Beyond - Legends "The Je'daii Heresy" Concluded 3/25 (AU; pre-NJO, Jacen, others; philosophy/action/etc.)

A/N: The latest in an NEU/EU mix - I wouldn't call it a crossover, since this is one timeline. And Jacen won't be time-traveling ... but having Force visions? Yeah.

Including one in this chapter with serious hints for where this timeline is going ...

This is set a few years after Cold Hearth, Warm Hand: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/cold-hearth-warm-hand-au-l-m-yjk-era-angst-mush-etc.50037866/

Chronologically, it's just after, or perhaps even during, the events of Crisis on Crystal Reef, but things change quite a bit from there quickly ...

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25 ABY: Jedi Praxeum, Yavin 4:
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Somehow, the food didn't taste quite as good as Jacen had expected; he figured shame was spoiling it.

I didn't trust my own dad. I let a pretty girl distract me, from the Force, from my family ... he thought, picking at his roast gornt at the table for the Jedi apprentices. He was wearing his dress robes, listening to the speeches at what was supposed to be a graduation ceremony of sorts.

A very ugly, not-entirely-foreign, thought bubbled up from the back of Jacen's mind as he recalled what Uncle Luke had said - that Jacen and Anakin were to be his apprentices.

The thought - horrifically shameful to Jacen in its bitterness - was the same as when Jacen had first had it, albeit a bit sharper:

The man can't even find his own children 3 years after losing them, and he's supposed to teach you?

Jacen shoved it down; it was the stupid Imperials' fault, or at least some of the stupid Imperials' fault, that Kylo and Rey and Jemma Skywalker had been kidnapped. Uncle Luke, Aunt Mara, and the rest of the Knights (some of whom were called Masters, although Uncle Luke hadn't really handed out the titles) were still looking, but it'd been 3 years.

Just about as long as I've been a real Jedi student, Jacen realized, feeling a little ill all of a sudden.

He didn't think Luke had had his own children stolen away - but it was a fact that Luke wasn't perfect.

The thought hit Jacen hard, and wouldn't go away. If anything, it actually framed a lot of his childhood in a pretty unflattering way - the separation from his parents as a toddler on Anoth, then the kidnappings earlier on, and most recently, the "Young Jedi Knights" fighting actual criminals.

Force, the old teachings from the holocrons warned of the poor idea of one Master taking two apprentices.

Jacen felt even more sick when he glanced at Anakin, recalling the tale of Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma.

Alderaanian brothers trained by one Master, but one fell and slew the other ... he remembered.

"... and so, I'd like to recognize our students' achievements," Luke said, making Jacen focus.

Years of etiquette drummed into Jacen refused to let him ruin the meal by making a scene.

But the sense of panic he felt at the - vergence? maybe just realization - forced Jacen to stand.

He called on every iota of biofeedback training he had not to turn redder than Mara's hair, and slammed down on his twin-bond with Jaina - she wasn't stupid, and she was starting to get scared - as everyone looked at him.

"I - please, excuse me. I - I don't feel well. Probably just - leftover nitrogen bubbles from the dive under Crystal Reef," Jacen managed to stammer, faking a smile while he slipped out the back.

He leaned over, hands on his thighs, feeling worse than ever - this wasn't the Force, so much.

But every time we went out playing "Jedi," we could've gotten killed, and NOBODY ever asked if it was smart for kids to be doing so, Jacen thought, shocked at his own - anger?

He felt flushed, and went to take a sanisteam and get changed. The last thing he wanted was to answer questions when he wasn't even sure he could control himself.

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The dress robes had been soaked with sweat, and Jacen was glad to get into a clean coverall. He did check his temperature and other biosigns with a scanner, just to be certain he wasn't actually ill.

Pretty miserable excuse for a "hero." But then ... maybe I'm more scared of the questioning, he admitted, tending to his animals. It was an excuse to avoid his fears, he knew, but it was needed.

His collection of pets was smaller than it had been, since Jacen wasn't on Yavin as often as he'd been when he'd started his training; he'd released some of the less tameable ones back into the wild, or donated some to Coruscanti zoos. The ones that remained were better able to take care of themselves, and other students like Raynar or Lusa were kind enough to check in on them when Jacen was gone.

Running around with my laser sword and hacking up idiots ... who needed stopping, sure, but why did we have to be the ones to do the work? Jacen fumed, finishing his work and sitting on his bed.

He was ashamed, and scared, and angry, and ashamed of feeling that way - but the questioning didn't feel dark, either. Jacen wondered if the old Jedi had ever had such debates.

I suppose I'd better try to meditate on it. Tionne's done a great job of piecing together the big picture, but it seems as if there are gaps ... dangerous ones ... in our knowledge, Jacen thought, sighing while he sat cross-legged on a meditation mat and tried to find some inner peace.

He sank into a light trance, letting the Force refresh him, and used the lulling sensation to sink further. Meditation had come fairly easier to Jacen than his siblings; Anakin was a better overall fighter, although Jacen was confident that his Force expertise gave him the edge (not that he wanted to hurt his kid brother in proving it).

Given all the chaos of Anakin's earlier adventures with Tahiri, it seemed the younger brother had the Solo luck.

There is no luck, Jacen reminded himself. Even if Ani is closer to Dad than I am ...

Jaina was more like Dad, too, Jacen thought - but Jaya wasn't ... a rival?

The thought worried Jacen again; Anakin was his brother ... but Jaina was his twin. Maybe Jacen was just willing to give her more allowances, since they were twins.

Jaina's not going to have the answers I'm looking for ... Jacen thought, concentrating on the future.

It probably wasn't the best thing to just push for answers; the future was always in motion -

The vortex turned around, and Jacen found himself suddenly struggling to remain in control, as images bombarded him - not just what might be, but what might have been, he knew somehow.

He gasped, his own face - older, grey, with unhealthy yellow-orange eyes and a palpable sense of sorrow as well as darkness - peering back at him.

The younger Jacen recoiled in horror, flickering waves of greenish energy crackling about both of them as the fabric of reality ... rippled, for lack of a better term.

And he hit what felt like a glass window -

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The girl he sees has his aunt Mara's fiery hair, but is maybe Tahiri or Valin's age, wearing a green and yellow bodyglove with a tattered poncho draped over her shoulders. A holster holds a blaster pistol at her right hip; a lightsaber hangs at her left.

The girl's blue eyes, however, are pure Skywalker ... and the fiery talon she's extending across the forest clearing is no Force power Jacen has ever seen.

The claw pierces something enormous - blue and grey, a droid but far larger - and the girl's flame grows, manifesting as a firebird.

The bird's beak plunges into the creature's chest, while the fiery talon is echoed by another claw, and the creature howls as the girl extends both her arms, rising on a pillar of flame. She throws her head back and gives a triumphant cry, not unlike raptors Jacen has heard in the wild.

The droid-thing erupts in a massive explosion, turning to sparks, and the girl throws her hands up, beaming. A shockwave of golden-white light lances out from her, spreading further and further. Jacen senses it may well reach the ends of the galaxy, and for some odd reason, he cries tears of joy, though he doesn't know why.

There's music, then - a familiar tune, hummed to him when he was just a small child ... and flashes of light fill his eyes, silver and brown and accompanied by squeaky voices he can't quite make out.

The cacophony overwhelms Jacen, but not in an unwelcome sense - it's just too much, drowning out the vision of the possible future - and he loses his grip on what he's seen.

He trips, figuratively, falling backwards - and is hit by waves of images, like shards of broken holos:

A woman with Mara's cheekbones and Luke's sandy-brown hair, laughing beside an equally-young man, both wearing blue and white jumpsuits beneath lab coats, before a transparent cubicle with a melting and shifting black monolith.

A teenaged human boy with red hair and laughing blue eyes, digging in the ruins of an immense gold-colored starship, Artoo beside him, while ancient, massive droid-like figures slumber within.

The girl from the first vision, shrieking angrily as she duels a smirking, brown-haired girl who holds a red blade on lavender sands.

A feathered avian humanoid, her crest turning several shades of color as she swings a nasty-looking hook downward.

Anakin, a little older, a shocked look on his face as he sees two ugly, dark-armored aliens without noses, clutching their heads and dropping ugly-looking snake-spears, and two purple shadowmoths surrounding the aliens' heads.

Tenel Ka, a grown woman and radiantly beautiful, standing over a crib and beaming at Jacen with joy.

Something metal, dark and cat-like but close to a nexu in size, snarling incomprehensibly while Kyp struggles with it over a Coruscant spacescraper chasm.

Squibs, helping a small human boy out of a sandstorm.

A flash of red light, coming from the gold visor of a man in a black and yellow bodyglove, surrounded by a boy made of ice, a powerfully built young man, a third youth with wings, and a red-haired girl their age, fighting a helmeted man waving around metal objects.

A tearful, but happy and familiar-looking girl, maybe 8 standard years, looking up at Uncle Luke among ruined ships.

Jaina, horrified, among what looks like a shattered Coruscant, as a hand rises from corpses wearing organic-looking dark-colored armor.

Tahiri - older, with odd scars, smiling warmly as she stands by a bantha who's pinned one of the dark warriors to the ground with one massive hoof.

A purple-haired woman, fighting ferociously against a crowd of noseless, armored figures, her frown of frustration turning to pleased surprise as a shadow rises over the attackers - and several of them actually cower in horror.

Mara, holding a blaster on a being sitting in a chair looking out a window on an icy landscape.

Valin Horn - older, a grown man - his hands glowing with energy while a Lethan Twi'lek stands behind him, deflecting blaster bolts.

Jacen's parents, older but still vital, talking with a stunned-looking human man wearing a rather primitive business suit in a circular room, some kind of official seal on its floor - a bird holding what looks like a quiver and a ribbon.

Uncle Luke, grim-faced but standing his ground, as something made of pink crystal holds up a glowing hand.

Something that looks like the misbegotten offspring of a Muun and a human, with flat nostrils and disturbing red eyes, raising a red lightsaber in a dark forest, fighting another darksider whose laugh chills Jacen with its familiarity.

A human man, maybe in his 20s, wearing camoflague fatigues and with buzzcut red-brown hair, handing a lightsaber to a delighted-looking brown-haired woman who kisses him deeply before igniting the weapon with an awed expression.

