergere's earlier actions for his wife.

The Skywalkers then returned to Zonama Sekot as the battle concluded with a Galactic Alliance victory and a Yuuzhan Vong retreat. While he recovered, she retrieved her cherished Jade Shadow and spent the following weeks on the planet, repairing her ship and resting. With the death of Shimrra, Warmaster Nas Choka's surrender ended the war, 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, they first 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 beholden to the Galactic Alliance. Ironically, she now found herself aligned with Kyp Durron, in contrast to 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 more importantly, her young son Ben. She was determined to be a loving mother and to safeguard her son's childhood innocence. Her protective instincts were amplified by Ben's self-imposed disconnection from the Force, seemingly triggered by trauma during his infancy, when he was 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 lack of 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 journeyed to the Unknown Regions to investigate. They discovered that the rogue Jedi were responding to the former Jedi Raynar Thul, who had been assimilated by the Killiks and was now UnuThul, the powerful "king bee" of their hegemony, the Colony. The mission achieved partial success: while the rogue Jedi had been partially assimilated by the Taat nest, most were persuaded to return to Alliance space. However, on Yoggoy, the Skywalkers were attacked by mysterious blue-black Killiks, about which UnuThul seemed to know nothing. These were, in fact, Gorog Killiks, part of the Dark Nest, a shadowy influence that concealed its presence and malevolent intentions from the rest of the Colony.

Furthermore, as the Jedi returned to Alliance space, a Gorog assassin concealed itself aboard the Jade Shadow. The creature befriended Ben, who regarded it as his pet. Secretly, the Gorog insect began to brainwash the child, aiming 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 thoroughly assimilated by the Gorog hive.

Confronted by the Gorog assassin about her 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 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 threatened to share its experiences of the battle with Ben, she decided that he would 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 received treatment from Killik healers before being placed in bacta aboard one of the Hapan warships that had intervened in hopes of fostering a peaceful resolution.

Mara Jade Skywalker also allowed her nephew Jacen Solo to mentor Ben, recognizing that he could encourage 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, the Skywalkers were summoned back to Killik space by UnuThul, who offered an explanation for the attacks during their first trip to the colony. According to UnuThul, Gorog had specifically targeted Jade Skywalker since the initial 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 then became Gorog Joiners, shaping the Dark Nest around their desire to hide from Jade Skywalker, and perhaps to seek revenge 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 source for 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 a consequence of Jade Skywalker's past actions, Rar further divided the Skywalkers by implying that Jade Skywalker, in her role as Palpatine's assassin, might 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 for UnuThul's assassination without hesitation, and leading a StealthX flight into the Utegetu Nebula, in an attempt to breach the blockade imposed by the Galactic Alliance. Although Skywalker was later rescued, the Colony broke the blockade and launched an offensive against both the Alliance and the Chiss. The Swarm War had begun.

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. Despite her concerns for her husband's health following his intense week-long meditation in the meditation pavilion, she fully supported his decision to assume the title of Jedi Grand Master and take full control of the Jedi Order. She was the only one privy to his plans for 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 gifted the Skywalkers with the droid R2-0, the prototype for the R2 series astromech droid, which would later allow slicer Zakarisz Ghent to access 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. 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 forced to confront his doubts about his father's potential involvement in the death of his mother Padmé. Adding to the tensions between the trio, Jade Skywalker confronted Jacen about performing a memory wipe on Ben, but ultimately accepted his false explanation that he did it for Ben's 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 attack on a Killik nest ship. She was the first to reach an injured Jacen Solo and made a heroic 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 serious injury when a shatter gun pellet pierced her vac suit and destroyed one of her kidneys. The month-long recuperation period meant she would not see further action during the Swarm War. When Jade Skywalker learned that her husband planned to face Lomi Plo and Raynar Thul alone, she feared 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 vulnerability to fear. Soon 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 reaffirmed 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 clandestine missile factory. Missions like this, undertaken as the crisis intensified, only heightened her fears for the safety of her family, especially 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 afterward, the group was attacked by drugged Corellian commandos. Although the attack was thwarted, Corellian Prime Minister Aidel Saxan was assassinated. Her death enraged Corellia, and all attempts at peace talks were abandoned.

