Beyond - Legends Saga Before - Legends Saga - PT Saga - OT Saga - ST Before the Saga Beyond the Saga Saga - Legends Tales from One Canon

My thoughts exactly, Han. Like Darth Corydon, I'm not sold on having two Bens, but seeing as it's the kind of thing that happened in my former stepfather's family, it's not the weirdest thing for me.

They really are. That goes through my head with every reread.

Sobering chapter, but I still enjoyed reading it. Thank you!

 

This is a very interesting concept that I do plan to have a look at in the near future. Thank you for writing this.

 

Very interesting. I really am enjoying the concepts your pitching thus far. That said, time to have a look at the first piece you wrote.

Interesting how you have Ben being Leia and Han's child. In general I'm finding it interesting how you intend to tie together the Canon and Legends Continuity.

Frankly from one of the other forums, when talk of the Glove of Darth Vader came about, I got some big nostalgia vibes. Definitely wanted to have a look at this fanfic.

Great Worldbuilding here. I definitely can see this happening following the defeat of the Imperial Remnant in Legends. Nice blend of canon and Legends here that I find respects both sources.

I like the reference to bickering New Republic politics that stymied a lot of things ranging from the Vong threat in NJO to the Thrawn campaign and even parts of Darksaber.

All in all, a great first chapter that points to some interesting things to come.

Excellent Work.

 

Just recently read Shatter Point for the first time and all of a sudden in feel like writing a fic about what was going on in Depa Billaba's shattered mind while she was in her coma. Reading these stories has definitely given me a lot of inspiration for such a story.

 

We need more stories set in the immediate aftermath of the NJO series.
The Insiders setting up the future!

 

Greetings.

It's Theodore Hawkwood from the December Review Race game. I figured I'd give your second chapter a looksee again for my next review.

I like how you use the words here and there to describe the edge of the Gravlex Med system and the Chimaera's location. That's a cool bit of writing technique for painting a picture of what's going on at the start of the battle.

Captain Dorja's comments about the single star destroyer to break the deadlock goes to show that the Admiral's plans are not universally agreed with among Imperial officers. This feels very real to me.

I do appreciate how this single line of dialogue shows us the astropolitical situation quite nicely:

The 'Cold War of sorts' does a good job of showing what's happened around the time of Admiral Daala forcibly reunifying the bickering warlords of the Imperial Remnant.

I like how this particular line addresses Admiral Daala's actions during Darksaber didn't quite reunify the Empire as much as she'd hoped. This is, of course, assuming that these are 'canon' to this tale.

I am liking how Pallaeon is a key figure in this particular story, given what I recall about that era of Legends lore. It feels quite true to the story as I remember it all these years later (late nineties and early 2000s were the last time I read anything Legends to a great extent).

This single three sentence line works well to let me know something's kicking off and how that single Star Destroyer is going to play a pivotal role in events to come.

Return of the Chimaera by raiding the scrapyard is an inspired choice. I do think the notion of a psychological weapon like Thrawn's flagship could be most potent if paired with competent strategy. This could prove quite interesting.

Great gesture on the part of the Imperial Remnant. I'm interested to see how you're going to portray Daala in future writing as we go along.

Your line about a 'Cold War' is inspiring some stuff for my own fanfiction universe.

Great Work,

Theodore Hawkwood

 

This was a marvelous chapter. It's always great seeing your work stitching story elements and characters together. This was a superb character piece for Wedge. Judging by your title I assume you'll be telling the story of the GA's gradual unraveling. Here we see them at the height of their cohesion, hunting down the Vong, coordinating the systematic clearing of the galaxy. A shame its all down hill from here.

 

Love this chapter with Wedge in the middle of the action against the Yuuzhan Vong

 

This chapter was fantastic. From the start, I felt like I had opened up one of my X-Wing/NJO MMPBs and could smell the pages as I read off the screen.
I absolutely love what you are all doing in tying Legends and Canon into a seamless and cohesive whole.

That line made me laugh. It's funny because it's true. We write our own histories.

This inclusion made me smile. I don't dislike Nora but she was such a mirror of Iella that I have always been bothered by her in a small way. I'm glad Iella is still his wife. I also don't mind that Wedge feels a little tension even at the mention of Temmin, even if things are "okay" between them now. It's very realistic.

 

Getting real 1945 vibes here. Like the Allies the Galactic Alliance and its associates can see that victory is just around the bend. And, knowing that victory is well in hand, politicking is rearing its ugly head as pre-war grievances reemerge.

Everyone is in character, which is good to see and difficult to manage.

Hera, bless her, is clearly bristling at the idea of cooperating with the Imperial Remnant. Wedge is bristling too, but he's a lot more diplomatic and is able to keep his mouth shut. Hera is wonderful, but she's an idealist through and through. Seeing any form of compromise with the Empire is going to be intolerable for her to manage without at least a few caustic remarks.

 

Read the last line first and now I gotta go back and see how it happened.

 

Honestly, when it comes to longer stories it's probably better that I spoil myself.
Gives me motivation to keep reading when I get winded.

 

Certainly some intresting ideas in here. I can definetly see what a giant amount of thinking and planning was necessary for everything to largley fit. And just how much harder it will most likely become to keep it going with every new publication/tvshow/game that will be released in the time to come. Like who knows what the conculsion of the Mandoverse or these new movies with Rey will introduce. But I guess that is a question you will answer when the time comes.

As for me personally I these days just too many aspects of both canons that I dislike and just generally ignore. Makes the worldbuilding easier.

 

1945 vibes indeed.
The Yuuzhan Vong will be defeated but the Allies aren't fully united.
Daala!

 

That is a poetic sentence. I love it.

I was thinking the same thing--about Fett and about old habits, especially between Hera and Pellaeon. I really enjoyed seeing everyone together (but yeesh that was one large meeting).

Who's the redhead Mando? The only person I could possibly think of is Bo Katan but I don't even know (or can't remember) if she and Wedge ever crossed paths.

 

Daala

 

Approved by Sinre

Going Home The Long Way ‘Round

See General Notes at the end of the story for context.

"The intense gravity of black holes and other interstellar forces cause warps, folds, and buckles in space. Asteroids and spaceships have tumbled into these space warps and have suddenly reappeared millions of miles away."- Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa, The Glove of Darth Vader


“We’ll Just Make Some **** Up!” -Aurelio Voltaire, The USS Make **** Up song.


“Of course I know relying on plot points from the Glove of Darth Vader and Dark Empire to make my blatant retconning work is an obvious way of showing that I’m a hack. What of it?” -Me


“Who knows? Godwilling we’ll all meet again in Spaceballs II: The Search For More Money.”-Yogurt the All Powerful, Spaceballs


All things perish.

The Sorcerers of Rhand posit that entropy is the sole constant in the universe; that all that is shall be consigned to nonexistence given the passage of eternity.