A brown-haired human youth, with some kind of corrective lenses on his face and an odd forehead scar, holding a yellow lightsaber high in a green-glowing chamber.

A Whiphid, wearing an oddly-familiar conical hat, sitting cross-legged and talking politely with shaven-headed human men wearing orange robes, as a snowstorm whips outside the cave they sit in.

A blond-haired boy, about Anakin's age, clad in iron armor and shouting at what looks like a Star Dragon's two-legged offspring, atop icy peaks beneath two moons.

Jacen, amidst ancient ruins, holding a holocron, his lightsaber absent but its crystal around his neck.

And then it all collapses back into itself, spiraling down to two points - two places where it can still all go horribly wrong.

The first is in the future, further ahead. The scenery is strangely familiar and yet unfamiliar, full of blurry presences and mismatched machinery and life, and the screams of beasts Jacen can't identify.

But he weeps, nonetheless, as Anakin's life blazes out of him as his younger brother sacrifices himself to fight the dark warriors - a victory, but at too high a cost, that breaks part of the future.

The second point is in the much nearer future - and on ground Jacen finds more familiar, grassy plains amidst a thunderstorm. Anakin - closer to his current age - stands, a purple lightsaber his only defense against the noseless, dark foes, as Mara lays, exhausted, in the mud.

A snake-spear falls, and this time, all fractures - as a world with jaws rises from the Unknown Regions, the blue-grey droid-things and shark-like droids preceding it with fire and rage.

The only thing that holds the mechanized darkness back, with the acrid, iron scent of blood in the air, is an army.

Rows and rows of black-uniformed figures, marching through a lower-level area of Coruscant, led by a brown-haired figure wearing black and a black cape, who turns and pierces Jacen's vision with sickly yellow-orange eyes.

Familiar eyes, as the black-caped figure lights a red blade.

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- and Jacen screamed himself out of the trance.

SITHSPAWN! he cursed, wiping his brow and leaping to his feet as the door opened - Tenel Ka stood there, looking frightened and radiating concern.

"Friend Jacen? You left the meal - cried out, through the Force ..." the Hapan girl called, and Jacen stood shakily, grateful she'd come to his aid.

"Tenel ... Tenna ... oh, Tenna," Jacen mumbled, unable to stop his tears - all his studies, all his hopes, all his focus ...

It has to mean something ... doesn't it? he mourned, hugging Tenel and savoring her nearness.

Her reality, and he walked with her into the hallway, holding her grey gaze with his brown eyes as they sat on a bench together.

"I ... had a vision. Flashes of possible futures ... a great victory, in the end. But the path there ... Tenel ..." Jacen tried to explain - how COULD he, it sounded insane to him?

"Jacen, whatever you saw ... I want to help, if I can," Tenel said, and Jacen looked deeply into her eyes ... seeing what he'd too long ignored.

He hated himself as he realized, I have to ignore it a bit longer.

"Tenel - I need to ask you a huge, critical, favor," Jacen pleaded, taking his old friend's hand in his as he summoned all his courage. "I need you to give my uncle a message - I'll record it on this ..."

"Of course. But why would you be unable to tell him?" Tenel asked, understandable suspicion filling her voice as Jacen dug in his pocket and found a small datapad.

He typed in the message rapidly, examining it to be sure that it was correct, then hit save and handed it to Tenel. "Because, I have to go - I have to gather information for - for my training," Jacen tried to explain as he and Tenel stood.

"Information - Jacen, you should talk to the Masters, if you have had a vision related to the future," Tenel said ... an unfamiliar, and now blatantly clear, note of quiet urging in her voice.

Jacen wanted to give in to it. To her - but he knew what he'd seen.

Instead, he gently ran a hand down the right side of her face, said almost in a whisper, "I can't wait. And I must walk this path alone, at least for now."

"But know this: I'll come back for you. And I've always loved you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

Jacen kissed Tenel Ka deeply, utterly, and unreservedly, then slipped away, cloaking his Force presence as he left her behind, his heart screaming at him to turn back.

Either I succeed ... and face those futures ... or I fail, and at least I kissed the girl I love, Jacen thought, wiping his eyes.

He took a deep breath and stopped crying - it wouldn't help him now. It wasn't Jedi, much less befitting the eldest son of the Solo clan.

Instead, Jacen kept moving toward the hangar and tried to remember all the slicing lessons Jaina had tried to drum into his head.

I have to steal a shuttle ... for a solo mission, Jacen realized, smirking.

His bad humor, at least, was intact. For right now, that - and the memory of Tenel Ka's lips on his - would have to suffice.

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to be continued ...

 

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Chapter 2: Jedi Praxeum,
Yavin IV:
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Jaina hadn't been very thrilled with the whole "graduation dinner" from the start; she didn't mind parties, but dress-up ones were the least enjoyable.

And then Jasa tore out of there, blocking his end of the bond. When did he learn that trick? she thought, half-angry, half-worried. Her twin had more skill in the nuances of the Force, she'd admit, but it was strange for Jacen to block their twin-bond. And she wasn't buying that he'd suddenly taken ill.

He had some kind of ... break-through, or something. I just hope it didn't mess him up, Jaina thought as she helped with the dishes (sure, the server droids and the younger apprentices could handle the work, but she didn't like getting set apart from everyone else - famous relatives had made her a target).

"Jaina, are you sure you want to help with this? You could be hanging out with Zekk and the others," Tahiri asked, but Jaina smiled at the Tatooine-born girl.

"I can do that any time, Tahiri. After running around the galaxy fighting the sleemo of the week, I've gotten to appreciate home," Jaina said.

That was when something - a scream, but not her scream, and a rush of images that weren't her Force vision - hit Jaina, making her stagger - !

JACEN!? she called back - but he'd gone quiet again, but he couldn't hide, not from her, not when he was so afraid and angry and desperate.

"Tahiri, I'm sorry - something's happened to Jacen. I'll be back as soon as I can," Jaina said, handing her pile of dishes to a droid and running.

Some of the other apprentices were frightened, but Tahiri just nodded, getting serious, and Jaina thanked her - the girl had a good bit of sense.

I hope Anakin knows how lucky he is to have a friend like Tahiri, part of Jaina thought absently - she could tease little brother later, right now ...

She came to a screeching halt in a cross-corridor of the temple, briefly shocked to find her parents, uncle, and aunt standing there with Tenel Ka.

"It's OK, kid. Just go through it again, slowly," Han encouraged Tenel Ka as Leia let the princess lean on her - the girl felt guilty over "letting" Jacen leave, and there was a note of embarrassment to the Hapan heiress's Force presence.

"I heard Jacen scream through the Force, Captain Solo - whatever he saw must have deeply disturbed him. I came to his doorway, and he almost stumbled outside, then we sat on the bench in the hall, and he talked. He said something about 'a great victory in the future,' but that the cost to achieve it was too high. Then, he typed a message for Master Skywalker, and asked me to give it to him," Tenel Ka explained, while Uncle Luke examined a datapad she'd given to him.

"I felt it too - he can't have gotten very far," Jaina interjected, grateful when Uncle Luke let her (and the other adults with him) see the datapad.

"It's sparse, but ... intense," he said, while Jaina read:

Uncle,

The ... party, to use a polite term, helped me crystallize some long-unclear thoughts of mine. I'm grateful that you helped me learn to control the Force ... but I've realized just how dangerous my life has been because of the Force.

Some of it was out of your control, or my parents' control. But sending us - young apprentices - to fight adult dark-siders was simply reckless. I don't want to sound ungrateful - and I'm aware enough to recognize that some of this is simply resentment - but I do believe I also have legitimate complaints here.

And some of it ... I have real doubts. Calling Force sensitivity a "responsibility" smacks of an excuse to use our special abilities to force our beliefs on others. Yes, someone has to stand up to dark-siders and protect the Force-blind from enslavement and abuse, but not everyone who disagrees with us is dark.

I just want a choice. Destiny isn't just the Force, it's decisions - right or wrong - and I need to make sure I'm making the right choice before I get too old.

So - I'm out. At least for now. Maybe it's cowardly, maybe it's childish, or maybe ... maybe I'm deciding not to make a horrible mistake.

Or maybe I am.

But at least it's my decision, and I'm not dragging anyone else down with me. I know this is rambling, but it's not any easier for me, either.

The other thing you need to know is that along with the intellectual realization, I've had a deep Force vision. A powerful, frightening one.

Some of it was confusing, but enough of it was clear, a warning that I had to act upon.

Out of all the images, there are three certainties I gleaned from what I saw - three things you MUST heed:

1. One Master, one apprentice. It's not just for Sith. (And NO, Anakin being your apprentice isn't why I'm leaving. This is about me, and my decisions.)

2. I think Rey is on a starship junkyard world - not Raxus Prime, but definitely a world full of starships. I saw her, crying but also happy to see you.

3. There's a dark, truly alien threat coming - sometime within the next year, from nowhere I could identify. Stay alert, and be ready to ACT when necessary.

I'm not sure when I'll return - I need to sort things out first.. Please don't blame Tenel Ka; she cared enough to try and help me, and she shouldn't be punished for my ... heresy, maybe.

I do know that I'm not going to be a very good Jedi. I question too much ... and you can't provide the answers any more.

Jacen

Jaina's head whirled, while Aunt Mara grabbed Uncle Luke's upper arm, but - as usual - it was Dad who spoke first, nodding as he caught Jaina's eyes.

"Hangar Control, this is Solo - are there any ships missing?" Dad commed, and Jaina helped Tenel Ka to sit down while Mom concentrated.

"Ah - General Solo, we can confirm that one of the XJ-2s is gone, as well as an R2 unit. Odd, we're not seeing any record of a flight log," the Duros flight officer said, making Jaina's blood freeze.

She focused in the Force, but hit a wall when she tried to reach for Jacen, and looked at Mom, who frowned. "He's shielding, very well," she said.

"We have to find - Luke, look, I -" Dad started to say, but Aunt Mara looked about ready to spit starship bolts until Uncle Luke smiled weakly.

"It's all right, Han. Jacen ... it's understandable that he'd be angry, what with everything that's happened. I do think he's better off than this note sounds, though - yes, I'm worried, but he's not entirely blaming all of the kidnappings and fights on us. I suspect he's not just taking off on the spur of the moment," Uncle Luke said, sounding reasonable as ever - maybe a little too reasonable to Jaina.

