Beyond - Legends The Fragile Peace (Skywalker-Jade Revival Society Challenge)

Note: This is all pure speculation, of course. Keep that in mind.

Star Wars​

Episode VII​

The Fragile Peace​

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It has been three decades since the demise of Emperor PALPATINE and the galactic Empire. In the time since, Princess LEIA ORGANA and the government of the former Rebel Alliance have formed a NEW REPUBLIC.​

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Alongside this government, LUKE SKYWALKER has begun to establish a NEW JEDI ORDER. Though students have been few and far between, among them are Luke's son, BEN SKYWALKER, and the daughter of Leia and HAN SOLO, JAINA SOLO.​

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Though peace has prospered in the ensuing decades, there has been a darkness forming in the UNKNOWN REGIONS of the galaxy...something that Luke Skywalker feels but cannot identify. Along with Han Solo, general in the New Republic, Luke and his Jedi students set out to discover the source of this evil...​

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* * *​

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Luke Skywalker fidgeted in his black uniform. It had been over twenty years since he'd been in uniform, and it no longer fit like it used to...not that he'd ever liked the feel of it anyways. He rolled his shoulders, attempting to alleviate some of the itching he felt along his back. As uncomfortable as he was, he was shocked at how calmly Han Solo was behaving.

Dressed in the brown New Republic military uniform, Han would've at one time been thoroughly uncomfortable in the uniform. After thirty years of command, though, he seemed to have adjusted to it. Luke snorted in amusement. The Han Solo he'd met in the Mos Eisley cantina would've shot himself before wearing a uniform like that.

"How we doing, kid?" Han asked.

Luke's lips formed a half smile. "Same as always."

"That bad, huh?" Han replied with a crooked Solo grin.

The exchange had become something of an in-joke between the two since Luke and his allies had rescued Han from Jabba the Hutt. Luke had missed that–in the past ten years he'd been so busy with the Jedi Academy that he hadn't spent all that much time with Han and Leia, something that he profoundly regretted.

"We'll be exiting hyperspace in an hour," Luke said.

"Why not go check on your students?" Han replied. "Make sure that daughter o' mine isn't fraternizing with that prize pupil of yours."

Luke chuckled. "Right."

The 'prize pupil' in question was Damien Farrell, a student who'd come to Luke's academy two years ago. Dark-skinned, roguishly handsome, with more than a little skill in lightsaber combat. He had made no secret of his attraction to Jaina–nor had she of hers. Han had initially been against it–he wanted Jaina to marry a pilot or someone in the military–he had softened up to Damien.

Luke entered the hangar bay, where four Jedi stood, waiting for their arrival in the Unknown Regions. Jaina, dressed in a pair of brown pants with a bantha-leather jacket to match, and a white shirt underneath, stood next to Damien–who wore a black combat suit. Third was Luke's son, Ben–Luke grinned at seeing him. Ben, dressed in a black jumpsuit with a red jacket over it, had an eternal grin on his face, and was bouncy as ever.

The fourth Jedi made Luke's heart stop every time he saw her. Dressed in a pair of black pants with a long-sleeved white shirt, and a black vest over it, she had her graying red-gold hair pulled back in a ponytail, which made her fiery jade-green eyes stand out even more. Truly, Mara Jade Skywalker was a sight to behold.

All four of the Jedi had lightsabers clipped to their belts. Luke felt a surge of pride at the sight. Not pride in himself, but of his niece, wife, son, and student for all their achievements. He knew Ben, Yoda, and his father were looking down on them with a smile. Luke's students were carrying on a proud tradition in bold new ways.

"All ready to go?" Luke asked.

Ben beamed at his dad. "Ready."

"We'll arrive in..." Luke checked his chrono. "About fifty-five minutes now."

Mara nodded. "Just enough time to check all our X-wings' systems and prepare for launch."

"Let's do it," Jaina said.

Damien grinned. "Right. See you in space, Jaina."

Jaina returned his grin, and then the five Jedi separated and hopped into their X-wings. Luke smiled at Artoo-Detoo. The astromech, even older than Luke was, tweeted a joyous greeting at seeing Luke. The Jedi Master returned the greeting.

"Ready, Artoo?"