Eventually, Jade Skywalker embarked on a mission with her husband to abduct Thrackan Sal-Solo, Head of State of Corellia. After navigating the planet's security, 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 twisted Force ghost of her son, Ben. Unaware that it was 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 escalated, Jade Skywalker was asked 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 given to Jacen Solo instead. She and her husband, along with the other Jedi Masters, were shocked to see Ben and Jacen participate in GAG raids and disapproved of it.

Despite Skywalker's deep reservations about Jacen Solo and his relationship with their son Ben, Jade Skywalker was the only family member—besides Ben—who trusted Jacen, correctly perceiving that her nephew was secretly conflicted over someone he loved. However, despite the accuracy of this insight, she wrongly attributed it as the cause of Jacen's questionable behavior, when in reality he was succumbing to the dark side. Her denial of Jacen's true motivations led her to believe, for a time, that Jacen was the best caregiver for Ben. However, she later changed her mind and agreed with Skywalker, considering 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 end the threat she posed. Jade Skywalker also supervised a sparring session between her husband and son.

During their search for Lumiya, detectives beckoned them to the Fellowship Plaza to look at the deceased Tresina Lobi. It was there that she found out Skywalker had instructed Lobi to keep an eye on Ben and Jacen without her knowing. At the crime scene, they discovered a holocube which guided them to Lumiya's residence. Inside the apartment, the Skywalkers found evidence connecting Lumiya to the Bothan killings. Overwhelmed by these revelations, Jade Skywalker came to the conclusion that Ben needed to be separated from Jacen.

After arriving at the designated meeting place where Jacen said Ben would be, Lumiya and Alema Rar ambushed the Skywalkers. While her husband fought Lumiya, Jade Skywalker engaged Alema Rar in a duel, where Rar almost killed her with a dart. During the fight, Skywalker was badly hurt while battling Lumiya, but Jade Skywalker managed to defeat Rar, rendering her unconscious, only to find a bomb attached to Rar. Upon seeing Skywalker shoot Lumiya three times, Jade Skywalker told him about the bomb and pulled him away to safety. After uniting with the rest of their family on Hapes, except for Han and Leia, Jacen permitted Skywalker to take Ben away as a safety measure. Subsequently, the three of them went back to Coruscant.

Once back at the Jedi Temple, Kyp Durron informed the Skywalkers about Cal Omas and Cha Niathal's desire 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 didn't gain much insight from the conversation. Following their discussion with Jacen, they convened with Jagged Fel at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where he cautioned them about Alema Rar's survival, the same person who assisted in Tresina Lobi's murder. Just before the meeting concluded, Fel entrusted Skywalker with a specialized device to aid in capturing Alema Rar, which the Skywalkers then handed over to Master Cilghal for analysis. Subsequently, they received an encoded message from Han and Leia requesting a meeting aboard 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, as well as Corran and Mirax Horn. However, they also used this opportunity to confront Jacen about his involvement with Ben, but a battle alert allowed him to escape. Following the reunion, Jade Skywalker accompanied Skywalker, Han, and Leia to Gilatter VIII to rescue Jacen, who was unaware that the station was a trap set for him and the Galactic Alliance. The rescue attempt turned into a disaster when the three encountered both Lumiya and Rar, in addition to the station's security forces, while Jacen escaped to the Galactic Alliance Guard Star Destroyer Anakin Solo.

The incident on Gilatter VIII made Jade Skywalker and the others cautious of Jacen, as well as 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 help monitor her son's whereabouts, Jade Skywalker also provided Ben with a vibroblade she had used during her time with the Empire, which also contained a nearly undetectable transponder. She declined assistance from Skywalker or other Jedi, and began her pursuit of Lumiya, seeking a chance to end what she saw as the Sith threat to her son. Jade Skywalker found such an opportunity on Hesperidium, resulting in a bruised eye, split lip, burned neck, and bleeding forehead for herself, while Lumiya sustained severe lightsaber injuries. When her son, Ben, discovered that Jacen and Lumiya were connected, he informed his mother. Jade Skywalker, feeling both betrayed and disturbed by the dark revelation, confronted Jacen and tried to persuade him to return to the light side. After Jacen dismissed her warnings, Jade Skywalker felt Jacen had become too evil and dangerous to be left alive.