"But -" she started to say, standing - but she went quiet when Mara looked at her, not so much angry as frustrated ... but not with Jaina.

Mara managed to smirk, and said, "You catch on fast, Jaina. We have a lead on Rey - Farmboy, between what you saw and what Jacen saw - ?"

"Jakku. It's the best fit we have ... Han, Leia, I'm not saying we should ignore Jacen leaving -" Uncle Luke started, but Mom relaxed, and Jaina felt relieved.

"Go. Jacen can defend himself ... maybe better than I want to admit. And if you can find Rey and bring her home after all this time - go, Luke, Mara," Mom said, hugging Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara, while Dad scratched his head and tried to smile.

Oh, Dad ... Jaina thought, wishing he didn't feel so - left-out sometimes. She hugged him and whispered, "The Force isn't everything, y'know."

"Yeah, kid. I just wish that when Jacen figured that out, it hadn't hit him so hard, y'know?" Dad whispered back, and Jaina nodded.

She stood back, then, as Anakin came running up, scared, and yelled, "He left it! He took the crystal and just left the rest! It was in the hangar!"

The adults looked at each other, a little confused, but Jaina's heart sank as she took the cylinder from Little Brother - she knew what he meant.

"... he took the heart of the blade, and left the rest," Jaina said, turning the empty lightsaber to the others as she looked into the Yavin sky.

OK, Jasa, you made your point. I just hope you can live with it ...

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Interesting start....I like the philosophical angle...and what WERE teenagers doing out fighting people? When you think about it, it really was a bit irresponsible for Luke to allow the kids to go out and do that sort of thing.

 

Wow, that was an intense reading. It had the mystic atmosphere of Frank Herbert´s "Dune" somehow, but it still has exciting SW elements in it. Plus some of my favourite former EU characters, now legend only: Mara, Jaina. And you have folk from the new SW movie in it: Rey, Kylo. I wonder what will happen next.

 

SiouxFan: Thanks. This Jacen will be facing a few different challenges to his philosophy than in Legends, which may result in him ending up in a different place than Invincible. Things are going to pick up soon once he gets where he's going ... the title should be a hint about his destination.

AzureAngel2: (bows) Thanks, also. Dune is an interesting comparison, and I'm honored.

The images Jacen saw are a little all over the place - the "breaking glass" effect he ran into when confronted by his (possible?) older self disrupted Younger!Jacen's control over the Force vision.

Without giving too much away, some of those events have happened in this timeline, while more are upcoming - and some may or may not take place. For the moment, I'm keeping the timeline firmly focused on SW, before things get really wild.

AFA Rey and Kylo - more with them in the next few chapters (next actual post should be Friday this week).

- Thanks again,
Onderon1

 

I thought the vision(s) was really well done... and I totally got that some of those have happened, and that some might. You can't possibly make Jacen worse than Denning, so I'm okay with him being a 'heretic'. Just hoping he is still 'Jacen' at heart.

 

Chapter 1: - wow! Those visions and Jacen's reflections!
I applaud your ability to make that all not seem like adolescent hissy fits - as was borne out by the urgency and clarity of the message in chapter 2. You can tell he put a lot of thought into his proper path and the way the Jedi training thing should go in general.
I am not saying he made a wrong decision by leaving. At this point there's no way to say what would be the wrong choice. But what would be tragic indeed is if in trying to avert the worst of the futures - he actually brought it about by leaving. Hope not. But I am glad they have a solid lead on Rey. Now they have to find the others.

 

Engaging AU mix up of NJO/TFA. Continue! Can't wait to see where this goes!

 

SiouxFan: Thanks. I can say that Jacen will remain Force-curious ... and in Chapter 4, he'll start to get some answers he never got in Legends. The big answers, about just what the ancient Jedi thought and did ...

Spoiler

Jon Ostrander and Jan Duursema's Dawn of the Jedi mini-series, and portions of The Old Republic, will feature strongly very soon. How those affect Jacen, and his development, are part of the longer arc I'm working on.

Nyota's Heart: Thank you. I was aiming to catch the transition between the ... well, rather class clown that Jacen was in YJK , and the more thoughtful (if *cough* navel-gazing, shall we say? *cough*) Jacen of the early NJO.

You've hit upon a few very important points, and I want to address those before posting Chapter 3. Yoda's warning about "Always in motion, the future is," is very good advice, and Jacen certainly should remember it ... but it's not always easy to do so. Likewise, here, he doesn't yet know the precise (i.e. self-fulfilling) details of Vader's fall, so Grandpa Vaderkin's example doesn't hit home as hard as it might. (Of course, those details could come out in stories to come ...

Force Smuggler: Thank you. While the Yuuzhan Vong will have a much bigger role in the next story, their shadow will start to stretch here ...

AFA the Skywalker kids - more with Rey, and a bit with Kylo, below.

Plus, Karrde ... some hints of the bigger picture ...

Spoiler

A hint or two - that ring is exactly what it seems. SG-1's backstory factored somewhat into my pre-truncation work that this story starts to revive/adapt. I know there've been more recent SG-1/SW crossovers, but this is strictly my own take on such interaction. And I can verify it's all one timeline ... but the how of it will have to wait for a while.

And a cameo that could lead to great news for the Skysolos, or nightmare fuel.

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Chapter 3: Yavin System,
Outer Rim Territories:
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Artoo was working up the coordinates to Jakku quickly - not exactly difficult, given the system's historical importance during the chaos of the post-Endor months (although the Nagai-Tof conflicts and Lumiya's return had somewhat overshadowed the Rebellion's hunt for, and breaking of, the Imperial fleet's remnants).

The Jade Sabre was ready to jump, but it would still take the better part of a standard week to go around the Core, through the Negs and weave through the hyperspace distortion separating the Unknown Regions from the "civilized" portion of the galaxy. Risking a shortcut through the gravitational nightmare that was the Deep Core would just prolong the trip and stress the yacht's hyperdrive dangerously.

Mara bit her lip, knowing whining about it wouldn't help.

It's just been 3 years ... this is the first confirmed lead we've had, and now, we're so close, she thought, waiting for the final numbers to crunch.

Beside her in the co-pilot's seat, Luke didn't quite manage his "Jedi Master" serenity, for which Mara was glad. He was leaking faint traces of anticipation, hope, and worry - not fear, but definitely a lot of neks chasing their tails inside his head. Mara understood - some of those same neks were haunting her.

"Do you think she'll remember us? The Force is a good memory aid, but the triplets hadn't trained much beyond the very basics when they ... vanished," Luke managed, trying to smile.

"I'm sure we can explain. We owe her at least that much, at a bare minimum. I'm planning to spoil her the instant we get her back, and stang anyone who mocks me for it," Mara half-growled, half-vowed while she checked the subsystem.

She knew she shouldn't have favorites, but Rey had always taken after her the most - brave, good with weapons, tough, a brilliant pilot in the simulator.

Kylo had devoured Force-knowledge at an almost eerie rate, while Jemma was the intellectual of the three - caring, but far more interested in lore and science than the Force itself. The girls had absorbed Mara's Coruscanti accent, but Kylo had been more Rim in his tones, as much as 5-year-olds could have an accent, really.

And now they'd be 8 ... Mara thought, trying to imagine. Rey's eyes wouldn't have changed color any more, but she'd be a bit taller, hopefully stronger.

Mara crushed the hopefully portion. Her little girl would be all right, because if someone had hurt Rey, the galaxy would know that the Hand hadn't softened.

She'd just gotten more motivated with loved ones to fight for - found passion, and life, and a fire that warmed her more than she'd ever dreamed.

"Mara?" she heard, stirring from that line of thought - warm, not the cold, dangerous place she'd mastered long before, the mental spot where she prepared to hunt.

"Hmm?" she replied, meeting Luke's concerned look. "Just a little too hot. You feeling OK? Artoo, how's the life support look?"

"Fre-tweep-beweet," the astromech replied with confidence, and Mara nodded, opening to Luke's silent request to share her thoughts.

After a moment, he relaxed, but said softly, "You were just - glowing. In the Force. It wasn't dangerous, just intense in a way I've rarely seen from you."

Mara smiled a bit, a real smile instead of the smirk she was known for, and said, "Just trying some of that optimism you like to indulge in, Farmboy."

He beamed despite the gravity of it all, then arched an eyebrow as the Force - and Mara's intuition - rippled, and the comm rang, "Mara? Luke?"

"Karrde? To what do we owe this honor?" Mara quipped, back to her usual business voice, while Luke hid a smile and she swatted his arm.

Mush is for family, Skywalker, Mara reminded him, rolling her eyes as Luke gave her an adoring look, then composed himself and Talon's holo appeared.

The gravity in Holo!Karrde's face was belied by the warmth in his voice, and something like a salvage barge popped out of hyperspace before the Sabre. "I've heard about the incident involving Jacen, and the news about Rey. Given the difficulties of reaching Jakku, I wanted to offer some help," he said.

"We're always glad for any assistance, Talon. But - no disrespect - that salvage rig's probably slower than the Sabre," Luke replied with his usual subtlety (i.e., little to none, but Mara preferred her Farmboy a bit awkward; he almost always saved his grand sneaky moves for epic bad-guy crushing).

"Oh, no offense taken, Luke. This old beast is nothing to comm home about, to be sure. It's our cargo that might be of more use to you - Ghent, could you please deploy the 'gate?" Karrde asked to someone off-camera.

Oath, Ghent? I don't mind some kind of tech support, but I want to make sure I survive it, too, Mara mused, watching the bigger ship's hold open.

A large metal ring, roughly 8 or 9 meters across altogether, dropped from the bottom of the freighter, three blue-glowing power nodes at equidistant points around the ring. The object floated a bit below and port of the Sabre, and the empty center of the ring glowed blue - then flared, stabilizing into a portal.

"Karrde, what the kriff is that? It looks like some kind of transportal tech - is it Gree?" Mara asked, hope rising within her as Karrde half-smiled.