On Tatooine stories are told of the great Sun Dragons that nest in the stars; beings of immense power and wisdom that guarded their vast treasures in the roiling inferno of the star it hid itself in. A young Jedi from Tatooine once beheld a dying star and realized that even the most powerful of entities was at risk of death.

Even stars burn out, and the sun dragons with them.

Some deaths, however, come to pass sooner than expected.

As stars burn out, so too do worlds.

Sernpidal was a small world; middle aged so far as planets go. It had danced its dance with its star Julevia and its two moons for billions of years, spinning and spinning in the void as the universe passed it by.

The years had been kind to Sernpidal, more or less. An atmosphere had come to blanket it, and life had managed to form upon its surface. Beings from elsewhere had come to settle upon it. And though the Sith had claimed the planet as their own twice in eons past, few battles had been fought for control of it.

Sernpidal had continued as it always had, dancing its dance in concert with Julevia and its two moons, largely undisturbed.

It might have continued for billions more, had it not fallen across the path of the Yuuzhan Vong.

For the Vong, like the Sorcerers of Rhand, beheld the darkness of the void and were consumed by it, ignoring all the while the brilliance of the stars. They embraced death, considering the wonders of life an inconvenient distraction from their own obsession with pain. In entropy they wrapped themselves, and in decay they built for themselves a conceited self importance.

Theirs was the great folly of all nihilists; that a thing has no worth if it does not last. And that if something is doomed to perish, it might as well perish now rather than be allowed to expire in due course.

What they did not understand, could never understand in their arrogance, was that all things old give way to all things new.

All things may die. But death is outweighed by new life. And where there is life, there is a chance to continue.

Stars may die, but in their death knell they send out the building blocks of new stars, new worlds, new life.

But no new thing can grow when the cycle is interrupted. To take a life before it has reached its full potential is not to fulfill some inevitable slide into oblivion. It is to rob the universe of all the potential that comes from perseverance.

Sernpidal might have continued on. But the Yuuzhan Vong sank their weapons of war, the Dovin Basal, into its surface. The Basal, part creature, and part device, did the work it had been shaped to do. It sent out its tendrils of invisible power into space, and went to work pulling one of Sernpidal's two moons, Dobido, out of its orbit.

Sernpidal was doomed. Most of its inhabitants were doomed.

Most.

But not all.

In its final hour, outsiders who had never known it would come to Sernpidal’s aid, willing to risk their lives to rescue some of its people as their world entered its premature death throes.

Even in the face of imminent death there were those who saw the worth in continued struggle; those who had fought the cynical forces who sought to drag the galaxy down and make their own darkness the norm.

The Vong would call them fools.

The New Republic called them heroes.

Sernpidal, Dalonbian Sector, 25 ABY

Chewbacca knew his time had come.

This, he thought, was a good death.

The air was growing unbearably warm. His fur whipped in the howling gusts of wind. Buildings crumbled. If the moon did not crush him, the atmosphere might well ignite and incinerate him. Either way, it would be quick and painless. The wind howled, and above that howl Chewbacca added his own defiant roar. Standing on a pile of rubble, battered and bloody, he raised his hands above his head, clenched his fists and bellowed with all his might at the onrushing moon.

He would die as he had lived; without fear.

For in the end, what had he to fear?

He, who had stood by his friends through the darkest nights the galaxy had to offer.

He, who had taken his people’s greatest foes to task and emerged triumphant.

He, who had honored his vows to friends and family and never forsaken them.

His was a good life, labored in a good cause.

He had no regrets.

No regrets, save that Han and his family would no longer have him by their side.

The Falcon was speeding away, teeming with refugees. There were no ships nearby which he could commandeer. And even if there were, he'd never clear the blast in time. Around him others knelt and prayed, awaiting the end. But it didn’t matter. Not to Chewbacca. Han and Anakin were alright. They’d live to fight another day.

Every life saved was a victory.

He had honored his life debt.

The moon loomed closer and closer now, and Chewbacca continued to roar. He slammed his fist against his chest, as if to dare the moon to do its worst.

Chewbacca did not know it, but the Dovin Basal had spent its time embedded in Sernpidal sending greater and greater pulses of power outwards to Dobido, hoping to accelerate the moon’s speed and increase the damage inflicted. Though the Dovin Basal was gone, destroyed by the Mayor of Sernpidal City in a final act of vengeance for his world’s destruction, the gravitational pulses it exerted grew in power and frequency on their own; an echo reverberating like aftershocks through time and space.

And, under the sheer weight of this growing shockwave, normal space-time began to buckle.

Unseen and unheard by all but a few, a higher intellect rendered its verdict.

“Hmmm…good enough. I can work with this.”

The moon blazed above Chebacca’s head. In seconds he’d perish.

There was a flash, a flash brighter than the fiery inferno rocketing towards him.

Sparks of energy danced about Chewbacca. The air shimmered, twisted, and like fabric began to tear.

It…it couldn’t be. To his left, about a dozen meters away, an image of a quiet grassland appeared. It was like a viewscreen, a holographic image of another place, undisturbed by the imminent doom. Above the rumble of the ground and the deafening shriek of the approaching moon and the howling of the wind, a voice echoed through Chewbacca’s mind.

“GO!”

Chewbacca did not need to be told twice. He jumped from the pile of rubble he’d been standing on and landed in a crouch. He sprang forward towards the warp in space and ran. It didn’t matter if this was some fevered hallucination, the culmination of his last neurons firing seconds before his body was rent to molecules.

He had nothing to lose.

The air grew hotter and hotter, and Chewbacca could feel his fur begin to smoke. The air was starting to burn his throat. The roar of the crashing moon was so loud now that he thought he’d go deaf.

There was a terrible noise.

There was a terrible light.

Chewbacca jumped.

Elsewhere, elsewhen.

“Oh, now that is cheating!” Fumed Anger.

“Why? Why do this for one and not for many?” Asked Confusion.

“Pay attention.” Admonished Serenity. “And we might learn.”

Unknown Planet, Deep Core, 25 ABY

Chewbacca moaned softly.

“Am I dead?” He asked himself. He quickly determined he was not. Even as he spoke his voice gave way to a fit of coughing. His fur was unbearably warm. He looked to his right arm and saw some of his fur had been burnt.

He patted away at his smoking arm.

He was not dead. He was bloodied and singed, but otherwise unharmed. This was neither paradise nor perdition.

Chewbacca looked around. It was night. Two large moons hung overhead, bathing the fields of grass in pale white light. Rolling hills and flatlands stretched as far as he could see in the dim light, interrupted only by the occasional tree. In the distance an animal, perhaps a bird, let out a long, lilting call. The grass swayed in the breeze, a soft rustle murmuring through the night.

All was calm.

Where was he?

“The sun rises in the East on this world.” Called out a voice. The same voice Chewbacca had heard before.

He…he’d heard this voice once before this day. Long ago. Before Sernpidal. Ancient, and powerful, and vaguely amused.