Jade Skywalker tracked Jacen to Hapes, where he was meeting with Tenel Ka and Allana. Upon his departure from Hapes, Jade Skywalker ambushed him in her StealthX, and after a dogfight in Hapan space, they ended up on the planet Kavan. In the tunnels of Kavan, a fight broke out between the two, which turned into a brawl. Initially, Jade Skywalker trapped Jacen beneath rubble by collapsing the ceiling and attempted to shoot him with a blaster. The ambush failed when Jacen used a Force Wave so strong it blew the blaster bolt and the cave stones off himself which also knocked her backwards.

Even after suffering a scalp injury and being painfully thrown into a brick wall several times, she continued to fight Jacen with her shoto and vibroblade, using her assassin's training and physical skills to her advantage. As she prepared to finish him off, Jacen looked into her eyes and instantly created the illusion of Ben's face beneath her by using the Force, causing Jade Skywalker to hesitate for a split second. Jacen used this opportunity to stab a poisoned dart into her thigh, causing a slow, paralyzing, and painless death. Her last words conveyed her belief that Jacen had become more evil, 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 to leave evidence of the identity of her killer as well as to give her family something to say goodbye to. Her final acts of the Force were to whisper in Ben's mind and to ruffle Skywalker's hair. Other Jedi, including Leia, also sensed her passing through the Force.

Jade Skywalker's physical body remained 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 including Cha Niathal, military supreme commander and co-Chief of State, were in attendance. Although her sister-in-law Leia Organa Solo was scheduled to deliver her eulogy, Leia and Han were prevented from arriving by a Galactic Alliance Guard squad seeking to detain them. Instead, Saba Sebatyne delivered the eulogy for the fallen Master, although she was interrupted by the late and discourteous arrival of Jacen Solo, whose involvement 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, eventually becoming one with the Force. Her son Ben took that to mean that they should not trust Jacen. Sebatyne continued with her eulogy, recounting Jade Skywalker's history and using her change from a life of serving the dark side and rationalizing sacrifices to make a point to Jacen Solo, who had done the exact opposite.

Jade Skywalker's death motivated Ben to actively plot to assassinate Darth Caedus, whom he believed had murdered his mother. Her husband, believing Lumiya had killed Jade Skywalker, hunted down the Sith Lady and killed her, only to later learn from Ben that it might not have been Lumiya. This realization intensified Skywalker's grief and sense of loss, while Ben's rage and hatred towards Jacen grew stronger; he became willing to sacrifice innocent lives to end Jacen's life.

As the Second Galactic Civil War continued to escalate, Ben decided to find proof of Jacen's involvement of Jade Skywalker's death, as he still retained nagging 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 check Jacen's StealthX for traces of her hair.

Using a Coruscant Security Force forensics droid, Shevu and Ben were able to investigate Caedus' StealthX and discovered one twenty-nine centimeter long hair of Jade Skywalker, with a tag and blood on it, confirmed by comparison with one of her hairs that Luke Skywalker still had in his possession. Later, this evidence was corroborated by Caedus' confession to Shevu that he had brawled with and eventually killed Mara Jade Skywalker. Ben's recordings of the scene of the murder, the physical evidence, and a recording of Caedus's confession were all presented by Ben on Endor to his father, Han and Leia Solo, and Jaina. Not long after the Second Battle of Fondor, Jade Skywalker would visit her husband as an apparition, comforting him in the midst of his grief and wartime duties. Darth Caedus would later worry 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 end of the war, Jade Skywalker appeared in a vision alongside Lumiya, Kam Solusar, and Lassin to Jedi Knight Jaden Korr and told him to travel to the Black Hole on Fhost, warning him of a pending 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 after her death, Jade Skywalker's memory remained strong with her husband and son. Ben decided to accompany Skywalker into exile partly because Skywalker would be searching out why Jacen fell 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 seen 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 immense 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 demonstrated her efficiency and skill in dismantling the corrupt Imperial's operation. However, neither Glovstoak's downfall nor the Emperor's approval satisfied her; 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 demise, deeming them unworthy of her service.