Artoo beeped an affirmative.

Luke was looking out the hangar bay into hyperspace when the ship rumbled, seemed to freeze in place, and popped out of hyperspace. Immediately alert, Luke powered up his X-wing's systems and turned the comm to speak with the bridge.

"Han, what's up?" he asked.

"Our hyperdrive just blew," Han said grimly. "Looks like sabotage. But no one's waiting in ambush so I think we're safe. We'll have to pull into a nearby system to make repairs, though."

"What's the nearest system?"

Han laughed. "That's the only good part, ol' buddy. It's Tatooine."

Luke chuckled. "Can't escape that place no matter how hard I try. All right, the five of us will fly ahead and check things out."

"Roger that, old buddy. Good luck...uh, may the Force be with you."

The five X-wings lifted off and shot out into space. Luke could barely make out the twin suns of Tatooine in the distance, slightly larger than the stars surrounding them. It'd take a while to arrive, but X-wings had personal hyperdrive, so that would alleviate it.

"Well, Ben," Luke said, "looks like you get to see where I grew up."

"You grew up?" Mara interjected.

Ben burst into laughter. "Good one, Mom."

Luke rolled his eyes. Then, grinning, he pulled his hyperdrive lever, and stars blurred into a blue swirl. And the five Jedi were headed to Tatooine.

 

It feels just like the start of the one of the original trilogy movies! Love it!

 

LOL! I love Mara's snark!

This was great! I love seeing Han as a 'respectable general' and everyone happy and alive.

 

and and woohoo! Thank you thank you for having L/M intact, for Ben to not be dysfunctional and Jaina not to be romantically challenged by having too many to choose from LOL Terrific start to a rollicking adventure. Has the classic SW feel all right.

 

Aww, bless. Jaina's got a Jedi boyfriend (and a cute one, too), Ben's all grown up, and MARA LIVES! Well done!

 

It has Mara....I am pleased! Great job!

 

Well, I love that Mara is alive and ready to fight in this one. I think this is an excellent beginning and AU that you've set up! The crawl was perfect, and I love how it named the children right off so that there could be no mistaking who they were. And I love the idea of them uniting against an unknown foe -- and taken off course to Tatooine. Perfect. General Solo is great and I'd love to see him and Master Skywalker just like this in the film. I am loving all these speculative entries!! Great work!!

 

The in-joke between Han and Luke was spot on and made me laugh hard.

The Mara Jade piece above was precious. If the plot bunny bites and you decide to continue this in the future, please tag me -- I was wondering if you would write L/M --- great job!

And you've got her snark - just right.

 

This is great!

 

That was very cool!

 

aleja2, Briannakin, Nyota's Heart, taramidala, Jedi_Lover, ginchy, Gemma, JadeLotus, Hazel

Thanks for the comments! Per Gemma's request, I've decided to continue this. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1

Ben's X-wing reverted from hyperspace and he looked down for the first time at the tan and brown sphere of Tatooine. Twin suns rose over the horizon of the planet, and Ben squinted for a moment until his canopy tinted itself to adjust for the glare. Ben had never been to his father's homeworld, and he was curious to see his heritage. His father had told him that his own father, Anakin Skywalker, had also grown up on Tatooine–so Ben half expected to have some existential epiphany while here.

"Looks hot," he muttered.

Mara chuckled. "Very hot."

"Oh, but it's a dry heat," Luke said wryly. "Don't worry. Your sweat will evaporate quickly. It's more fun than a humid world like Mimban."

Ben arced his X-wing around, following his father and mother as they swept down toward the planet. Jaina was on Ben's port wing, and Damien was on his starboard. The two other Jedi Knights had been with Ben for as long as he'd been Knighted; they were a team so close that they could practically read one another's minds at times. In fact, Ben had been forced to remove himself from the psychic connection at times when Jaina and Damien's feelings for each other had grown too strong.

"We're cleared for landing at Mos Espa Spaceport," Luke said. "Docking Bays 83 and 85. Mara will land with me in 83; Ben, you land with Jaina and Damien in 85."

"Copy that," Ben replied.