“Wutzek?” Chewbacca called out. (1.)

“Travel North until you reach the mountains. To the North and the West of the mountain range you shall find your way back to your friends. If you survive. The odds are not in your favor. But now you have a chance.”

Chewbacca stood, the grass brushing against his legs as he took a tentative step forward. His mind raced with a billion questions and feelings. But he knew he’d get no further information.

In truth, he had not thought of Wutzek in many years.

He had encountered the old Force Demon years before, on a mission with Han and Leia. In those heady days between Yavin and Endor, he had been on hundreds of missions and partook in dozens of battles for the Rebel Alliance. He had seen things most beings would have never considered possible. And Wutzek had been one of them.

A cult known as The Five had somehow managed to imprison Wutzek, and had amused themselves with abducting and killing those they came across.

Chewbacca had freed Wutzek when the Five had taken Han and Leia as captives. And Wutzek had quickly taken his vengeance on his captors, before making his leave for parts unknown. It had been a harrowing adventure. But harrowing adventures were as normal to Chewbacca as a trip to the local store might have been for any other being.

And so, with other priorities, Chewbacca had simply filed away the memory of his encounter with the Force Demon alongside his other, equally esoteric encounters.

Chewbacca was no fool. Though Wutzek had been the cult’s prisoner he was no innocent creature.

Legends said that the Force Demons had ruled the galaxy in ancient times, before the Rakata and before even the great Celestials, amusing themselves as they scarpered from world to world. Chewbacca was grateful for another chance to live, but he knew instinctively that the demon had not done what it had done out of altruism.

Chewbacca turned on his heel in a full circle as he took in his surroundings.

Though it was night, he saw no mountains.

He had a long journey ahead of him.

With a grimace and a low growl Chewbacca made his way over to a nearby tree. After studying its branches for a moment, Chewbacca selected one of the sturdiest of them and proceeded to break it off. He muttered a brief Wookiee prayer as he did so to the spirit of the tree.

The first rule of survival was to find security, shelter, food and water.

The branch would make an acceptable spear shaft.

Now he just had to find a rock and sharpen it for a spear head.

Elsewhere, Elsewhen

“You interfered.” Sighed Sadness, her tone petulant and accusing, lacking her sister Anger’s bite.

Wutzek had no shoulders with which to shrug, nor hands to gesture, but all in his presence could sense the demon’s indifference to their feelings on the matter.

“I’m glad you saved him.” Said Joy, her voice exuberant and bubbly.

Anger glowered at her sister. Joy turned to Anger and cocked her head.

“What?” Asked Joy. “I like the Wookiee. He has spirit.”

Anger turned from Joy to Wutzek. “You broke the rules.” Anger snarled.

“I did nothing of the sort.” Said Wutzek.

“We are not meant to interfere so directly.” Lectured Serenity. “Not anymore. Our time in the material realm is past. Our role is to watch and guide. Not interfere.”

“Says the creature who taught Yoda how to manifest after death.” Wutzek countered, his voice laced with wry amusement. “Let us be honest with ourselves, Cousin. The ‘rules’ as you so quaintly describe them, are littered with loopholes.”

“Yoda could have discovered the means of immortality on his own.” Countered Serenity. “Anakin Skywalker is proof enough of that.”

“You interfered directly in a matter where a mortal could not act on his own.” Anger scolded, the accusative inflection in her thoughts clear.

“Did I?” Asked Wutzek, his tone unimpressed. “Tell me. Did I place the Dovin Basal on Sernpidal?”

“No.”

“Did I influence any of those abominable Yuuzhan Vong, directly or indirectly, to place the Dovin Basal on Sernpidal.”

“No.”

“Did I compel the Wookiee or his companions to make any of the decisions they made?”

“No.”

“And is it not possible then,” Wutzek concluded, his voice dripping with satisfaction, “that a wormhole might have been opened on its own due to the gravimetric stresses inflicted by the Dovin Basal.”

“The odds…” Anger began, bristling in indignation.

“Are irrelevant.” Responded Wutzek, his voice softening as annoyance crept into his aura. “It was possible.”

“He raises a valid point.” Came another voice.

An additional two consciousnesses made themselves known to the Demon and the five Force Priestesses who were one.

“Why are you here?” Asked Confusion

“Why indeed!” Snapped Anger. “Don’t you lot have stories to record?”

“Technically this is not unprecedented.” Said the first consciousness.

“Chewbacca has definitely been exposed to wormholes before.” Said the second consciousness. “As have his associates.”

“It’s absurd.” Anger thundered. “The day the Whills let a Force Demon do as he pleases unimpeded! Why have rules at all if he’s free to do as he wants?”

“The Glove of Darth Vader fell through a wormhole. Palpatine was able to rend the fabric of time when he forged the Dark Empire. And many a portal was formed to and from the Vergeance Scatter.” Said the second Whill, its aura contemplative. “Such phenomenon would not be out of context for Chewbacca to encounter. In this case, a wormhole could have materialized on its own.”

“All Wutzek did was ensure the portal was close enough for Chewbacca to access.” Said the first Whill.

“And alter where the portal sent him.” Countered Serenity. “A truly random tear in space would have sent Chewbacca anywhere in the universe. The odds of it being that planet of all places…”

“Are infinitesimal.” Agreed Wutzek. Had the Demon teeth or a mouth it would bare them as it grinned. “Almost impossible. But not entirely impossible.”

“It could have happened on its own.” Agreed the second Whill.

“And if it could happen on its own, then no rule was truly broken.” Said the first Whill.

“Ridiculous!” Fumed Anger. “Absolutely, patently ridiculous!”

“Indeed.” Agreed the first Whill. “Absolutely sloppy! If I were writing a story and something like this happened I’d be laughed out on my ear. You know, if incorporeal beings had ears.” (2)

“Does it matter?” Asked the second Whill. “Reality is under no obligation to make sense. Sometimes things just happen.”

“Calm yourselves Cousins. Calm.” Said Wutzek, his voice oily with self satisfaction, pleased for the moment that the Whills had taken his side. “It’s not as if I have borne Chewbacca home to Kashyyyk on a soft cushion. I merely turned the certainty of death into the possibility of life.”

Anger’s emotions flared, but before she could speak Wutzek interrupted.

“I afforded him the slimmest chance, Cousins.” The Demon said sharply. He was willing to tolerate only so much from them. “The slimmest chance. I shan’t interfere again. The wastelands he shall traverse are no Chandrilan park. Vicious Wingmaws and Manka cats roam the wastes in search of prey. Chewbacca lives, but he may well perish long before he reaches the ruins.”

“Why save him then?” Asked Confusion.

“He released me from captivity.” Wutzek said. “I disdain to owe any creature a debt.”

“You slew the Five before they could kill the Wookiee’s companions.” Noted the second Whill. “One could argue that you had fulfilled your debt to him that way.”