Furthermore, Jade Skywalker exhibited unwavering devotion, remaining committed to what she perceived as Palpatine's will even after his death. She would later demonstrate loyalty to Talon Karrde and his organization, even at the cost of complete alienation from the Empire, and was infuriated that Thrawn compelled her to betray Karrde. She displayed similar dedication to her husband, Luke Skywalker, and her son, Ben Skywalker, even declining 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 developed the ability to maintain a calm and collected demeanor in almost any situation. During the First Corellian Insurrection, despite harboring a vendetta against Luke Skywalker, she was able to prioritize the severity of the situation and set aside her differences with Skywalker, proceeding to warn Leia and the Senate about the newly uncovered plot to destroy the New Republic. During her brief tutelage under Kyle Katarn, Jade was compelled to confront Katarn in an ancient Temple when he succumbed to the dark side. While he was fully immersed in the dark powers of the temple, Jade was forced to defend against Katarn's attacks, successfully fending him off each time. Eventually, Katarn and Jade found themselves deep within the catacombs of the temple, and Jade voluntarily deactivated her lightsaber and surrendered, maintaining her composure as she realized she could no longer fight her former friend. Due to Jade's self-control, Katarn was eventually redeemed and returned to the light.

Despite projecting a tough exterior, Jade was a compassionate and warm-hearted individual. Even as an Imperial assassin, Jade possessed a merciful side, particularly when it came to serving the greater good. She allowed the rogue stormtrooper unit Hand of Judgment to survive after recognizing their good intentions and after they assisted her on one of her missions. She also allowed Governor Bidor Ferrouz to survive despite his admission of treason, as 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 to save the lives and careers of people she believed were good, although 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 young 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 addressed as countess. In 0 ABY, Mara adopted the alias Countess Claria to infiltrate Moff Glovstoak's party, as part of 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 disguise of a dancer named Arica Pradeux. In that same year, she reused the alias while investigating the motives of Imperial Councilor Raines and General Egron on Chibias.

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

Following the death of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, Jade went into hiding 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 used the alias Karrinna Jansih.

While hiding from 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 sought refuge in the Outer Rim Territories. As a member of a Caprioril swoop gang, she was known as Merellis.

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

In 9 ABY, Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker were briefly captured by Imperial forces in Hyllyard City on Myrkr. To facilitate their escape, the pair identified themselves as Jade (Luke Skywalker), a bounty hunter working for 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.

Although Calrissian was quite taken with her after the Thrawn crisis, Jade never reciprocated any of 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, an act of selflessness that earned him some respect from her. Despite his persistent infatuation, Jade did not return his feelings. After Calrissian replaced her wardrobe with clothes that he would have preferred her to wear, she retaliated by raiding his own supply of clothes. While their partnership lasted for some time, Jade later told Skywalker that much of it had been an unpleasant assignment that had originally been handed down 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 they were compelled to cooperate on numerous occasions to survive. As she worked alongside him, she developed a grudging respect for him, which later evolved into a growing admiration, tempered by her usual pragmatism and coolness. While fighting on Nirauan, they performed a Force Meld to coordinate their efforts perfectly, linking their minds. It was after understanding each other on such a profound level that they recognized the depth of their attraction to each other. The two fell in love and were happily married. The Skywalkers had a son 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 as his supportive wife, even while battling a life-threatening illness for much of the initial stages. While they often disagreed, the Skywalkers trusted each other implicitly and supported each other. Upon her death, Skywalker was devastated by the loss of his wife, and, clouded by grief, struck down Lumiya after believing her to be Jade Skywalker's killer. Even though he felt that his world had ended, Skywalker was eventually able to recover enough to again fully take the helm of the Jedi Order, knowing that his wife would not have wanted him to let his grief control him.

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 brief time together, Mara trusted Kyle (who had left for the planet Dromund Kass and was subsequently corrupted by the dark side) to not strike her down by deactivating her lightsaber after their fight, leaving her at his mercy. Kyle, in turn, could not bring himself to kill her and give in fully to the dark side, and thus was able to return to the light side. Due to Mara's actions of rescuing Kyle, and her reassuring words to him, Kyle remarked how Mara had seemingly become the Master, and he the apprentice. Later, after her death at the hands of Darth Caedus, Kyle was one of many present at Mara's funeral.