The X-wings dropped through Tatooine's atmosphere and Ben looked down at the dunes as they passed over. He winced at the sight. He'd never been fond of desert worlds; having been raised on Yavin IV and Coruscant most of his life, he preferred either jungle or city environments. The desert was too...empty. Soon, the small buildings of Mos Espa appeared on the horizon.

"See you on the ground," Mara said.

"Roger," Ben agreed. "Whoever lands last has to pay the docking fee."

His X-wing touched down and he hopped out of the cockpit, wincing at the heat that slapped him instantly. He jerked off his red jacket and unzipped his black combat suit, leaving it on but allowing his white shirt underneath to absorb most of the sun rather than letting the black do it. Making sure his lightsaber was clipped at his side, Ben walked away from his X-wing. There was a thump sound, and Ben's astromech droid, Tweeter, hopped out of the X-wing and rolled in behind Ben. The Jedi Knight patted Tweeter on the top of his head.

"We made it first," he said with a grin.

Jaina and Damien landed shortly; their astromechs remained with the X-wings to keep watch. Jaina unzipped her jacket but did not remove it, and Damien merely unbuttoned the top collar button of his flight suit. Ben nodded to them, and the three of them exited the bay. The dockmaster, a squat Rodian, approached. Damien pulled a few credits from a belt pouch and tossed them to the Rodian.

"Let's meet the Masters Skywalker," Damien said.

They found the two Jedi Masters, along with R2-D2, sitting on a bench outside the hangar. Seeing the three young Knights coming, they stood and approached. Luke cast a quick glance around.

"Been a long time," he said softly. "I only came to Mos Espa once, when I was about thirteen."

"So, where's the best place to requisition supplies from the New Republic?" Mara asked.

"Well, there was this old Toydarian..." Luke said. "A bit sleazy but he was honest in his dealings. Uncle Owen didn't like him but he trusted him."

"I doubt a junk dealer will have Star Destroyer parts," Jaina observed.

"No," Luke agreed, "but he'll be able to contact the shipyards and arrange for the parts to be shipped here."

"Let's do it, then," Mara said.

The five Jedi and two astromechs set out through Mos Espa. Many tents were set up at the edges of the town, with merchants selling food, animals, and wares. Several of them, mostly aliens, tried to pawn items off to the group, but they all declined and headed with purpose toward the shop that Luke had indicated. When they entered, they were met not by a Toydarian, but by a strange, long-necked alien carrying a load of smaller creatures, similar in appearance to him, in a cage on his back. The creature squinted up at them.
"Greeeeetings," it said softly. "Welcome to Mos Espa Equipment Emporium. I am the owner, Bahb Omaze. How can I heeeelp you?"

"I am Jedi Master Luke Skywalker," Ben's father said. "Out of the NRSD Retaliation. We have been sabotaged and we need parts from Kuat Drive Yards immediately."

"Star Destroyer parts, mmmmm?" Omaze frowned. "Thaaaat could beeee....tricky. Come with meeee. Let's waaaalk, yes? Just you and meeee."

Luke nodded. "All right." He looked at the Knights. "You three can enjoy the sights. We'll meet back here in an hour."

"Will do, Dad," Ben replied.

Ben headed out of the shop, followed by Tweeter, Jaina, and Damien. The three of them quickly lost themselves in the tented marketplace. Short Jawas ran up and tried to pawn off small handheld devices. Ben politely declined. Across the way, he could see Luke and Omaze walking through the tents, talking. Ben frowned. Something about this situation felt odd. Not the alien owner; though he felt very eccentric, there was no malice about him. No, it was something else in the marketplace.

Suddenly, there was a blur of something flesh colored, and Ben looked down and realized his lightsaber was gone. Alarmed, he quickly looked around the crowd and grimaced when he saw a man, scraggly-haired with a curly beard and crazed eyes, holding his lightsaber hilt. He ignited it, and the blue blade lit the marketplace. Aliens and humans alike scrambled around in fear and ran for cover. Jaina and Damien lit their lightsabers–yellow and blue, respectively–and assumed combat stances. Ben, for his part, prepared to make a move.