"It's a distant cousin of the Kwa Infinity Gates, from an ... older civilization than even them or the Gree. I've never quite managed to determine who came up with such an elegant portal device; there's something about the metal that makes it a frighteningly effective superconductor, even of hyperspatial energies. We've only recently managed to get this one working, although the power consumption is a schutta on the utility bills - forgive the crudity. I can guarantee that it's set to teleport you safely to the Jakku system, although you'll have to travel the long way home. The receiver above Jakku lacks the power units we reverse-engineered," Karrde said, his smile growing as Luke and Mara shared a quick, amazed look.

"Talon - ! Thank you. I owe you a dinner at the best restaurant on - well, one of the Core Worlds," Mara quickly thanked her former employer.

(The qualifier was necessary; she fully intended to repay Karrde, but he was a conniving son of a Selonian, and he'd hold her to a really expensive meal if she specified too good a restaurant.)

Karrde's smile became positively paternal, while Mara maneuvered the Sabre and prepared the sublights. "Bring Rey home, my friends," he said.

"Thanks again, Talon. We'll let you know as soon as we find her," Luke replied with sincerity, and Karrde signed off.

Mara took a deep breath - she trusted Karrde with her life, but teleportation was a new trick - and said, "Any ideas who blabbed about Jacen's antics?"

"I suspect it's one of the experimental BB astromechs. Industrial Automaton is probably partially owned by Karrde," Luke said in a deadpan tone.

"He'd be crazy not to, agreed. Hold on to your hood, Farmboy - Jakku, here we come," Mara replied, nudging the yacht forward.

-----------------------------------------------------
Jakku: Edges of the Starship Graveyard:
-----------------------------------------------------

The air wasn't as still as it could be. That was a good sign, Rey thought - not much chance of a sandstorm.

"Any hints?" one of the older scavengers - Mashra, a kind Aqualish lady who let Rey stop over for dinner, on good nights when herbs were available to make portions more than boring - asked, just loud enough to let Rey focus.

Sometimes, the brown-haired human girl got ... nudges, she called them, where the best leftover salvage might be. Hints.

(Some of the spacers whispered, but Rey didn't want to hope too much that she might have the gift. It wasn't always a gift - the dreams were ... mixed.)

After a few seconds, the nudge hit, and Rey nodded, pointing toward a ruined old Venator. "There," she said, leading the way.

The others got to work; they'd split the portions from the haul, they'd agreed. Unkar Plutt drove hard bargains, but he was fair enough.

'Sides, I couldn't haul all this, and why be greedy? Rey figured, smiling as she started pulling parts from an old power converter.

Working together had helped her stay alive for as long as she'd been on Jakku. And people had been nice to her, so she wanted to help them. First, there'd been Lor, over at the Force village, and he gave her medicine when she felt sick, and told her stories of the Jedi.

The Jedi - and the Force - were ... confusing, to Rey. Not bad, just mixed-up.

She thought she might have the Force, but every time she thought about it, it got blurry.

From the Time Before, the girl thought, sighing inside.

The story never really changed; she didn't remember much from before her pod had crashed. Sometimes, with the nudges, she remembered more.

There'd been a starship, and a fight, and the Tall Man, who'd taken Kylo. Kylo was probably Rey's brother - he'd been nice, she knew. So had Jemma.

But that was the Time Before. Now, I gotta get stuff to trade to Unkar, Rey remembered, focusing - until she had another nudge.

This, though ... this was different. It felt warm, like the survival blanket Rey had decorated her bed with back at the AT-AT.

But the nudge came ... from the sky.

Rey adjusted her sand goggles, looking up ... and tried not to be nervous; there were people coming, she could tell, somehow.

Good people. Spacers, maybe, or - maybe just even - Jedi.

... I'm here, she thought, hoping, maybe, this time ... maybe this time ...

Maybe she wouldn't have to mark off another line tonight.

But for right now, she had to work. Even as nice as Lor and the others could be, they could barely keep themselves fed, and Rey wasn't going to go hungry.

She moved some trashed cargo holders over, then tried not to gasp - there was a carbonite slab against one of the walls, with an alien frozen inside!

Stang! Who'd freeze someone!? That's mean, even meaner than Teedo! Rey thought, checking the control panel - maybe she could trigger it.

She wasn't a slicer, but she'd learned a few tricks, and after pushing a few buttons, the carbonite started to melt. Rey sat back, watching as the alien - well, he was a species she'd never seen - sat up, coughing and waving his hands.

He was very orange, Rey noticed, dressed in loose pants and a vest - not really good for fighting Jakku's sun - with big ears and eyes on stalks.

"Ooohhh ... meesa no be feelin' good at all. The last thing meesa rememberin' was the heavy-breathin' man ... an' now, meesa can't see!" the alien cried.

"It's OK. My name's Rey. You're on Jakku," Rey said, squeezing the alien's hand - she'd found him, she was responsible for him, right?

"Oh - thank yousa, Rey. Meesa Jar-Jar Binks. Meesa a Gungan. Jakku's a far planet from Naboo, meesa thinkin,'" Jar-Jar said, kind of sad.

Rey nodded, helping him up - she'd heard about Naboo, but not a lot. It was green, and sounded like the place from Rey's dreams (but not as wild).

"We're almost in the Unknown Regions. I'm a scavenger. Come on - I'll take you to Lor San Tekka. He might be able to help you," the girl decided.

---------------------------------------------
Muunilinst:
---------------------------------------------

The - ripples - stirred Kylo from his meditation. He was pretty glad of that; he liked moving meditation anyway. (He got to hit more things doing that.)

Master Snoke nodded from his throne, and rumbled, "You felt it, then, my apprentice."

"Yes, Master. Another Force-user, searching - a long way away," Kylo said, trying to catch the sensation again. He knew that mind ...

Rey! the boy thought, looking up with surprise and happiness - one of his sisters, at least, was alive!

Kylo took a deep, breath, though; happiness was one thing, but the light needed to be tempered. Watched, but not lost in - it could blind Force-users.

He looked up at his Master, his teacher; Lord Snoke was old, but not weak, and he'd taught Kylo so much already - more than the stupid Jedi ever had.

(Kylo still missed his parents some times, but the galaxy was just a mess, and Dad hadn't done anything to fix it. Someday, the First Order might, though.)

"Your sister, then, yes. Would you seek her out?" Master Snoke asked, but Kylo knew better than to just answer. He was supposed to think.

He felt a little sad, but shook his head - he knew he wasn't ready. "I'm still too ... hasty, Master," Kylo said, using one of the words Lord Snoke often said.

Something like the clap of a rotten fish against a table - the sound of Master Snoke laughing - made Kylo look up, afraid but hoping, too.

(His Master didn't hurt him like Kylo had feared he might, years ago when they'd met. Disappointment hurt worse than anything else.)

"You have the beginnings of wisdom, though, lad. Yes, we will wait ..." Master Snoke said, half-closing his eyes.

Kylo went back to meditating; his Master could be kind - kinder than that little snoot-bag, Hux (Corist Hutt-slime!), at least - but he had rules, too.

Still, Rey ... be OK. OK? Kylo hoped, smiling a little in the gloom of the meditation chamber.

Another of the ripples, almost as far away as Rey, felt ... familiar, and Kylo concentrated; he couldn't really farsee, yet, but he knew that mind, too.

"Master - I think ... my cousin, Jacen, is moving, too. Toward the Deep Core," the boy said, and Master Snoke nodded.

He frowned a little - kind of like he'd stepped in bantha scat - and grumbled, "Ah, yes. The questioning Solo. The ideologue. Monitor him."

"I suspect I know where Solo is being guided to. What he will find will be a far better test of his threat level than any interference we might cause him ..."

-------------------------------------

 

Dang. A Kwa Infinity Gate? Awesome!
Rey surviving on Jakku. That's good.
Jar Jar? Oh dear. Vader put him there? Oh dear oh dear.
Kylo and Snoke? Oh boy. How interesting. What will Jacen see in the Deep Core?

 

Cool thing with the teleportation. And Rey does still have nudges/memories. Kylo's are stronger but he's being dominated and led the wrong way.

Fun cameo appearance there.

**

Loved the interchange between Luke and Mara. They are so themselves - snarky blended with tender in a very unique way.

 

Force Smuggler, Nyota's Heart: Glad you liked it. A few quick replies (I'm still working on Chapter 5, and plan to post it before the end of the weekend):

* A good portion about the gates - at least the versions that the SW characters are familiar with - will be revealed by 'fic's end during Jacen's explorations of

Spoiler

Tython.

.

As for the other variety of gates ... more with those in sequels.

* I'm really glad the L/M dynamic is working. They're a fun couple, and they're both going to be very important to this timeline's future, for various reasons.

* Snoke and the First Order are a long-term threat; they're not going anywhere any time soon, although as of 25 ABY here, they're not ready to strike. (And

Spoiler

unlike TFA, Ilum/Starkiller Base in this timeline isn't going to go poof. I have a BIG action scene planned there in one of the sequels I'm working on.

The Vong War, however, will have some serious effects on the First Order's viability and threat level. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

* Kylo, OTOH - well, he's different than Ben Solo. Some of those differences are going to be highlighted soon ... and he'll get some answers he's seeking. (Maybe not the one's he's expecting, though ...)

* Much more with Rey in chapter 5, as well as her new friend, who'll start the Skywalkers down a path to a very unexpected reunion ...

- Thanks for the replies,
Onderon1

 

A/N: Sorry this is so late. Had a very busy Sunday, but I do have time for a chapter ...

Also, I misposted in the reply above ; more with Rey here, in Chapter 4. Jacen, OTOH, will be more of a focus for Chapter 5, although he'll get a bit here (I've not forgotten about him!

-------------------------------------------
Chapter 4: Jakku, Jakku System,
Inner Rim, Western Reaches:
-------------------------------------------

Mara wasn't terribly happy about their destination, Luke could sense, and he was sympathetic - Jakku was still a paradox for the New Republic.

A desert world, but full of scrap from the final serious battle against the Empire - well, Palpatine's Empire. The Galactic Civil War's death rattle ended here, but the echoes are still haunting, he thought, walking through the "market" at Niima Outpost, the only real settlement on the world.

So were the memories. The Empire had fought tooth and nail to try and cripple the nascent New Republic; while the number of ships lost by the former Rebels paled in comparison to the destruction just months later, during the Nagai-Tof conflicts, the Battle of Jakku had been savage in its own way.

And yet, people are finding ways to survive off of that cataclysm. Jakku's filled with religious exiles, ship part scavengers, the occasional criminal, and the rare explorer of the Unknown Regions, the Jedi Master considered, pretending to examine wares from a water seller.