“Please.” Sneered Wutzek. “I would have consumed those wretches one way or the other. I revenged myself on them to suit myself.”

The Force entities stirred as Wutzek began to dissipate from their senses. It was clear no action would be taken. This time. And the Demon’s interest in the discussion was already beginning to wane.

“Now though…” Wutzek concluded, his voice reduced to the barerst whisper. “Now we’re even.”

“Where has he gone?” Asked Confusion.

“Off to cause more mischief, I suppose.” Concluded the second Whill.

“I hope we see him again!” Said Joy, who hadn’t spoken for a while. “He always finds a way to liven things up around here.”

“Don’t start, please.” Begged Sadness.

Unknown Planet, Deep Core 40 ABY

The years had been…arduous.

Chewbacca pulled his spear from the twitching body of the horned beast (3) that had charged him as he was passing through a valley on his seemingly endless sojourn.

The four legged creatures were herbivores, from what Chewbacca had observed of them, but they were also fiercely territorial and had a tendency to charge anything that got too close to their herd. Its horns were sharp enough to rend the bark from a tree with ease, and Chewbacca had seen the animal effortlessly gore a reptilian predator that had tried to ambush it.

Chewbacca pulled a knife from his Bandoleer and went to work carving off strips of flesh from the beast.

He would not go hungry today.

Chewbacca leaned back his head and took a long draught from the canteen he’d crafted from the bile sac of an Acid Spider he’d encountered shortly after his arrival. He finished his work scavenging the carcass, taking what he could carry with him before continuing on.

He never stayed in one place long.

This place, wherever it was, had sought to grind him down. Beasts that crawled, swam and flew assaulted him almost daily. There was little in the way of shelter a nomad such as he could rely on.

Nevertheless, when the sun had risen that first day, he used it to plot his course North.

North. He told himself. Always North. Every day. Come rain or winds or scorching sun.

He kept moving.

The days bled into one another. His early life on Kashyyyk had taught him well.

He knew which fruits were fit to eat, and which might be poisonous from their coloring.

In his encounters with the animals he encountered, he was able to deduce their strengths and weaknesses, and battle them accordingly.

He was not living, not really. He was simply surviving. Existing.

He was alone, but he did not despair.

Ever onwards he pressed.

What was this wasteland compared with the wilds of Kashyyyk? The fiercest beasts here were nothing compared to the mighty Terentatek.

He took his life in his hands every time he bent by a stream or a lake to refill his canteen. He took his life in his hands with every forest he passed through. But the forest floor of Kashyyyk was no less deadly. He took his life in his hands with every step forward, but that was nothing new.

And so he continued forward.

So long as he lived, so long as he drew breath, he was responsible.

Mala

Waroo

Han

Lowbacca

Leia

Luke

And so many others.

He was as much a part of their lives as they were part of his.

He owed it to all of them to endure.

Even Threepio.

Could it all be a trick? Could Wutzek have plucked him from certain death only to watch him slowly waste away? Could the Demon be watching and laughing as he went? Perhaps. But it did not matter. He’d continue onward.

In truth, he had nothing else to do.

So he pushed North.

And then, one day, out in the hazy distance, he saw them.

Mountains.

Many in his position might have fallen to their knees in shock or relief upon seeing those mountains. They might have given thanks to whatever deity they put their faith in.

Chewbacca continued onwards. He was not safe yet.

The mountain passes were treacherous. Slick with ice, he was assaulted by flying beasts time after time. Each day proved itself a battle.

And each day ended with Chewbacca feasting on the creatures that had sought to feast on him in turn.

The freezing wind burned him as deeply as Hoth once had, but his fur coat, grown long and shaggy from lack of access to real grooming supplies, kept him reasonably warm.

His pace through the mountains was torturous in its creeping nature, but eventually the mountains were to his back.

He did not know what he would find, but he knew that, after so many years of struggle, the first part of his journey was concluded.

On the eighth day of his sojourn from the mountains Chewbacca found the first signs of civilization on this planet.

The ruins were ancient, likely thousands of years old. A village of some sort. Most of the buildings were long gone, but some remnants of a road and the foundations of many small houses were left. Who had lived here, when, and what had become of them, Chewbacca did not know. After a day of searching the area, Chewbacca found nothing of evident use, and decided to move on.

He followed what remained of the road through the foothills of the mountain range.

The day after he departed the village he found the Temple.

At first he mistook it for a monastery of the B’Omarr Monks. The Temple consisted of three equidistant circular towers surrounding a large central building. At the base of the large staircase leading to the Temple’s entrance two decrepit hangar pads, overgrown with moss and vines, provided the only proof Chewbacca had seen thus far that whoever had once lived here had had access to anything approaching galactic levels of technology.

Chewbacca ascended the stairs and entered the Temple. The building was surprisingly intact for a structure that appeared to have been abandoned for centuries. Moss coated the walls and water dripped from a hole in the ceiling as he entered an Atrium of some sort.

“What am I looking for?” Chewbacca asked as he ran his hand across a moss covered door at the far end of the Atrium. His hand came away green, and he noticed, beneath the moss he’d removed, there was a symbol.

Chewbacca wiped away more of the moss until he could see the image beneath.

It was old. The paint was faded and chipped.

But it was still there. A living sunrise, a winged blade of light.

The Jedi crest.

This was a Jedi Temple.

Chewbacca slammed his spear to the ground and roared with triumph.

A Jedi Temple! This was his way home!

But how? Chewbacca scoured the Temple for days in search of something he could use to call out for his friends. He knew the chances of any machinery still being functional were nearly non-existent, but if anyone had built something to last, it would be the Jedi.

Unfortunately his initial suspicions were confirmed; the Temple had been gutted. Its inhabitants had taken most of the higher technology with them when they’d departed. What remained had long since been corroded down to rust and dust.

A technological answer was off the table.

But that did not mean he was out of options.

Behind the Jedi Temple, in a small courtyard, stood an old, worn down Uneti tree. Its bark was hard to the touch, its branches creaked and groaned in the soft breeze. Chewbacca could not touch the Force, but he knew instinctively that the tree was ancient.

Luke and Lowbacca had spoken often about the Uneti tree. Trees held a great deal of importance in Wookiee culture, and there was much overlap in philosophy between the idea of Force sensitive trees and the spirits of nature said to inhabit the Wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk. An Uneti had been planted near the Praxeum on Yavin IV. The two Jedi had claimed that they could feel the Force flowing more strongly through these trees than they did through others of a similar kind.

Admittedly, Chewbacca did not entirely understand how a tree could be Force sensitive. But he did not need to understand it. He trusted the evidence of his own eyes.

The Force could do the impossible.

Chewbacca knelt by the tree and placed his palm on the trunk. It felt like any other tree. He didn’t really know what he was supposed to do. Or if there was anything he could do.

“I’m here.” Chewbacca said softly, not knowing even now where precisely here was.

Who was he calling to? Who could hear his call?