He sized the man up. He looked like a drifter, a street-dweller who'd seen a shiny weapon and decided to take it for his own, perhaps to sell it. Maybe he'd ignited the blade by accident. But as Ben studied him, he realized that there was a dangerousness in the man's eyes. He knew what he was doing. Ben realized this was the source of the sense of wrongness he'd sensed earlier.

"Drop the lightsaber, now," Jaina commanded.

"No," growled the man in a surprisingly rich voice. "No. My name is Etera Fett, and my family's honor will be restored."

 

Ben's lightsaber is always getting snatched

 

Oh this is getting interesting!

 

Ben got his saber snatched? He is never going to live that down.

 

Didn't even think about it when I wrote it!

 

You put Bob in! Well done! And this lots of fun - glad you are continuing it!

 

First thank you very much for continuing this -- I feel honored.

You made an Aliens reference here -- not sure if it was intentional or not. Hudson says this as they are entering the Alien hallways.

Glad that you included Bob and gave him the last name of Omaze -- great thinking.

Now Ben, and his lightsaber --- seeing a definite pattern.

And your surprise Fett at the end --- awesome story twist and intro of a new character.

Hope the graduation went well.

 

Nyota's Heart, Briannakin, Jedi_Lover, aleja2, Gemma, thanks for the comments. I've actually never seen Alien, so I didn't realize that was a line from that movie.

Chapter 2

Mara, standing in the shade of the doorway of the emporium with R2-D2 behind her, suddenly realized something was wrong. Reaching down to her belt, she pulled her lightsaber off its clip with one hand and her blaster from its holster with the other. She strode from the shop purposefully, and R2-D2 bleeped in alarm and scooted after her. Mara scanned the crowd with the Force.

"Where's Luke?" she asked.

Artoo beeped a response. Mara nodded and quickly caught sight of her husband's dark clothing. He was standing over by the strange, hunched owner of the emporium. He didn't seem in immediate danger. Mara jerked her head around, looking for Ben. What she saw caused her to lurch into motion, her blaster ready. Three lightsabers were glowing in the crowd ahead. Jawas, humans, and other aliens scattered. Mara ignited her lightsaber.

Before she could assist in whatever situation was going on, she got a prickling from her danger sense. Rolling aside, Mara barely avoided a small wrist rocket that exploded where she'd been standing moments before. Five armored beings flew down on jetpacks. They wore tan and brown armor with a black T-visor on the helmet. Each had a blaster pistol in a holster, and a sword in a belt sheath.

"Mandalorians!" Mara barked.

She turned her head and saw five more Mandos rocketing down toward Luke. Hissing, Mara turned to the five around her. Well, fine then. She could handle this. She raised her blaster pistol and fired three shots in quick succession at the leading Mando. The shots caught him dead center and knocked him back, but did not kill him–his powerful armor absorbed them. The Mandos unsheathed their scabbarded swords, which crackled with purple energy. Electroswords, she thought grimly. Leaping forward, Mara rammed her green lightsaber toward the lead Mando.

He caught her blow with his sword and pulled back; Mara hit him with a flurry of blows, and he blocked all three. She gave him a Force shove, sending him stumbling back into a merchant's stand, and then spun and blocked a blow from a second Mando. She exploded into motion, her lightsaber a hurricane of light, connecting with each Mando's sword as she fought him. Soon, she cut one down with a bisecting slash to the waist. Turning, she fired her blaster expertly at a weak spot in the chest armor of another Mando. He dropped.

Two down, three to go. There. Now odds were a little better.

* * *

Luke Force-pushed Bahb gently away from the combat scene as the Mandalorians landed around him. Grabbing his lightsaber, Luke ignited it and lunged forward. He quickly located the weak spots in their armor and cut one down before he could react. The rest of them drew their swords and attacked. Luke blocked their blows and riposted, dueling the Mandos quickly across the marketplace.

He frowned, wondering if these Mandalorians were behind the sabotage to the Retaliation. It would make sense, because otherwise how could they be here, waiting in ambush? Yet something felt off about that theory.

Luke spun and cut down another Mando, and then another. With two left, he turned his attention to the other Jedi. Mara was moving at blinding speeds across the marketplace, a blur of black-and-white with a bar of green energy. She acrobatically avoided every shot and blow from the Mandos, leaping and spinning around them and stubbornly refusing to let them get a bead on her. Meanwhile, Ben–unarmed–was engaging a haggard-looking man wielding a blue lightsaber; Ben's, of course. At the same time, Damien and Jaina stood back-to-back, engaging another squad of Mandos.

