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