“Luke. Lowbacca. Leia. Mara. Anakin. Jacen. Jaina. Ben. I’m here. Please. I’m alive. Find me.”

Chewbacca looked up. The Uneti tree’s leaves rustled in the breeze.

“Tell Mala. Tell Han. I’m alive.”

“Find me.”

Jedi Academy, Ossus, 40 ABY

Thrust. Slash. Parry. Parry. Lunge. Strike. Strike High. Strike High. Riposte. Strike Low.

Ben Solo grit his teeth as he pressed the attack. He could do this. He had to do this.

He had to prove himself.

But he miscalculated. He overstepped. His rival had lured him in.

With a deft twirl of his saber Hennix redirected Ben’s thrust and knocked the blade from his hand.

Ben watched his saber fall to the floor and held up his hands as his opponent pointed their saber at his chest.

“Alright, I yield.” Ben said.

The Quarren Padawan extinguished his blade and bowed his head.

Their spar was concluded.

Point Hennix.

Again.

Hennix reached out with the Force and summoned Ben’s lightsaber from the ground. He casually tossed it to Ben, who snatched the saber from the air with an aggressive flourish. He looked down at the lightsaber and grimaced.

Still not good enough.

“You nearly got me there Ben.” Hennix said jovially, clapping Ben on the shoulder as the two approached one another. “You’ve just got to center yourself more.”

Ben nodded, forcing himself to smile as he affected a genial expression at his fellow student.

A quiet, secret part of himself seethed.

Disarmed by some apprentice. Jaina was the Sword of the Jedi. Anakin was a war hero, a martyr.

And Jacen…

No one liked to talk about Jacen anymore.

Even though he’d done so much.

They’d all made something of themselves, for better or worse. Gone so far.

And here he was.

An apprentice.

A struggling apprentice.

A sharp roar jolted Ben from his thoughts.

With Uncle Luke offworld Lowbacca had been assigned to teach Ben and his twelve classmates until the vaunted Jedi Master returned.

Uncle Luke was always busy.

Just like Mom and Dad.

He’d be further along in his training if they’d pay more attention.

“Good Work. Now go again.” Lowbacca said encouragingly, gesturing for Hennix and Ben to return to the training circle.

The two Padawans returned to the sparring ring. But as Ben brought his saber into the defensive guard his arm suddenly went slack. His lightsaber swung down and nearly slashed into the floor.

“Ben?” Hennix asked, blinking in confusion. “You alright?”

Ben wasn’t paying attention. For a moment he really wasn’t there.

A mountain range.

Strange creatures.

An old Temple.

“I’m alive. Tell Han. Find me.”

“Chewbacca?” Ben asked, his eyes widening in recognition.

Lowbacca roared, his great paw clutching at his head as he stumbled backwards.

Ben turned to Lowbacca and leapt forward, placing his hand on the Wookiee’s large arm to steady him.

“Hey, it's alright.” Ben said, tugging on Lowbacca’s tunic to turn him in his direction. “Did you see what I saw?”

“Uncle Chewbacca.” Lowbacca murmured. The Wookiee Jedi paused, took a breath, and looked steadily into Ben’s eyes. “He lives.”

“But how?” Ben asked. “Dad and Anakin were so sure he didn’t get away. Even Uncle Luke said he felt him pass in the Force.”

Lowbacca shook his shaggy head. “I don’t know Ben. But I knew my Uncle. All creatures are unique in the Force. I know my Uncle, and that was him. He’s still out there.”

The Jedi Knight turned and left the hall. Ben followed after him, not bothering to look back at a rather confused Hennix, who had sensed nothing.

“Wait! Hey!” Ben called out as he followed Lowbacca. But Lowbacca refused to slow down, his great long strides forcing Ben to jog to keep up.

It wasn’t the first time he’d had to work to get someone’s attention, he thought bitterly to himself.

“So what’s the plan here?” Ben asked.

“Find Han. Find Master Luke. Tell them.” Lowbacca grunted sharply, refusing to break his stride for a moment.

Ben grimaced as Lowbacca continued on his march. “Hey! Wait a minute!” Ben demanded, his voice rising higher than it probably should have.

Lowbacca did stop though. Ben pursed his lips, wincing at the momentary loss of composure. But he set that aside for the time being. He knew he had only a moment or so to make his case. Wookiees were notoriously stubborn when they’d made up their mind on something.

“Look, I get it.” Ben began, gesturing emphatically towards himself. “I get wanting to do something. Believe me, I do.”

Ben paused, disgusted at the maudlin tone his voice had taken. He steeled himself, and pushed forward. “But Mom, Dad, and Uncle Luke are off in the Chiloon Rift right now, and comms to that area of space are difficult at best. We don’t have time to waste asking them for guidance. If Chewbacca’s out there he needs us now.”

“But we don’t even know where he is.” Lowbacca countered. “Master Luke might help us decipher our vision and pinpoint where it is coming from.”

Ben shook his head. “Knowing him he’d probably say we were misinterpreting the vision, or that an enemy was sending us a false vision to lure us into a trap. And dad wouldn’t want to hear anything about this.”

After all these years, he probably wouldn’t want to get his hopes up.

Lowbacca growled. “Even more reason to find out what’s going on.”

“Why don’t we go to Master Tionne?” Ben suggested. “Maybe she could help us decipher our vision.”

Lowbacca nodded his head sharply and turned to find the New Jedi Order’s most prodigious scholar. Ben followed in his wake.

The two left the Temple walls and traveled into the nearby forest. There, sitting cross-legged on a large, flat rock in a clearing, sat Tionne Solusar. The Jedi Master had her old double stringed viol resting in her lap. Her eyes were closed as she strummed the strings, allowing the music to echo dimly and resonate through the clearing.

Tionne opened her eyes at their approach and smiled. “It’s good to see you both. What can I do for you?”

Her smile disappeared though as the two explained their vision.

“A temple with circular towers by a mountain range?” Tionne mused. “It sounds like the main Temple on Tython.”

“Tython?” Ben asked.

“Yes.” Tionne said. “Your description of the Temple sounds like a match for the old Jedi Temple built after the Great Galactic War, when the Order relocated back to Tython from Coruscant.”

Tionne reached down and towards a bag she had left at her side and pulled out a datapad. She clicked a few buttons to connect the pad to the database in the small Jedi Archive at the Temple. She began idly flicking through the menu of data-points before finding what she was looking for. She turned the pad over to Ben.

“Was this what you saw in your vision?” She asked.

Ben’s eyes widened. The Temple displayed on the datapad was in much better condition than the one he’d seen in his vision. But he had no doubt that the two were one and the same. The mountain range, identical in both the picture and the vision, confirmed it.

Ben showed the image to Lowbacca. “This is it!” Ben exclaimed, his excitement rising.

“I’ll leave immediately.” Lowbacca said. Tionne rose from her seat on the rock.