He wore his traveling cloak against the desert sun, and to disguise his face, while Mara had covered her hair with a scarf (since their wedding, Mara had hardly remained anonymous, although what she could do with a simple disguise was awe-inspiring, like so much else about her). Artoo was back at the Jade Sabre, both because a blue and white R2 unit might be recognized, and the Skywalkers didn't want to risk the more opportunistic scavengers harassing their friend.

The Force wasn't as overwhelmingly bright as on worlds like Yavin 4 or Coruscant, but Jakku still had a presence in the energy field. It was more sparse with so few settlers, and Luke was counting on that to serve as a help - Rey should stand out like a bright star among the desert ...

There's someone here, true, Luke realized, deciding to risk a chat with the local "authorities" - such as they were. There weren't any signs of the constables, though, so Luke headed toward a line of scavengers trading salvage to a male Crolute.

The sense of resignation coming from the various beings was the worst part of it all, Luke noted. These sentients had decided they couldn't get off-world, and/or had their dreams dashed, so they were accepting their fates - and, from what they were getting back from the Crolute in exchange for their work, it wasn't much.

Are those survival rations? That goon is ripping these people off. There are some decent ship parts here, Mara thought angrily over their Force-bond.

I'm not pleased about it either. I hope Rey's been eating better than that for as long as she's been here, Luke replied, noticing the crowd part.

He kept his face impassive as the crowd gave the three new arrivals - dressed in red and green armor, with blasters, and looking fairly better-fed than most - a wide berth. The leader among the group, a Kyuzo, glanced at Mara, then at Luke, and nodded for the Jedi Master to step out of line.

He could sense the constables' wariness, but before cooperating, Luke gave Mara a silent query - these looked like the constables who'd rated a brief mention in the Encyclopedia Galactica entry on Jakku (itself a very sparse bit of info) - and he felt relief when she radiated back an all-clear.

My danger sense isn't spiking, Mara thought, so Luke cooperated, a bit more relieved when the Kyuzo walked with Luke to the edge of the Crolute's stall.

"Constable Zuvio, head of the Niima Outpost Militia. I know all the regulars who come through here ... and I know faces. We're one sun too few for you to be visiting on nostalgia, so I'm curious why you came to the back end of the Western Reaches, Master Skywalker," the Kyuzo said, softly but firmly.

Luke decided to trust his senses - Zuvio seemed honorable and dedicated, if weathered by the difficulties of keeping order in such a lawless place. "I have strong reason to believe that a missing relative of mine may be near here, Constable. She's a young girl, about 8 standard years, named Rey," he said, also keeping his voice low.

A flash of recognition filled Zuvio's eyes, and he nodded to the southwest. "The child, yes. The other scavengers try to look out for her - them, and those Church of the Force devotees down in Tuanul settlement. She lives alone in a ruined AT-AT in the Goazon Badlands. It's maybe a quarter-klick that way. If she's not there, then Tuanul is 2 klicks further. Lor San Tekka's the one in charge -" the constable said, stopping when Luke repressed a gasp.

"Lor?! He's here - it's been more than a decade since I've seen him! I'd feared he'd become one with the Force! Thank you, Constable," Luke said, shaking Zuvio's hand. The other sentient nodded, watching as Mara caught up with Luke - she'd "heard" the entire chat through their Force-bond, and was focused.

You're the one with all the trust in the Force, Farmboy, but I'm starting to believe more and more. Lor San Tekka's probably one of the best people who could've found Rey, Mara thought, still keeping her expression steady - but inside, she was blazing with as much drive and hope as Luke was.

Luke smiled a bit; he'd first met Lor when attempting to find Jedi artifacts in the Core Worlds. A collector, and a high prelate of the Church of the Force - mostly non-Force-sensitives who'd idealized the Jedi Order's tenets, even through the Imperial suppression of Jedi lore - Lor was a native of Delaya, Alderaan's sister planet. He'd revered Leia, and had gladly assisted the Skywalkers and Solos in investigating old Jedi temples and artifacts.

It was Lor who found the first real Jedi temple - on Ahch-To, one of the original Jedi fortress worlds near the Tion Cluster. I was awed to visit it, but it was too small to support a Jedi training facility as large as I'd hoped, and too remote galactically ... or so I thought. I wrote off Tython for the same reason, even though Tionne told me that was the birthplace of the Je'daii, the Order's philosophical ancestors. The Deep Core's gravity spikes make hyperspace travel highly unstable, Luke thought, taking a deep breath as he and Mara headed for their speeder bikes (offloaded from the Sabre).

"You think we should look for Rey's AT-AT, or stop at this Tuanul first?" Mara asked, and Luke concentrated - he could hear someone ... calling?

His Force-sense spiked to the southwest, as Zuvio had suggested, but further, and Luke replied, "Maybe we should check both. I felt -"

His heart leapt as a wordless query, young and unfocused but utterly familiar, rang back, and Mara's eyes narrowed as she gunned her bike.

"The village. Keep up, Farmboy!" she yelled, rocketing across the sands, and Luke didn't bother to hide his grin as he followed.

We're coming, Rey. Just hold on a little longer, he called, following Mara.

-----------------------------------------
Torque, Gordian Reach,
Outer Rim Territories:
-----------------------------------------

Jacen was starting to realize he'd lacked even the basics of a real plan for his "great quest."

Oh, sure, I have a ship and a decent astromech. But I just panicked - I didn't really think when I blasted out of Yavin! he groaned inwardly.

He'd taken one hyperjump, down the Yavin Bypass hyperroute to Torque, the sector capital. A nondescript industrial world, at least it wasn't horribly polluted, and he had enough credits to refuel, get a decent meal, and crash in a ...

Well, calling this dive a motel was being polite, but at least the door locked.

After cleaning up, Jacen had crashed on the bed, dozing for a few hours while his one traveling companion recharged. Mercifully, R2-E6, the teal-and-white astromech who'd been the unfortunate droid assigned to the X-J2 that Jacen had ... appropriated was a kind and quiet sort.

"The problem is," Jacen tried to explain to his new acquaintance (astromechs were smart, and usually loyal, and they might be together for a while), "I had a grand vision of the problem. But I don't know where to go to get a solution. I mean, most of the old Jedi temples are still ruined, or in dangerous sectors."

"Dwooo. Fweep-dweet-bretweedle?" Ee-Six asked, and Jacen considered the question. (Given how often Artoo had visited with Uncle Luke, Binary wasn't hard to understand, although Jacen lacked the fluency that Jaina and Anakin had with the language.)

"Yeah, I'd thought of that too. But the Temple on Coruscant is still unsafe, and that shabuir Fey'lya gets all grumbly whenever Uncle Luke asks to move back into it. Kriffing Palpatine had to take it over and turn it into his filthy palace," Jacen complained, hating how whiny he sounded.

Besides, if I'm cursing in Mandalorian, I'm really out of kilter, Jacen admitted, scowling - he viewed Mandos as either petty thugs or deluded anti-Jedi bigots. (He'd researched the Mandalorian Wars, and was firmly convinced that the Order and the Republic were underestimating the threat from Fett's people.)

He sat cross-legged on the bed and thought - not using the Force or "navel-gazing" (as that blowhard Durron might sneer), but trying to think tactically.

My vision wasn't terribly specific about where to look; it was more a warning than a guide. And I can't slice very well, so hacking a New Republic archive isn't going to help - I butchered that override on the X-J2, and had to convince Ee-Six I needed help. I'm a better diplomat than a scoundrel, Jacen admitted.

From studying with Tionne, Jacen had a short list of known Jedi ruins to investigate. But most of them had been examined by either the Church of the Force, or Jedi Sentinels after Uncle Luke had (wisely, in Jacen's opinion) reinstated the ancient categories of Jedi Knights.

Haashimut is desert, and Ossus is mostly scrubland, with the Ysanna and a few Jedi Consulars helping to maintain the ancient library. Falang Minor's another of the old fortress worlds watching the Tion, but it's almost as empty as Ahch-To - and I'm not even sure there's room to land at the first temple's island, Jacen recalled, trying not to lose hope.

"Ee-Six, did you ever hear anything about the Dai Bendu when you were around the Yavin temple? Maybe if I look up the order's predecessors - I didn't bring a jacket for Ando Prime, though," Jacen worried; he was low on funds as it was, after refueling.

"Bweep? Twee-dweep-bwaat," the astromech replied, activating his holoprojector. Jacen squinted at a map of the galaxy, recalling Tionne's lessons on known or suspected pre-Jedi groups of Force mystics.

The Paladins of the Chatos Academy on Palawa might be a place to start; Kashi and Seyugi, however, were both associated with dark-side groups (the Kashi Mer Exiles and the deadly Seyugi Dervish assassins, respectively), and Jacen had no interest in chancing such worlds. (Besides, Kashi had been wiped out in a supernova around the time of the Old Republic's rise, Jacen thought.)

The origins of the Jedi are so vague - WAIT! I know, Jacen realized, a smile crossing his face.

"Ee-Six, how good are you at Deep Core navigation? I think I know where we have to go," he asked the astromech.

"Fweep!? Dwee-dwoooo ... bweep-twee-dewroot," Ee-Six replied, clearly unnerved, but the response was enough to make Jacen nod.

"Tython it is, then. I know it won't be easy, pal, but it's rumored to be where the Jedi's predecessors really formalized the Order," he said.

-------------------------------------
Jakku: Goazon Badlands:
-------------------------------------

Mara had fought down a seriously ugly swearing streak when Luke suggested one of them needed to check Rey's "home" - she likely wasn't there.

But if Farmboy's wrong and Rey doubled back, then I suppose we need to check, the red-haired Jedi admitted, pulling up to the wrecked AT-AT.

She waved as Luke went on ahead, and powered down her speeder bike - there was a sentient inside the hovel, their mind chaotic but not dangerous.

A roommate? Some kind of guardian? They don't feel like a human mind, Mara considered, keeping her blaster handy. (Of course, her lightsaber was within reach, but she and Luke had agreed that keeping a low profile was the smartest play until they found and got Rey back.)

The very idea of an AT-AT as a child's home repulsed Mara on several levels - her daughter deserved far better, and especially not a stale, military vehicle repurposed as some kind of shelter. But on closer inspection, there was a strange sense of ... positivity from the wreck.