Throughout her storied life, Mara Jade Skywalker displayed a wide array of skills, reflecting her multifaceted personality. While not quite on par with Zakarisz Ghent, she possessed considerable skill as a slicer, able to breach secure digital systems with relative ease. During Grand Admiral Thrawn's conflict with the New Republic, when Talon Karrde was captured by the Empire, Jade Skywalker undertook a mission to free the smuggler chief. She infiltrated Thrawn's flagship, the Chimaera, deploying her slicing abilities to compromise the Star Destroyer's network, ultimately locating and liberating Karrde from the detention area. Furthermore, Jade Skywalker demonstrated proficiency with a variety of weapons, encompassing blaster pistols and rifles, close-quarters combat weapons, and heavy ordnance. She favored blaster pistols, notably a discreet hold-out blaster carried in a sleeve holster. Highly trained in hand-to-hand combat, she also possessed keen tactical acumen, swiftly assessing situations for potential threats and devising strategies to achieve her objectives. Additionally, Jade exhibited a notable aptitude for repairing and modifying electronic devices.

Over the course of her life, she evolved into a seasoned pilot, adept at flying diverse spacecraft in numerous scenarios. During the Thrawn Campaign, she piloted a Z-95 Headhunter, participating in the Battle for the Katana fleet, where she was eventually disabled by an ion weapon. During the First Corellian Insurrection, Jade Skywalker commanded her personal vessel, the Jade's Fire, employing it in various critical operations. After escaping the Human League with Leia, Jade Skywalker navigated her ship through enemy lines, successfully linking up with Han Solo on Selonia. Later, she piloted the Jade's Fire in the climactic battle at Centerpoint Station, playing a pivotal role in the Corellian forces' defeat. Subsequent to the First Corellian Insurrection, Jade Skywalker flew the Starry Ice to rescue Skywalker, who had encountered difficulties with the Cavrilhu Pirates. Skywalker had been discovered infiltrating the pirate group, and Jade Skywalker's expert piloting skills were instrumental in his survival. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Jade Skywalker distinguished herself during the Second Battle of Borleias, serving as second-in-command of Blackmoon Squadron. In this capacity, she provided cover for the Lusankya during Operation Emperor's Spear, which resulted in the successful ramming of a Yuuzhan Vong worldship by the command vessel.

During her tenure as an Emperor's Hand, Jade Skywalker honed her skills in disguise and covert operations. In 0.5 ABY, she utilized her disguise expertise to infiltrate Moff Glovstoak's court, impersonating Countess Claria. During this assignment, she uncovered Glovstoak's embezzlement of tax revenues 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 treachery, leading to Glovstoak's swift removal. Following the destruction of the first Death Star, she deployed her espionage capabilities against Darth Vader, documenting his activities and relaying reports to the Emperor. In the months leading up to Emperor Palpatine's demise, Jade Skywalker was dispatched to Tatooine to infiltrate Jabba's Palace. Assuming the guise of the dancing girl Arica, she initiated her plans while awaiting Skywalker's arrival.

After the Emperor's death, Jade Skywalker found herself pursued by Director Ysanne Isard; however, she evaded capture by disguising herself as a refugee. During her time as a smuggler, Jade Skywalker frequently leveraged her spy skills for Talon Karrde—she participated in a mission to locate Jorj Car'das, where she maximized her infiltration skills to complement her espionage abilities. 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 prowess as a spy. During the Confederation-Galactic Alliance war of 40 ABY, she utilized her talents as a spy to track 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 validated her reputation as a highly skilled lightsaber combatant. During the Thrawn campaign, Jade Skywalker and her future husband encountered the deranged Jedi-clone Joruus C'baoth and the dark clone of Skywalker. Strengthened by Skywalker through the Force, she overcame the clone, Luuke, before confronting C'baoth. Evading a blast of Force lightning from C'baoth, she impaled him through the chest with her lightsaber. During the Yuuzhan Vong war, the Skywalkers traveled to the ExGal-4 outpost on Belkadan to investigate events there. Confronted by the Yuuzhan Vong spy Yomin Carr, they engaged in a fierce duel. Jade Skywalker found herself evenly matched by the Yuuzhan Vong warrior, who fought with an unprecedented ferocity—she was taken aback by her opponent's lack of Force presence, his seemingly impenetrable armor, and his unique weapon capable of withstanding a lightsaber blade. Nevertheless, she defeated Carr by severing both of his legs at the knees and stabbing him in the chest.