“Lowbacca, wait.” Tionne said. “I know you want to believe that Chewbacca is out there. But the chances are higher that this is a trap of some sort.”

“Which is why I’m going alone.” Asserted Lowbacca.

Ben rounded on Lowbacca, blocking the Wookiee’s path out of the clearing. “I got that vision as well.” Insisted Ben. “It was meant for me as much as it was meant for you. I can help.”

“I know you can Ben.” Lowbacca said. The Wookiee Jedi knelt down and placed his paws on Ben’s shoulders, giving them a soft shake.

“You’re going to be a great Jedi, Ben.” Lowbacca said. “But you’re Master Luke’s apprentice. It’s not my place to bring you into harm’s way.”

“Uncle Luke and I have gotten into plenty of dangerous situations before.” Ben asserted, his thoughts of their confrontation with the Knights of Ren on Elphrona burgeoning to the forefront of his mind before he ruthlessly suppressed it. If he thought of that then other thoughts might appear. Thoughts he didn’t want others to sense.

“I know you have.” Lowbacca insisted, his voice taking on that relaxed, calming tone that Ben secretly despised. He felt like a child being lectured.

“But if Master Luke wants you to stay here with his other apprentices, then that’s where you need to be.”

“You went on wild missions with Jaina, Jacen and Anakin all the time when you were apprentices.” Ben said, unable to keep the unspoken accusation from dripping into his voice. “Uncle Luke is always saying to follow the Will of the Force. The Force sent us both a vision. It feels right.”

Lowbacca’s shoulders drooped. “Are you so insistent on coming along because this is what the Force wants? Or are you so insistent because this is what you want?”

“What does it matter?” Asked Ben, his frustration mounting. “How can I become a Jedi if I’m only let out of the Temple under Master Luke’s supervision? How can I grow in strength if I’m not made to confront real danger? You and the others never played it safe.”

“We were young and foolish. Trying to emulate us is not the ideal means of becoming a Jedi.” Lowbacca admonished.

Ben felt his face grow warm as his ire rose. He wasn’t being taken seriously. Again. “Everyone tells me how much potential I have. But every time I try to find a way to tap into that potential I get treated like a fool who doesn’t know what they’re doing. Let me learn! The only way I can really become a Jedi is with some in field experience.”

Lowbacca looked away, his expression wracked with a sudden, remembered pain. “I don’t know if I could face your parents if something happened to you.” He confessed.

“I can manage.” Ben insisted.

“I know that you’re resourceful and strong in the Force.” Lowbacca asserted. “But Anakin and Jacen are dead. I don’t know what would happen to your family if something happened to you as well.”

“So their fear keeps me from realizing my own potential?” Ben challenged. “Your fear keeps me from testing my abilities. How is that fair?”

“I don’t have an answer for you.” Lowbacca admitted. “But this is something I have to do. It’s not something you have to do.”

“You just don’t think I’m good enough.” Ben asserted.

Lowbacca closed his eyes and sighed before opening them. “I’m sorry if you felt excluded when you were younger. And I’m sorry that I have to leave you behind now. But Tionne is right. If Master Luke was here he’d be right too. I want to believe that this is Chewbacca. My instincts tell me that this is truly him. But the odds say that someone is trying to lure a Jedi to their doom. Tell them when they return. Tell them I’ve gone to Tython.”

“I’m not a child.” Ben insisted. “I’m not some errand boy to be left at home to relay messages.”

“Learn patience, Ben.” Lowbacca insisted. “We all want what is best for you. But we are not the obstacle you think us to be. Your emotions roil like a tempest. When you are calm you will find a way forward. May the Force Be With You.”

Lowbacca stepped past Ben and left. Tionne and Ben watched him leave. After the Wookiee was gone Tionne reached out her hand to touch Ben’s shoulder, but Ben jerked away from her and marched sullenly back to his hut.

“Ben!” Tionne called out. “Ben, please, let’s talk!”

But Ben didn’t listen.

How dare they? How dare they act like he was the problem? How could he not be frustrated? He was always at the bottom of everyone’s list of priorities, if he was even on the list at all. He was always at the end of the line. There was always something more important than him to focus on. They said separating him from his brothers and sister was for his own safety, but they’d been given a freedom he’d been denied. And that freedom had brought them power.

“you deserve better.” Came a soft, deep, rasping voice.

A familiar voice.

Ben stopped in his tracks. He looked around. He was in the middle of the forest. No one had followed him. He was alone.

But that wasn’t exactly true.

He was never alone.

Not anymore.

“I get that they think they’re protecting me. But I feel like I’m drowning under their weight. If they really want what’s best for me then why don’t they take what I say seriously?” Ben confessed, his voice drifting on open air.

“it seems that they are more concerned with what they think is right for you than what you think is right for you. but you have a choice as well. and you will have to make it soon.”

The voice echoed, not through the air, but through the confines of Ben’s own mind. His sole outlet for his darkest thoughts. His confidante.

His only friend.

“Thanks Snoke.” Breathed Ben, his tone soft as the last shreds of doubt were burned from his mind. “It can’t happen soon enough.”

Tython, Deep Core, 40 ABY

The days at the Temple fell into a predictable rhythm. In the mornings Chewbacca rose from his sleep and sat by the Uneti tree, hoping perhaps that his proximity would trigger some echo in the Force that might be felt by his friends. After an hour or so by its side he would go into the nearby wilderness and hunt for food. By night he camped in the ruins of the Temple, grateful for some real shelter after so many years spent precariously perched in branches or hiding in caves.

On the fourth day after he found the tree, the first shadow of real doubt gripped his heart.

Could they hear him? Were they still alive to hear him? Was he being foolish?

He knelt, listening to the distant calls of birds and shook himself from his mental stupor. He couldn’t allow doubt to take hold of him now. He’d survived. He faced dozens of animals that had tried to do him harm and emerged triumphant. He’s traveled hundreds of kilometers on foot, battled the elements and endured everything this planet had thrown his way.

He was alive.

He just had to keep his patience.

They’d come for him.

And then, he heard it.

It was low, barely a murmur, but it grew steadily.

Louder, and louder.

A dull roar.

It was not the song of a bird or the cry of an animal.

It was decidedly artificial.

The roar of an engine.

Chewbacca’s head snapped up, his eyes scanning the sky.

And his faith was rewarded.

A small shuttle came hurtling down from the sky. It shot over his head, descending rapidly towards the old landing pad in front of the Temple. Chewbacca shot to his feet, spear in hand, and ran towards the shuttle.

He rounded the Temple, crested a hill and reached its summit in time to see that the shuttle had come to a landing. Its ramp quickly descended, and a Wookiee charged down the ramp.

A Wookiee with a lightsaber hanging from his Syren fiber belt.

Chewbacca hefted his spear over his head and roared in triumph.

“Lowbacca!” He cried, throwing his spear to the ground before descending the hill to approach his nephew.

Lowbacca stood at the foot of the ramp, his eyes wide as his hands hung limply by his side.