Sure, it was on its side, but there was a very tiny garden - desert flowers instead of vegetables - and a fairly well-repurposed miniature vaparator outside. Given that it was half-buried by the shifting dunes, the place could've been worse.

Mara still steeled herself to strike when she approached the hatch ... but raised an eyebrow at a very unexpected sight in the entryway.

"Hewwo? Rey? Meesa startin' ta see a big light blur," said a Gungan - wearing what looked like a Tierfon Yellow Aces flight helmet.

"No ... my name's Mara. I'm a - visitor. I'm looking for Rey," Mara said, keeping her voice polite. There was something oddly familiar about this Gungan ...

"Oh! Meesa Jar-Jar Binks. Meesa just stayin' outta the sun 'til Rey gets back. She's'a helpin' me. Meesa got frozen by this heavy-breathin' man back on Naboo - he was aanngry, meesa be tellin' you. Then, me no be knowin' how meesa gettin' all the way here," the Gungan said, removing the helmet.

Mara's blood froze - yes, she did know this Gungan, at least by reputation. Palpatine had cackled with delight whenever he mentioned "my kingmaker, Binks."

"Are you ... were you ... Senator Binks? Back during the Clone Wars?" Mara asked, and Jar-Jar's nod made her steel herself.

He felt miserable, though, and Mara knew he wasn't a danger (at least to anyone besides himself). "Meesa gettin' impeached by the Imperials after Lady Padme's funeral. Most'a meesa friends died - knew lotsa Jedi. Good people. Kinda sad, though. Meesa missin' Ani an' Padme," Jar-Jar rambled.

Wait - 'Ani'? Mara wondered, sitting beside the Gungan. Given the timeframe of when Binks had been Naboo's Senator, and the nickname, she wondered.

"You knew Jedi of the Old Order, huh? Who was 'Ani,' can I ask?" Mara asked, smiling despite herself when Jar-Jar brightened.

"Ooh! Heesa the Hero with no Fear! Anakin Skywalker!" Jar-Jar said, happy again for a moment while Mara hid her surprise.

He did know ... oh. Luke's going to be head-over-heels ... but what about ... ? Mara considered.

She'd never really thought, or asked, much about pre-Sith Vader. (It'd generally been a healthier decision not to play "Pester the Dark Lord About his Past.")

"And you knew Senator Padme Amidala, then? Didn't you serve her for a time before you became a senator yourself?" Mara asked.

"Ooh, yes. Lady Padme' was-a wonderful person. Kind, carin' ... but she died, right 'bout when the Jedi did," Jar-Jar said, saddened again.

It wasn't exactly uncommon knowledge - Imperial records contained Palpatine's "eulogy," blaming rogue Jedi for killing Amidala - but something about it all nagged at Mara; it wasn't her danger sense, precisely, but rather her intuition.

The Gungan lowered his voice to a stage whisper, then, and said, "Lady Padme' an' Ani got married when the war broke out. But ... her baby died with her."

Mara was thankful Jar-Jar was still blind from the hibernation sickness, or he'd've seen her go white as a sheet.

Sithspawn ... Luke and Leia suspected Amidala might be a candidate to be their mother, but ... we finally have proof, she realized, composing herself.

"Jar-Jar ... I think we need to talk some more. My full name is Mara Jade -" she started to explain.

She was cut off, though, by a happy burst of Force-energy, and stood, sensing and reaching out to -

He found her, Mara realized, grinning despite herself as she tried not to cry, or hop on the speeder bike and race to her family.

-------------------------------------
Tuanul Village,
Kelvin Ravine:
-------------------------------------

Rey didn't have a comlink, and she didn't trust that Jar-Jar could stay on a speeder bike (not that any of the scavengers had one - she'd thought about building one someday, but it'd take a long time to get all the parts). So, they'd stopped at her home, and she'd left Jar-Jar there with Dosmit.

(OK, so Dosmit was just a doll, but she was a good doll. And Jar-Jar needed to stay out of the sun.)

"Lor?" Rey called, knocking at the old man's door (most of the other villagers were out working their crops or praying at the shrine of the Force).

She had another nudge - whoever she'd felt earlier was getting closer - but she needed to help Jar-Jar now. What if his blindness got worse?

A shuffling noise, and a call of "Just a minute!" made Rey smile - she'd been right, Lor was home. He opened the door, smiling back, and said, "Rey! Child, come in - are you all right?"

"I'm OK, thanks. We found a big haul from one of the old Venators, but there was a carbonite slab and I thawed it and there was a Gungan inside! He's all blind, but he's OK otherwise, and I left him back at my home. Could you help him? Please?" Rey asked.

Lor blinked, and Rey knew she'd run her words together - Lor wasn't that old that he'd misunderstand her. "Let me get my medkit, and start over. Did you say you thawed a Gungan from carbon-freeze? After all this time? Fascinating ..." he said, getting a kit from his closet and following Rey.

"Thank you! He seems nice, and I'd bring him here, but I don't want the sun t'dry him out," Rey explained, leading the way.

She froze at the bottom of Lor's steps - another nudge hit her - and it was someone she knew, pulling up on a fancy speeder bike.

It was a man, in a brown robe with the hood up, and Rey reached out with her feelings - she didn't know how she knew him, but she knew him.

Lor stopped, and Rey could feel his surprise, then his happiness - she looked up at him, and he was smiling - and she looked back at the other man.

"Master Skywalker ... ! After all this time," Lor said.

By that time, though, Rey saw the other man's eyes and heard the name and her mind spun.

There was smoke and flashes of blaster fire, and Nanna was junk, and Jemma yelled, "Get in the pod!", and the Tall Man took Kylo's hand.

But this time, there was green and a big stone building and a green-eyed woman with red hair brushed Rey's hair, and the blue-eyed man laughed, warm.

She knew.

Rey ran, laughing and crying, and met the man halfway to the bike, and hugged him.

"Rey. I'm so, so sorry, honey - but we're here now. Your mom's back at your - shelter - and we're taking you home," he said, and Rey hugged him again.

She had so much to say, and to tell, and to show - but he was here, Luke Skywalker was here, and she could finally say what she'd waited so long to say.

"Daddy," she whispered. "It's OK, don't be sorry."

"You found me. You found me."

----------------------------------------------------

 

Happy, happy wriggles! Oh I loved that! So much.

~!

Luke's gonna be over the moon over talking with Jar Jar too.

 

Thanks. I'm glad it worked; I was trying to capture a moving scene without being sappy.

As for Jar-Jar - well, I'd imagine that at first, Luke will be polite, if a bit bemused? (I'm recalling his laughter behind his hand when Han learned the Ewoks regarded Threepio as a god in ROTJ. )

That said, with what'll be revealed - and who's been keeping secrets from the Skywalkers for decades - things'll change rapidly ... but it may have an unexpected ending.

I'll try to post Chapter 5 some time in the next few days; I'm still trying to pin down Jacen's abilities at this point, and how that'll be affected by what he finds on Tython. (I've also had to work up an explanation for how it could be a semi-welcoming place after the events of TOR and the Darth Bane trilogy ...

- Thanks,
Onderon1

 

Such a great chapter. Rey has been reunited with Luke. Mara met Jar Jar. And knows of him from Palpatine.
Hopefully Lor has more of a role in this story.

 

Force Smuggler: Thanks - I figured that, having grown up in the Imperial Palace during the height of Palpatine's reign, Mara heard things most people didn't even imagine.

Lor will have at least one more appearance, but this (quick ) update is all Jacen; it's not as long as I'd first planned, but that just leaves more for later.

-----------------------------------
Chapter 5: Tython System,
Deep Core:
-----------------------------------

The trip down the Hydian Way had been remarkably fast, although Jacen was as willing to credit Ee-Six as he was the Force (he'd learned years earlier to pilot both with and without the Force, just in case a rogue ysalamir got loose in his ship, but he preferred to use the Force to aid his flight).

It got more important after we jumped out of the Empress Teta system, at the Deep Core's edge, Jacen recalled, stirring himself from a hibernation trance as the X-J2 came out of hyperspace - Ee-Six had handled the hyperjump calculation, and Jacen had felt it best to prepare for the arrival.

What greeted him was a large, if stable, orange star, amidst a sky filled with nearby suns - the bright, dense sky of a Deep Core system. It was awe-inspiring, and Jacen took in the view for a second before asking, "Ee-Six, can you do a stellar survey, please? Basic, but get everything you can."

"Tweep-dwee-pweoo-bweet," the astromech replied over the intercom, and the droid translation screen read, Working on it now, Jacen.

The teen nodded, and after a few moments, the internal holoprojector displayed a surprisingly complicated set of navigational readings, as the X-J2's sensors reported no fewer than 11 worlds in the system.

Of the planets, a robust four were able to support standard life forms, and Jacen nodded as Ee-Six noted, It's hard to pick which one is Tython.

"Going by what scant information was in the Encyclopedia Galactica and the Jedi archives, you'd be right," Jacen said, replying to the print-out of the astromech's words on the fighter's internal screen. "But maybe I can narrow it down a little. Take over for a bit, OK?"

Ee-Six tweedled an affirmative, and Jacen reached out with his senses. From the handful of tales in the holocrons that Tionne and Uncle Luke had recovered, Tython had been described as a Force-rich world, uncannily sensitive to imbalances in the energy field. It should blaze with the Force ...

There, Jacen sensed, picking up a strong Force signature from the fifth planet. He took the controls and nudged the sublights, noticing the world's two moons - one, surprisingly bright, the other almost invisibly dark against the void - during the approach.

Who knows what mythologies evolved from those in the night sky? Light and darkness ... Ashla and Bogan? Could that be where the ancient names for the light and dark sides of the Force came from?! Jacen guessed, amazed at the possibility.

He set the X-J2 into a stable orbit and began mapping, examining the planet with both scanners and the Force. This close, Tython looked bright and green, although there were spots of ugly scars. In the Force, though, there was a vast sense of ... waiting, and untapped power, neither light nor dark.

"Bweet? Fweep-dwoo-pwuet," Ee-Six asked, the question translating to, It doesn't look very dangerous. I'm picking up sizeable life-form readings, though.