During the Yuuzhan Vong war, the Skywalkers and Veila encountered the insane Dark Jedi Lord Nyax, formerly Irek Ismaren. Nyax had been held in an Imperial laboratory on Coruscant, where lightsabers were surgically implanted into his elbows, knees, and forearms—equipping him with six lightsaber blades for combat. The ensuing lightsaber battle saw the superior strength of Nyax nearly overwhelm the three Jedi. However, Veila used her ability to become invisible in the Force to severely wound the Dark Jedi. Ultimately, the Skywalkers and Veila defeated Nyax with minimal injuries, despite Nyax's easy slaughter of 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 Force lightning, using it against Alema Rar during the Battle of Kr. She was known to use the Ataru form.

During the Second Galactic Civil War, the Skywalkers faced an old adversary—Lumiya. They tracked the Dark Lady and the Dark Jedi Alema Rar to Hapan space, where a violent confrontation occurred aboard the Roqoo Depot space station. While Skywalker and Lumiya dueled, Jade Skywalker and Rar engaged in a deadly fight—Rar shot at Jade Skywalker with a poison dart, but Jade Skywalker defeated 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 escalated, Jade Skywalker grew concerned for her son's safety and resolved to eliminate Lumiya permanently. She eventually confronted Lumiya on Hesperidium, leading to another lightsaber duel. Jade Skywalker fought Lumiya to a standstill, leaving both women severely wounded. In 40 ABY, Jade Skywalker also learned to conceal herself in the Force from her son, a skill that would aid her in her final pursuit of Jacen Solo—later known as Darth Caedus.

Years of training and combat refined Mara Jade Skywalker's Force abilities. Skywalker often relied on his wife's danger sense more than his own, a sense Jade Skywalker had cultivated to survive as an Imperial agent. Her acute danger sense provided early warnings of threats, saving her life on numerous occasions. As the Emperor's Hand, she could hear Palpatine's voice through the Force—and shortly before her marriage to Skywalker, she discovered a similar telepathic link with him. By the time she became a Jedi Master, Jade Skywalker was a formidable member of the New Jedi Order. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, she successfully used the Force to prevent her disease from harming Ben in her womb. She could imbue her weapons with the Force to enhance their accuracy and destructive power. By the Second Galactic Civil War, Jade Skywalker's Jedi Master skills had advanced, enabling her to levitate across open areas within a bubble of Force energy, minimizing air disturbance and heat emissions to evade sensors.

Jade Skywalker excelled at quickly analyzing situations and individuals, and the Emperor provided her with memory enhancement techniques to augment her capabilities. She was also resourceful enough to secure various odd jobs while on the run, including working as a hyperdrive mechanic.

As an Emperor's Hand, Mara possessed a black, form-fitting combat suit complete with high boots, a weapons belt, knee pads, and detachable sleeves. She carried an array 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 standard sidearm was a K-14 blaster, in addition to her lightsaber and concealed holdout weapons. She also owned a vibroblade that she gifted to her son Ben in 40 ABY. Unbeknownst to Ben, it contained a tracking device that Mara used to locate him when she couldn't sense him through the Force. It was through this vibroblade that Jade discovered his presence on Vulpter when the Corellian Prime Minister, Dur Gejjen, was assassinated by a Galactic Alliance Guard assassin, 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 also contained one of the two hyperspace transponders Jade possessed during her lifetime; one was hidden in the vibroblade she bequeathed to her son and immediately used as a tracking device, while the other was used to track Lumiya after their intense lightsaber duel on the moon of Hesperidium.

Mara officially wielded two lightsabers during her lifetime. The first, a magenta-bladed lightsaber, was used during her time as Emperor's Hand but was lost in a duel with Lumiya soon after the Emperor's initial death. She subsequently wielded the blue-bladed lightsaber that once belonged to Luke and his father Anakin, which Luke gifted to her. When Luke Skywalker became aware of Lumiya's re-emergence during the Second Galactic Civil War, he had his wife Mara Jade construct a blue-bladed shoto.