Chewbacca bounded forward, coming to a halt as he saw the indecision in Lowbacca’s features.

“Uncle?” Lowbacca asked, his voice soft. He shrunk away for a moment.

Could this still be a trap? A clone? A replica droid of some sort?

Chewbacca cocked his head to the side, realizing that his nephew could not entirely believe the evidence of his own eyes.

It made sense. If their roles were reversed Chewbacca would have had a hard time believing anyone had survived what he’d survived.

The older Wookiee quickly determined what he could do to prove his identity. “Do you remember your rite of passage?” Chewbacca asked. “You harvested the fibers of the carnivorous Syren plant to prove that you were worthy of being an adult.” Chewbacca pointed to the belt hanging around Lowbacca’s waist. “You wove the fibers into that very same belt.”

Lowbacca’s eyes narrowed. This person, who looked like his Uncle, sounded like his Uncle, smelled like his Uncle, and shined in the Force just as his Uncle had, was trying to convince him that he truly was Chewbacca. It was true that he had hoped to find him, as impossible as his task might have seemed. But he was not so desperate that he would allow hope to blind him.

Jedi could be deceived by imposters.

“I remember it well. You told me to weave the fibers into a Bandoleer.” Lowbacca said.

Chewbacca grinned. Lowbacca was clever to be cautious, trying to deceive him to determine if he truly was Chewbacca. “I said no such thing. I told you to make it into a sling for a bowcaster.”

Lowbacca’s eyes widened. Chewbacca had been the only person he’d ever spoken to about what he’d planned to do with the Syren fibers. No one else had been privy to their conversation.

“Uncle Chewbacca?” Lowbacca asked.

“I know.” Chewbacca said, spreading his arms wide. “It’s hard to believe. And it's a very, very long story. But it really is me.”

Lowbacca leapt forward and embraced his uncle.

After so many years, the two were reunited.

After what felt like an eternity, the two Wookiees broke their embrace and looked at each other.

“I’m so glad to see you!” Chewbacca said. He looked over Lowbacca’s shoulder at the small, nondescript shuttle he’d arrived in.

“You came alone?” Chewbacca asked.

Lowbacca took a half step back. There were a half dozen questions that he knew were on his Uncle’s mind.

“Han, Leia, and Luke are out on a mission.” Lowbacca explained. “Off near the border of Wild Space. Comms out there are tricky. Ben Solo and I heard your call, and we decided not to waste any time. It’s possible they might not have heard you as we did.”

Chewbacca let out a breath he realized he’d been holding in. It was good to hear that Han was alright. After so many years, it was possible something could have happened to him.

“And the others? Is Mala…”

“She’s alright.” Lowbacca said, reassuringly. “Waroo too. They’ll both be so happy to see you.”

Chewbacca’s eyes narrowed. His nephew’s enthusiasm seemed abruptly muted. He appeared to suddenly be anticipating something, and dreading it. He wasn’t telling Chewbacca everything.

Lowbacca looked away briefly before looking back to his Uncle.

“Much has changed.” Lowbacca admitted.

Chewbacca nodded. “How long has it been?”

“About fifteen years, Uncle.”

Chewbacca closed his eyes and winced. He knew he’d been gone for a great deal of time. To have a solid number attached to his exile only reinforced the depth of his isolation.

“So much time lost.” He whispered. “So much I have to make up for.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t your fault, Uncle.” Lowbacca began. But Chewbacca held up his hand.

“What else?” Chewbacca asked. “Why are you the only one here? I called out to everyone I could think of who could wield the Force.”

Lowbacca said nothing. The two stood, silent. Somewhere a bird began to chirp. All seemed peaceful. But Chewbacca didn’t need the Force to see that his nephew was suddenly filled with a sense of anguish.

“Anakin’s dead.” Lowbacca confessed. “Killed by the Yuuzhan Vong, the monsters who caused Dobido to crash into Sernpidal.”

Chewbacca staggered back as though struck. Han’s son, who’d been like another nephew to him.

“There was a war, shortly after you vanished.” Lowbacca explained. “The Yuuzhan Vong came from another galaxy and sought to take ours for themselves. It was…horrific.”

“When did Anakin die?” Chewbacca asked.

“About two years after you vanished.” Lowbacca said, his tone flat and decidedly devoid of emotion.

“If I’d been there…” Chewbacca began.

“There is no point focusing on what might have been.” Lowbacca said sharply. “What happened, happened. It was not in your power to fix. Nor was it in mine.”

“What else?” Chewbacca asked.

Lowbacca winced. “Perhaps you should take a moment to accept what I’ve just told you before I say more.”

“No!” Insisted Chewbacca. “I am not some frightened pup! If there is more to say you will tell me now.”

Lowbacca closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “So be it.”

Lowbacca turned his back on his uncle. He took a few steps away, preparing himself for what he had to say.

“The war was long and brutal. They say it was the worst war in recorded galactic history, but we emerged victorious. A Galactic Alliance was forged to unify the New Republic, the Imperial Remnant, and an assortment of other smaller interstellar powers. We were triumphant, but not unscarred. Jacen was captured by the enemy. He was brutally tortured. He was never the same. He fell under the influence of a Sith, who had allied with the Vong. He fell to the Darkside and became the Sith Lord Darth Caedus. He murdered Mara Jade Skywalker, and took over the Alliance. Jaina killed him.”

Each sentence proved itself a body blow.

Jacen, a Sith?

He had always been such a cheerful young boy, a font of jokes, a soft hearted animal lover.

And Jaina.

She had been forced to kill her own brother?

The two had been inseparable.

And Anakin was dead.

Oh Han. Oh Leia. How they must have suffered.

Chewbacca felt a wave of shame pass over him.

“If I’d only been there.” Chewbacca said again.

“You aren’t responsible!” Said Lowbacca, his voice a low, insistent growl. "Anakin died a hero. And Jacen..." Lowbacca shook his head sadly. It was something he'd gone over time and time again in his own mind and with his surviving friends. "Jacen made his own choices. We tried to be there for him. I did. We all did. It didn't change anything."

Chewbacca threw his head back and let out a roar of frustration.

“I swore a Life Debt.” He howled. “Han saved my life and I was honor bound to be by his side. I’ve failed. Two of his children are dead! Had I been there I could have lent my own strength to theirs. Anakin might have lived. Jacen might have never fallen! And all the pain Han and Leia must have gone through would have been avoided!”

Chewbacca surged forward toward the shuttle.

“Take me from this awful place! We’ll talk more on the way. I’ve wasted enough time as is.”

Lowbacca watched his Uncle stamp his way up the loading ramp and followed in his wake.

He was happy that his Uncle was truly alive and well, though he was still unsure how such a thing was possible. But he knew the trip would be tense.

Red Ronto Cantina, Brink Station, Chiloon Drift, 40 ABY

The cantina was loud and boisterous with the sounds of celebration.