"'Sizeable'? As in physically large, or numerous?" Jacen asked, letting the Force guide him while he started the landing cycle; something on the largest continent was drawing him, and he felt it was best to let the Force lead him here of all places.

Numerous. No real sign of cities, though, although there's a very few energy readings that correlate to modern tech, Ee-Six commented with a wary beep.

"Just as long as we don't end up in a swamp, we'll be OK. I'm taking us in," Jacen said, guiding the fighter into re-entry.

He struggled with the stick as the clouds suddenly roiled, and Jacen tried to stay calm. The last thing he wanted was to stir Tython with his feelings.

It's not simple, though. I've got a bunch of complicated feelings going on right now, he admitted, drawing on the Force to balance himself. That only made the weather worse, and Jacen had to concentrate on keeping his feelings steady. After a few seconds, the winds calmed somewhat.

OK ... I'll have to be careful, Jacen recognized, bringing the X-J2 to a safe landing near some ruins. He powered down the fighter and got out, helping Ee-Six down telekinetically, before shucking his flight suit to reveal his basic jumpsuit and start to set up camp.

"Fweep? Dwee-pweep-dwooo," Ee-Six said, raising his sensor dish while rocking back and forth a bit.

Jacen nodded, wishing suddenly he'd kept his lightsaber - but he hadn't come entirely unarmed, of course. "Just keep watch, OK? I've almost got the tent set up," he asked, finishing pitching the survival tent before checking the water purifier and food stores.

That was when the first towering alien - with eyes on stalks, a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and badly cobbled-together metal armor - ran from the woods.

WHOA! Ugly, Jacen thought, his lip curling as he drew his blaster. He Force-pushed the creature, which went tumbling, and a few bolts sent the creature running backward.

Until, of course, the being brought a few friends, and Ee-Six tweedled with fear.

One of the beasts chuckled in a nasty way and called, "Je'daii."

"Yeah - Jedi! I'm not afraid to fight, either. I'm just visiting - we don't have to fight, though," Jacen tried to offer, sensing their hostility and calculation.

The aliens laughed, then snarled, and Jacen shook his head. I can honestly say I tried, he thought, taking aim as the five aliens came at him.

The first fell under a burst of blaster fire, but Jacen didn't rely just on his weapon. A telekinetically-hurled rock slammed into the second attacker, but the other three got into melee range quickly, and Jacen switched to his survival knife.

Try not to kill them, he told himself, hamstringing one of the creatures. It howled, rolling away, but Jacen had to duck as the fourth attacker tried to bite him. He reluctantly stabbed deep into the creature's chest, and raised a Force shield as the fifth alien drew a large, ugly sword and swung at him.

The blow staggered Jacen, but he trusted the Force and drove home an enhanced stab that caught the last assailant just below the sternum. The being wheezed once, then slid off of Jacen's knife, and the survivors ran while Jacen sank onto a chest and breathed heavily.

That ... didn't go as badly as I'd feared, he figured, nodding as Ee-Six rolled over, chirping. Jacen cleaned his knife on the grass, giving the two bodies a disapproving look, and took the lead alien's sword, mumbling, "If they bring friends, this might help ..."

Not so elegant as a Je'daii katana, but the Flesh Raiders make effective weapons, Jacen heard, and he looked up as a Force ghost came into view.

"Master," he greeted, standing and bowing. The man nodded back, smiling politely; he had short black hair and a moustache, and wore simple brown robes.

It's been many years since one of the Order came here, seeking knowledge. You're no longer a Padawan learner, but not quite a Journeyer, not yet, I sense. But to have survived against five Flesh Raiders speaks well of your study and connection to the Force, the ancient Master said, as Jacen stood, awed.

I am Master Ketu, last Grand Master of the Je'daii Order - before it became what Cala Brin and the others called Jedi. I greet you.

-------------------------------------

 

Jacen handled that very competently. Looking forward to what he learns with Ketu.

 

Wow, the Force really connects people more than NOKIA ever could. And one great revelations haunts the next one.

In an earlier chapter Mara does not only meet Jar Jar Binks, but also finds out "Ani" & Padmé.

Luke is reunited with Rey.

And Jacen also bumps into somebody very interesting.

 

Nyota's Heart: Thanks again. There'll be a lot of twists and turns to Jacen's journey - there's a lot on Tython to explore, and this fully intended to be an echo of Luke's training on Dagobah.

Whether Ketu is quite as humorous as Yoda remains to be seen, but he has something of a sense of humor ...

Jacen's been described as one of the better duelists in Luke's Order even from a young age (it probably stems from when his uncle basically possessed him for a few minutes when Jacen was 3, to help the kid fight Sith battle hydras during Exar Kun's rampage ) I figured that he's also a decent fighter across the board - and, his Force connection is described as already potent in Balance Point.

AzureAngel2: Thank you. More with the Skywalkers in Chapter 6, including more about Jar-Jar's past with A/P, and what Artoo's been hiding ...

Meanwhile, Jacen will be getting his first look at the Je'daii philosophy and history, and how that does or doesn't clash with what he grew up with.

- Thanks again,
Onderon1

 

A/N: I'm going to try to update this more often - I've got quite a few stories to tell in this AU, but I want to do them justice, too.

------------------------------------------
Chapter 6: Ruins of Kaleth,
Continent of Talss, Tython,
Tython System, Deep Core:
------------------------------------------

Jacen tried not to gape - this was way beyond what he'd hoped to find, after a thousand-plus generations.

The last Grand Master of the original Jedi!? the teen marveled, trying to compose himself while Ketu slowly smiled.

You honor me, young man. But I daresay my contemporaries would be laughing. My strengths were in coordination and teaching, not tactics, the Jedi - Je'daii, Jacen remembered, pondering the odd inflection to the ancient term - said, seemingly amused.

"I - I'm sorry, Master Ketu. I'm just - I hadn't expected to find any Force ghosts, after all this time. My - admittedly limited - understanding of the technique was that even light-side spirits sank back into the greater Force after some time, unless they had some great mission to accomplish," Jacen asked.

Ketu nodded, his smile fading a bit, but in thought instead of disapproval, Jacen thought. I suspect the technique the Jedi use - used? - is different from how we Je'daii accomplished such ... remaining after our physical forms passed on, he said. I linger on because of balance in the Force, not clinging solely to the light.

Jacen squinted at that, glancing up at the late-afternoon sky; the moons weren't visible yet, but he was starting to get an idea. "Is that part of the difference between the Je'daii and the Jedi? The former sought balance, while the latter championed the light side?" he asked, sitting on one of his survival kit crates.

Ketu nodded again, his expression growing distant in remembrance. The first Jedi were those of my fellows who foreswore the dark side in almost any form, following the horrors of the Force Wars. Before that 10-year cycle of destruction ... war between the light, or followers of the bright moon Ashla, and the dark, or those who followed the shadow moon Bogan, we Je'daii believed in the critical balance between both sides of the Force. Falling too far to the dark leads to destruction; lingering too long in the light blinds and stagnates, he explained, his gaze intense as he met Jacen's widening eyes.

"But ... how could you avoid the dark side's pull? I mean, fear leads to anger, and anger to hate, and ..." Jacen trailed off, feeling small as Ketu half-smiled.

You're not wrong. But there is a place for anger - what drives the law enforcement officer to fight robbers, or the protestor to stand up against unfair taxation? If all one does is shake one's head at injustice and bemoan it, then nothing changes. The "trick," such as it is, is to not obsess over anger, and to avoid letting it become your driving mechanism, Ketu suggested.

He paced, rolling his hand as he continued, When Je'daii fell too far to the light, we sent them to the moon Ashla to ponder Bogan. Similarly, those who fell too far to the dark were sent to Bogan, to consider Ashla. The system worked well for more than 10,000 standard years; the first settlers of the Tython system were brought here by eight large ships, called Tho Yor. Humans, Selkath, Wookies, Twi'leks, Dai Bendu, and many other species intermingled. There were nine Tho Yor - the ninth over Akar Kesh, the Temple of Balance which I oversaw just before the Force Wars - and eight other temples beneath the other Tho Yors. Those born without Force sensitivity left Tython almost a thousand years after the Arrival, and settled many other worlds in this star system.

Jacen was so engrossed that he hadn't realized his jaw was dropping - this was amazing. "The ... the Je'daii began almost 36,000 years ago? I - what you developed, the Force techniques - the intellectual debates - !" he stammered, smiling as Ketu chuckled.

Put that way, it makes us sound as if we had some great, amazing answesr to the questions of the universe. And, to be sure, we plumbed the depths of the Force - carefully, of course. Before the Foree Wars, the scientists of Anil Kesh, over the great Chasm, explored Force alchemy, experiments on non-sentient life forms, which the Jedi vowed never to repeat. "Too powerful and morally risky," they said. Given what befell us, I wonder, Ketu said.

He grew serious, then, looking around the ruins, and Jacen felt an eerie weight of age - the Force was full of echoes here. "Was this -?" he asked.

Kaleth, the Temple of Knowledge. This was our archive, our center of intellectual study and debate. Of the nine Keshes, or Temples, Kaleth was the one that our Journeyers with a love of lore and history enjoyed spending the most time at. When the Force Wars levelled it ... it hurt the most, Ketu sighed.

Jacen felt horrified; so much had to have been lost ... and the Je'daii philosophy was so foreign to what he'd been taught.

But yet - the way Master Ketu describes it, facing one's feelings can be done safely. Still ... maybe the reason it scares me so much is because the Jedi limited their own ability to face the darkness? Is that what I've been looking for? Jacen wondered, feeling overwhelmed.

"Master - would you mind telling me some of the basics of the Je'daii? Where does the word come from?" Jacen asked, and Ketu brightened a bit.

Gladly. The word is from the Dai Bendu language; Je, meaning mystic, and daii, meaning center. We developed our own code, similar to but distinct from that which Cala Brin, Ters Sendon, Garon Jard, and the other original Jedi Masters developed before leaving to defend the galaxy, Ketu said.

He half-closed his eyes, and Jacen listened closely as the Force ghost "spoke," the words rolling from the depths of history:

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

There is no fear; there is power.

I am the heart of the Force.

I am the revealing fire of light.

I am the mystery of darkness

in balance with chaos and harmony,

immortal in the Force.