As an Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade Skywalker was provided with a massive cargo vessel that served as her mobile base of operations. This ship was essentially her home, housing a vast collection of books, personal belongings, and a wide selection of weaponry 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 size included its own hangar bay, which Jade Skywalker used to store various vehicles, including ground vehicles like landspeeders and personal starfighters like Z-95 Headhunters.

Throughout 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 reliable and dependable fighter, combining speed and firepower in a compact design. During her pursuit of Black Nebula, Jade Skywalker used a Headhunter to infiltrate the planet Svivren, remaining undetected during the initial phase of the mission. Later, during the Grand Admiral Thrawn campaign, she again chose a Z-95 Headhunter, notably at the Battle for the Katana fleet. During that battle, Jade Skywalker fought alongside the New Republic 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 just before the craft exploded. In the years after the Thrawn campaign, Jade Skywalker decided to attend Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum, arriving in 079, a Z-95 intended as a personal escape vehicle if her time with the Jedi didn't proceed 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. Unfortunately, the apprenticeship was cut short when Katarn departed to explore the mysterious world of Dromund Kaas. Deciding to follow him, she used the ship Shrike to track and eventually aid Katarn. 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 rich kid's private yacht but later captured by pirates.

By that point, Jade Skywalker had captained numerous ships but had 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 was unique among the ships Jade Skywalker had piloted, featuring a special "shoot back" system that automatically engaged 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 to act as a New Republic envoy to deal with Nom Anor. The galaxy soon plunged into full-scale war with the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and 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 the 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 help, 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, employing it as a base of operations when the Skywalkers searched for the living planet Zonama Sekot. Following the Yuuzhan Vong's defeat, she continued to use the Jade Shadow, operating it 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 also flew the StealthX variant of the X-wing fighter in the Dark Nest Crisis as well as the Second Galactic Civil War.

The character Mara Jade Skywalker was created by author Timothy Zahn, debuting in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire. She quickly rose to prominence as one of the most celebrated characters in the Expanded Universe, evidenced by her numerous significant appearances. Zahn carefully chose the name "Mara," noting that the Hebrew word "Mara" means bitterness. Additionally, one of Zahn's dictionaries listed "discarded woman" as a definition for Jade. Thus, the name Mara Jade was conceived. Zahn developed the Mara Jade character by considering what measures Emperor Palpatine might have taken had he learned of Darth Vader's offer to Luke Skywalker in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back to overthrow him and rule the galaxy together.

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

In a 1997 poll by Star Wars Insider magazine regarding fans' favorite Star Wars characters, Mara Jade ranked 20th, the highest-ranked character not appearing in a Star Wars film. 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 to create a trading card for in the Star Wars Miniatures game. In a 2003 Wizards.com poll, Mara Jade Skywalker was overwhelmingly chosen by users to have a card created for an expansion set, with her vote total exceeding her nearest competitor by more than six to one.

Mara Jade Skywalker's character has been embodied by several actresses and models. Perhaps the most recognizable is Shannon McRandle—previously known as Shannon Baksa—who served as the visual inspiration in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. After Decipher secured approval from Lucasfilm, they initiated a casting search, ultimately selecting McRandle to represent Jade Skywalker's appearance. A photographer friend at Decipher suggested McRandle for the role, which ultimately led to her being selected. Before portraying Jade Skywalker, McRandle had limited familiarity with the Expanded Universe, but she acquainted herself with some comic books and a portion of Heir to the Empire before the shoot. The Star Wars Customizable Card Game marked McRandle's initial depiction of Mara Jade Skywalker. Since that time, McRandle's image has appeared on a multitude of products featuring Jade Skywalker, encompassing book covers, action figures, and trading cards. She has also made appearances at numerous fan conventions across the United States, as well as internationally in countries such as Japan and Mexico. Despite her extensive involvement, McRandle received information indicating that Mara Jade was never planned to appear in any film adaptations.

In the Return of the Jedi radio drama, C-3PO engages in conversation with Arica, who is voiced 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 provided the voice for the character in Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi, while Kath Soucie voiced her 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 cheat codes across various missions. She appears briefly at the map's edge, vanishing shortly after being spotted. Additionally, she is accessible as a playable unit when creating custom maps using the scenario editor. Notably, Mara Jade also serves as the narrator for this particular campaign.