Han smiled as he nursed his drink. Leia was by his side, chatting happily with Jaina and Jag. Across the bar Luke, Ben Skywalker, and Lando were huddled together, discussing Lando’s planned return to Passana. Fewer things these days were able to pull his old friend from his vigil there. And it was obvious from Lando’s hunched posture that he was eager to return.

Han looked down at his drink, feeling slightly guilty. The urge to help his friend find his daughter remained, but after so many years of looking Lando had finally convinced Han that this was something he had to continue doing on his own. The old Baron Administrator couldn’t ask his friend to waste his life on what was, regrettably, becoming a terrible wild bantha chase.

Han understood Lando’s pain to an extent. A father being unable to help their child was a pain Han was all too familiar with. But Anakin and Jacen were dead. With death, he thought morosely, there came a certain closure.

Lando didn’t really know what had become of his daughter.

It was hard for Han to admit, but in his own life things felt…good. The Qreph brothers had been stopped. It was, all in all, a suitable final adventure to cap off his long career.

The truth was, he wanted to retire. He’d wanted to retire for a while now. And this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

He and Leia had discussed it often; taking off in a ship and cruising the galaxy. No wars, no plots, no meetings. Just the two of them.

He’d had similar thoughts before. Thoughts of a life free of the responsibilities he’d taken. He wanted to start over and put all the battles behind him.

That mentality had been part of the reason he’d suggested getting married to Leia a second time. He’d been ribbed mercilessly by the Rogues for that, but he’d liked the idea of renewing his vows. During the period after their first wedding their lives had been so consumed with war and politics that they’d rarely had time to truly be a couple. The second marriage had been his way of trying to show Leia that he really wanted to make their relationship, their family, work.

He knew Leia had appreciated the gesture and what it had meant, but life had never slowed down for either of them.

Now, though, now that they were getting on in years, Han had begun to seriously consider a normal life again.

They’d discussed it prior to Leia’s resignation from the Senate, and Han thought now was the best time to finally push forward with the plan.

Han looked over to Jaina and smiled. He knew she was too busy with Jag and as a Jedi to want to wander the stars with her old man. He glanced over at his nephew Ben and felt a twinge of guilt.

But maybe he could convince his Ben to come along with them, if only for a little while.

They’d had their own adventures together, he and Ben. But those times were few and far between in the final analysis.

He could still make up for lost time.

He stared down at his drink, trying to concoct a way of broaching the idea with Leia. He’d initially portrayed his scheme of running off with her as a romantic getaway, but he thought the idea of a family trip had an appeal of its own.

As he considered what he’d say, he suddenly noticed that the cantina had fallen silent.

Someone gasped.

Han looked around to see that everyone was staring at the entranceway to the cantina. He turned to see what everyone was staring at.

Lowbacca was standing there, accompanied by…

Han stood from his bar stool, his hand drifting to the DL-44 at his hip. Leia’s hand went to his arm, her eyes wide as she stared.

“Han.” She whispered. “It’s…”

“No.” Han snarled, his voice low and filled with anger.

Someone had a sick sense of humor. That or they thought he was stupid. Either way, when he found out who it was he’d knock their teeth out.

He’d traveled from one side of the galaxy to the other; from Kal’shebbol to Belkadan, and from Coruscant to Teth. He’d seen a lot in his time. Clones, cyborgs, replica droids, holographic disguises. Hell, he’d just dealt with the Qreph brother’s own biots, which could be built to take on anyone’s appearance.

He couldn’t be tricked so easily.

The fake thing (because it had to be fake) stood there solemnly and watched him approach. Han stared up at it. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be.

He couldn’t let himself believe…

“During our job with Beckett, he beat me in a game of holochess aboard the Falcon. I didn’t much like losing. I still don’t. But Beckett told me all I had to do to win was think a few moves ahead and anticipate my opponent.”

Han’s hand fell from his blaster. Han, Chewie, and Beckett had been the only ones in that room when he’d said that, and Beckett was dead. They’d never had cause to repeat that encounter to anyone. Neither Qi’ra, nor L3, nor Lando, who had been onboard with them, had been in a position to overhear them.

“Chewie?” Han asked, his inner barrier crumbling as he allowed himself to actually feel a small flicker of hope.

“Hi Han. It’s been a while.”

The two stared at each other. Han ran his hand through his graying hair as he looked at…at Chewbacca. His fur was longer than it had been, coated in dirt and grime. He looked much thinner. Wherever he’d been, he hadn’t been eating well.

Finally, Han broke the silence. “You look terrible.”

Chewbacca laughed and grabbed Han in a tight embrace that lifted the old man off the floor. Han found himself laughing as well. As Chewbacca set Han down, Luke and Leia approached. Chewbacca leaned forward and embraced Leia, then Luke.

“I should have known it would take more than a moon to kill you.” Leia joked.

“But how did you get off Sernpidal?” Luke asked. “I thought I’d sensed your death.”

“You probably sensed my disappearance.” Chewbacca said. “It’s a long story. Buy me an ale and I’ll tell it the best I can.”

Han put his hand on Chewbacca’s arm. “It’s good to have you back buddy.”

Chewbacca placed his hand on Han’s. “I’m back, and this time I’m here to stay. No matter what.”

General Notes:

1. The character of Wutzek, The Five cult, and Chewbacca’s encounter with both occurred in The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 151, written by Alan Moore as part of the Marvel Star Wars UK series. The story was published in November, 1981. The specific story was called the Pandora Effect.
   
   
2. The Characterization of the Whills is derived from their discussions and arguments with one another in the “From a Certain Point of View” series
   
   
3. The creature Chewbacca fights is a Uxibeast, a creature native to Tython, appearing in Star Wars The Old Republic MMO

Yeah, I know, I went the supernatural route. It’s lazy writing. I own up to it.

But, rereading Chewbacca’s death scene in Vector Prime, it's painfully obvious that Chewbacca wasn’t getting off Sernpidal on his own. Anakin Solo’s thought process makes it clear that if they didn’t leave right that second they were all dead from the shockwave of the impact, even with the Falcon’s shields. And Han was watching Chewbacca stand there until he couldn’t see him anymore. So that doesn’t lend credence to the idea that Chewbacca hopped on a nearby shuttle and took off and made it off the planet. So I went the supernatural route. Feel free to roll your eyes all you like. I tried to justify it the best I could to at least make it consistent with the supernatural elements introduced in various stories.

I went with the idea of having Lowbacca be the one to save Chewie because this point in the One Canon timeline seemed rather tight. It’s implied in Crucible that Chewbacca is still thought of as dead. And in One Canon the events of Crucible are quickly followed up by the Massacre at Ossus that sends Luke into exile, Han back to smuggling, and Leia off to the Resistance full time. So, Han, Luke and Leia are busy. Lowbacca seemed like he was free. It also gave me an opportunity to get in Ben’s head and see where he’s at.