Ketu opened his eyes, his gaze blazing with certainty and memory, while Jacen examined each line of the Je'daii Code, trying to commit it to memory.

"There's some elements of the classic Jedi Code - the part about knowledge supplanting ignorance - but the rest ... it just proves what I've been feeling. We've lost so much over the millennia. And I'd like to try and recover it, as much as I can," Jacen decided, standing and bowing to Ketu.

The Force shifted, then - not a massive, sudden shockwave, but a subtle thing, and Ketu bowed back to Jacen. I am honored, young - ? he asked.

"Jacen Solo, Master. My grandfather ... was both Jedi and Sith - not the species, but a dark-side sect which grew out of an ancient rebellion against the Order," Jacen tried to explain, while Ketu nodded.

I understand the nuance. Despite never leaving Tython, I'm familiar - unpleasantly so - with the Sith Order. One of them had a base here more than a millennium ago ... but more on her later. We had many members of the Sith species as settlers here on Tython. None of them were prone to the dark side; I recall Sek'nos Rath, one of the Journeyers who was present at the Force Wars' start. He was reckless, but not fallen, Ketu mused, before turning back to Jacen.

As with the later Jedi, we had ranks - Padawans, the youngest learners; then the Journeyers, who would travel from Kesh to Kesh and learn the myriad aspects of the Force; the Rangers, who were the equivalent of the Jedi Knights; Masters; and the Temple Masters. If you are to take up the Je'daii path, you must be willing to travel to the remains of the ancient temples. I will be glad to guide and teach you, but there will be other ancient Je'daii who will assist, the Force ghost said.

Jacen could barely contain his excitement - this is EXACTLY why I came here! he thought - but composed himself and nodded. "Thank you, Master," he said, looking around the ruins. "I was wondering, though ... those creatures, the Flesh Raiders ... do they attack often?"

Fortunately, no. They do have a very annoying tendency to go into hibernation between disasters, or in times of lean food. That's how they've survived for 25 standard millennia, after invading during the Force Wars with their more-intelligent Rakatan cousins, Ketu said, his mouth twisting in distaste.

That made Jacen gawk; he'd thought the Rakata mere myths. "The - Rakata were real? I mean, there were stories in the oldest holocrons - !" he gasped.

Ketu's smirk was unpleasant, even as he gestured for Jacen to follow him toward one of the crumbling stone ruins of Kaleth. Oh, the Rakata were all too real. As we travel, I'll reveal more of this world's history to you - the Force Wars, and the other developments in Tythonian eras - but first, open this stone, he said.

Jacen knelt beside the half-cracked plinth, his eyes widening when he took out an incredibly old, but still active, holocron. "Master Ketu, is this - yours?" he asked, standing, while Ketu smiled kindly and Ee-Six tweedled happily.

I entrust it to you. For 25,000 years, this holocron has sat unaccessed, protected from those who would misuse it. While I might not agree with the Jedi focus solely on the light - if only because it left them unfamiliar with, and blinded to, the threats lurking in the dark - I recognize that the Jedi are our spiritual heirs. And knowledge left to sit is knowledge that does no one any use, Ketu emphasized.

Jacen nodded, smiling a little at how Tionne would be utterly ecstatic right now. He felt sad, then, wondering how the other Jedi - how his family - were doing, but he took a deep breath and focused.

"Thank you, Master. Should I access the holocron?" Jacen asked.

First, you should get some rest, and meditate. You're doing well maintaining your balance - probably because you're only one Force-sensitive and not likely to overly disrupt Tython's Force-balance - but centering yourself will be critical to your first lesson, Ketu said.

You did well against those Flesh Raiders, but you need a better weapon than a blaster or a simple knife. On the morrow, you'll learn to forge a Jedi sword.

---------------------------------------
Tuanul Village, Kelvin Ravine,
Jakku, Jakku System:
---------------------------------------

Mara had taken Jar-Jar with her on her speeder bike, while Artoo flew the Jade Sabre over to the village - made more sense to meet there.

Especially since I've waited long enough, Mara thought, making sure Jar-Jar found a stable seat on Lor San Tekka's steps before turning to see -

She forced down the lump in her throat, but didn't fight her tears as Rey ran to hug her, and laughed that laugh Mara remembered.

"Mommy," her little girl said, looking up at Mara, who tried to find her own words as she ran her free hand through Rey's hair.

"I missed you. If we'd known -" Mara started to say, wishing she wasn't crying, but not caring too much, either - things were better again.

Luke hugged them both, and Mara nodded; things were better - not perfect, not yet, but they were a step closer than they'd been.

She looked at Rey, seeing how the girl had grown, and asked, "You turned that AT-AT into quite the little home, huh? Salvaged a vaparator?"

Rey nodded proudly, while Luke laughed, then looked at Jar-Jar and asked Mara, "Is that the Gungan whom Rey helped?"

"Hewoo," Jar-Jar said, standing. He squinted at Luke, then got wide-eyed, and Mara cursed inwardly - she hadn't had a chance to tell Farmboy -

"Yousa be lookin' like Ani! Yousa gotten the same eyes - Mara, this bein' your husband?" Jar-Jar asked, smiling, and Luke looked at Mara with surprise.

"Jar-Jar Binks was a senator from Naboo, who served with Padme' Amidala. He says that Padme' was secretly married, to Anakin Skywalker," Mara explained, nodding as understanding swept over Luke, and Rey squinted - the girl was as bright as ever.

"But Grampa died, fightin' the Emperor, right?" Rey asked, and Jar-Jar grew even more surprised, as Luke slowly smiled.

"Jar-Jar - Senator Binks - my father was Anakin Skywalker ... but I never knew who my mother was. Could we talk more? Lor San Tekka's asked us to stay for dinner," Luke asked, and the Gungan pumped his hand with happy energy.

"Meesa gotten so many stories! Meesa sad that Ani died, but is-a bein' wonderful findin' his an' Padme's son!" Jar-Jar cheered, hugging Luke.

Mara hid a smile, happy as Rey giggled, and Luke gave them a weak smile, then nodded when Artoo rolled out of the Sabre.

The reaction that the droid got from Jar-Jar was unexpected, though - the Gungan did a double-take, then shouted, "ARTOOIEE!? YAY!"

Artooiee? Mara thought, glancing at Artoo - who jumped, tweedling in panic, then giving a grieved moan when Luke walked to him.

"Artoo, what's going on? Jar-Jar seems nice enough," Luke asked, while Rey chatted with Lor and Jar-Jar hopped from foot to foot with merriment.

"Dwooo ... frweep-dwoo-tweep-bweet," Artoo said; Mara wasn't fluent in Binary, but the tone was clear - the droid wasn't happy to see Jar-Jar.

Luke grew serious, but nodded, softly saying, "I ... think I understand. I don't agree, necessarily, but I appreciate you trying to protect us. We'll talk more after we get back to Yavin. Just - please - when the time comes ... I need to know. No matter how bad it is."

"Tweep ... bwee-dweeopt," Artoo replied, stronger, and Luke patted his dome before walking to Mara as Rey introduced Jar-Jar to the Tuanul residents.

What was that about? Seemed pretty serious, Mara asked over the Force-bond, squeezing Luke's hand - he was still deeply concerned.

Artoo just admitted that he was my mother's droid, before she met my father, and that he served with Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, Luke thought, smiling sadly. His memory was never wiped in all that time ... and he has records of the end of the Clone Wars.

The meaning wasn't lost on Mara, and she looked at Artoo, who cheered up when Rey ran to hug him. "Ah. Which means he knows ..." she trailed off.

"Yes," Luke said, growing sad again, but smiling as Rey chatted with her old friend.

"He's kept silent to protect Leia and I from the truth about what happened to our mother ... and the details of our father's fall to the dark side."

-----------------------------------

to be continued ...

 

The scene with Luke and Jar Jar and R2 - ahhh, R2's reactions are totally a jumble of regret and a heavy burden of details.

Jar Jar will be able to provide happier memories to balance.

~!

Ketu's history and philosophy on the face of things does seem more balanced More realistic to what one faces in everyday struggles and choices. The structure into different concentrations - those who were more warriors versus scholars The Ashla/Bogdan dichotomy is acknowledged and addressed in a sensible fashion.

I think the modern-day Jedi could benefit if the knowledge doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

 

She forced down the lump in her throat, but didn't fight her tears as Rey ran to hug her, and laughed that laugh Mara remembered.

"Mommy," her little girl said, looking up at Mara, who tried to find her own words as she ran her free hand through Rey's hair.

"I missed you. If we'd known -" Mara started to say, wishing she wasn't crying, but not caring too much, either - things were better again.

Luke hugged them both, and Mara nodded; things were better - not perfect, not yet, but they were a step closer than they'd been.


That was a reunion that made me use at least two tissues. I dearly hope that nobody is mad with R2D2 now, keeping certain facts of the past secret for so many years.

 

Nyota's Heart, AzureAngel2: Thank you. I didn't want the scene to be over the top, but Mara does have emotions; she just tends to veil them behind snark when dealing with people outside the family.

As for Artoo ... I don't think anger will be the primary emotion, no. Luke's a pretty understanding guy, while Leia never exactly pushed for details (Tatooine Ghost changed that, of course - and that tale is part of this timeline, AFA I'm concerned). It won't be the easiest scene, but Artoo has happier memories, too.

Without giving away too much, this is headed toward answering one of the great plot loopholes of ROTS:

Spoiler

If Padme' suffered the throat injuries described in the Jax Pavan novels, then how could she have spoken to Obi-Wan at Polis Massa?

And Jacen. Writing Ketu was quite fun; all credit to John Ostrander, Jan Duursema, and their exceptional work on Dark Horse's Dawn of the Jedi series of mini-series for the (too-short! ) origin of the Je'daii and the Force Wars.

There's a lot of fascinating things that weren't specifically detailed, and I plan to explore those (as well as more on the end of the Force Wars, and the rise of the first Jedi).

Long-time EU readers may recall that parts of the Darth Bane trilogy described Tython as a trashed-out, dark-side nexus by the time of Bane's ascension. I have some ideas on how to address the disparity between that (c. 990 BBY) and the time before the Vong War (basically, why does Tython here look much like it does in The Old Republic? Very good question ... ).

- Thanks,
Onderon1

 

I can clearly see that you are a fanfic writer that makes careful & jolly good research.