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

Timothy Zahn, the originator of Mara Jade Skywalker, has commented that the character possesses "a certain kind of attitude, an alertness, an awareness of what's going on." Zahn further elaborated that his mental image of Jade Skywalker included a dancer's physique, red hair, and green eyes as her only defined physical traits. He also mentioned that he conceived the character as a counterpart to Skywalker, intentionally mirroring the dynamic between Han and Leia in their relationship. He characterized Jade Skywalker as a multifaceted character, encompassing both emotional and intellectual dimensions. According to Zahn, her inherent personality renders her a heroic figure, as she acts according to what is right, even when it is not what she desires. Zahn expressed that she was a complex character, but not difficult to write. In an interview, Zahn emphasized the significant impact of Jade Skywalker's past emotional burdens on her overall personality. She also possesses a deep-seated yearning for trustworthy relationships, despite experiencing challenges in forming connections with others.

Zahn further explained that Palpatine abducted Jade Skywalker from her home at a young age and subjected her to training as his servant. Consequently, her abilities were largely rooted in her connection to Palpatine, albeit devoid of the Sith ideology. Zahn employed this aspect to elucidate the substantial decline in her powers and capabilities following Palpatine's demise. He described her, even during her tenure as an 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 commitment to preserving specific traits of Jade Skywalker, such as her unwavering loyalty and pursuit of justice, throughout her journey as both the Emperor's Hand and later as a Jedi Knight.

Zahn revealed that he deliberately delayed the development of the romantic relationship between Jade Skywalker and Luke Skywalker in his writing, allowing her sufficient time to process her anger toward Skywalker. He also stated that, prior to the New Jedi Order book series, Jade Skywalker would settle down with her husband, rest from fighting and possibly raise a family. Kevin J. Anderson, who contributed to several Star Wars books featuring Mara Jade, noted that Zahn initially did not envision Jade and Luke Skywalker becoming a couple—at least not when he was starting to write the Jedi Academy Trilogy. However, Anderson perceived their romantic connection as an obvious progression, but refrained from pursuing that narrative direction after discussing it with Zahn. Instead, he paired Jade with Lando Calrissian, citing their shared interests as a basis for their relationship. Ultimately, Anderson acknowledged that the positive fan response to Jade influenced Lucasfilm's decision to establish her as Luke Skywalker's primary love interest.

Michael Stackpole, the writer of the Union comics depicting the wedding of Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker, identified the challenge of integrating action, humor, romance, beauty, and adventure into the series. He further 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 gave Mara Jade a prominent role.

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

Lucasfilm made the determination to eliminate Mara Jade Skywalker from the narrative of the novel Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice. Karen Traviss, the author of Sacrifice, revealed that the decision to kill off Jade Skywalker was her own, and she felt compelled to personally write the scene. Traviss emphasized her admiration for the character and her desire for Mara Jade Skywalker's death to serve a greater purpose, acknowledging the emotional difficulty she experienced in writing the scene. When crafting Jade Skywalker's character, Traviss sought to underscore the significance of Ben to her, as well as her indomitable warrior spirit. In response to the death of Mara Jade Skywalker, Shannon McRandle, the model who has frequently portrayed the character, voiced her dissatisfaction with the events and, in particular, the cover art of Sacrifice. Moreover, during a writing workshop, Timothy Zahn expressed his disapproval of the decision to kill off Jade Skywalker in Sacrifice. He mentioned that Del Rey had not only failed to inform him of the death but had also ceased communication with him since then, though he remained open to writing another novel centered on the three Skywalkers.

Mara Jade was one of the first Expanded Universe characters to be immortalized as a Hasbro action figure and a Gentle Giant bust. The initial Hasbro figure did not incorporate Shannon McRandle's likeness, but the Gentle Giant product did. In addition, Master Replicas produced a limited-edition replica of Mara Jade's lightsaber, which quickly sold out. In August 2007, Hasbro introduced a second Mara Jade action figure as part of its Comic Packs line, which included two figures and a reprinted 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 inaugural 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 subsequent figure was a New Republic version, Mara Jade, Jedi in Alliance and Empire, a 30th-anniversary set. The fourth iteration was an older New Republic version, Mara Jade Skywalker in the Legacy of the Force set. The fifth figure was once again an Imperial version, Arica in the Imperial Entanglements set.