One of the Mandos thrust his blade at Luke, and Luke ducked aside and slashed his blade neatly to the side, cleaving into the Mandalorian's right flank. The Mando dropped to the ground. The last Mandalorian sheathed his sword, activated his jetpack, and shot up, firing his blaster at Luke. The Jedi Master easily parried his bolts into the ground and back at the trooper, who dodged the returned shots. Whoever this was, he was better than average. The Mando raised his wrist and activated a flamethrower. Luke rolled aside, the flames licking at the ground where he'd been standing. Luke locked his lightsaber on and hurled it at the Mando. The blade sheared into the jetpack. The Mando shrieked in surprise and shot off into the sky, trailing smoke.

"Artoo!" Luke called.

The droid, sitting uncertainly at an angle between the three engagements, turned toward Luke and blatted a reply. Quickly, he rolled forward and stopped at Luke's side. Luke patted him on the head.

"I need you to get back to the X-wing and signal Han. Tell him what's going on."

Artoo beeped and affirmative and quickly rolled away. Luke reached out with the Force to decide where he would be needed most. Mara had taken out another of her opponents, and was now engaging the last one. Damien was engaging a foe in one-on-one combat, and Ben–now once again armed with his lightsaber–was fighting another. But where was Jaina?

* * *

Ben jerked aside as Fett attacked him. The attack was not jerky or unsteady. Clearly, Fett knew what he was doing. Ben rolled out of the way of another attack and swept his leg at Fett's knees. The blow impacted, knocking Fett over, but the dark-complexioned man quickly leapt back to his feet and attacked Ben again. Ben heard the sound of several jetpacks deactivating, and realized Fett had reinforcements.

Okay. Playtime's over.

Ben sprinted forward and Fett took another swing at him. Ben dodged the blow, grabbed Fett's arm by the elbow with his left hand, and then the wrist with his right hand, and jerked. Fett's arm bent straight back in a way opposite of what it was supposed to. The man cried out in pain and released the lightsaber. Ben kicked him in the chest and grabbed his lightsaber, reigniting it.

Fett snarled, turned, and sprinted away. Before Ben could set out in pursuit, Jaina's brown-clad figure leapt over his head and set out after Fett, her feet moving with a Force-assisted sprint. Ben turned and, without needing to be told, moved to help Damien. The dark-skinned Jedi had decapitated one of the Mandos and was now engaging a second. Two more Mandos lie dead, no doubt at Jaina's hand. The only other unengaged Mando leapt at Ben. Ben slashed his lightsaber in a crosscut at the Mando's left shoulder. The warrior blocked the blow with his electrosword and kicked out at Ben. Ben took the blow to his gut and let it send him stumbling back, but instantly regained his footing and slashed at the Mando. The blow cut off his sword hand at the wrist.

Damien's opponent howled in pain as the young Jedi's lightsaber stabbed into his chest. The Mandalorian dropped to the ground, and there was a moment of silence. Ben and Damien locked eyes.

"Go help Jaina," Ben said.

"Right."

Damien sped off in pursuit, leaving Ben behind. Tweeter, red paint gleaming in the twin suns, rolled up and beeped the question.

"No idea what that was about," Ben replied. He looked down at the wounded Mandalorian at his feet. "But we're going to find out."

 

Super duper action, as usual Luke, Mara -- only they could take on 5 opponents at once Ben's no slouch either Interesting that the theory Luke came up with about the Mandos not being the main ones behind the sabotage is not quite right; sounds like there's someone else pulling the 'strings.'

 

Awesome action sequence!

 

Nice action!

 

Great story! I am excited to see how it continues.

 

This was my favorite part --- Her lightsaber a hurricane of light ---- what a beautiful description of her speed.

When you start writing pro fic --- you're going to have to remember your readers here.

 

Oh yes. Totally.

 

Great action scenes. And I love Ben, Jaina and Damien as the new trio.

And Fetts? "I have a bad feeling about this"