CHAPTER 1:

Princess Leia Organa guided her X-wing toward the planet Diepre. She frowned at the gray clouds that covered the planet; the thick atmosphere would make their reconnaissance mission difficult. Of course they could use their sensors to detect large groups of habitants and big weapons, but to be certain these habitants were remnants of the Empire, they would have to fly below the clouds. That increased their chances of being detected. The Rebellion—Alliance, now—may have destroyed the Death Star, killed both Darth Vader and the Emperor, and shattered the Empire, but the Imperial remnants still posed a threat to the fledging government being organized.

Some planets controlled by the Empire stayed loyal to the Empire, but more planets had populations that turned on the oppressive Imperials and fought back. However, they didn't have the resources or the training to succeed and were in need of aid from the Alliance that stretched the Alliances resources thin. Those planets that managed to force the Imperials to leave sent the Imperials searching for a safe place to regroup. Usually, they settled on the outer planets that were neutral during the war. Intel learned that one of these planets could be Diepre.

When Leia learned of the recognizant mission on Diepre, she jumped at the chance to lead the squadron. Lately, Mon Montha sent Leia on diplomatic missions to various planets who were on the fence about joining the New Republic. She spent her time with politicians who dragged out the process to get as much out of the new government as they could. Of course, they had their planets' interests in mind, but some searched gains that benefited themselves. Leia was successful in her missions, but dealing with politicians drained her patience. The Empire had not been defeated with the death of the Emperor; there was still a fight yet to be won.

Mon Montha—the interim chancellor—had been reluctant to allow Leia to fight in the trenches with her fellow soldiers because Leia's talents as a diplomat and politician were valuable to the fledging government. Fortunately, the chancellor gave into Leia's arguments this time and allowed her to lead this recognizant mission. Since the princess would not be directly involved in combat, Mon Montha saw it as safe for Leia.

Leia's father popped into mind as she thought of her conversation with Mon Montha. Her father raised her to be a diplomat and politician so that she could take her place in the new government, but Leia had a difficult time accepting that role now that she got a taste of combat. In combat, enemies were straight-forward; there was no double-talk, no facades to put on. Battles ended in concrete results; there was a clear winner and loser.

The princess—now Black Leader—checked the coordinates that Intel had given her. They were close to the suspected Imperial base. The hair on the nape of her neck rose as she turned her attention to the thick atmosphere. Something wasn't right….

"We're gonna have to fly low to see anything." Black Two's voice came through the speakers in her helmet.

"They could have sensors, Prog," Drek said.

"You can bet on it, Black One," Leia said. "And use your flight monikers."

"Sorry, Black Leader."

"Stay hidden in the clouds. If we are unable to detect Imperial activity then we'll have to do it by foot."

"Are you sure that's wise, Black Leader?" Remi, Black Three, asked.

Leia scowled. Mon Montha only sent her on this mission because they were only to do recognizance from the sky. Her squadron knew that.

"We can't return without completing the mission."

"Yes, Princ—Black Leader."

"Commence decent."

Prog adjusted his scanners. "I'm not picking up anything."

"Neither am I."

"The atmosphere is interfering with our sensors," Leia said. She bit her lip. "Drop forty feet lower."

"Lower?"

"We make our pass-over quick. By the time they detect us, we'll be gone. Hopefully, we'll be able to get visuals on ground. Fall into formation."

The X-wings fell into place and they made their decent.

"Pull up, Black One," Leia ordered.

"I can't! Something's messing with my equipment!"

"Imps?"

"Negative. I don't know what!" Panic colored Prog's voice. "I'm losing control! I'm not going to—"

"Prog!" Leia yelled as she witnessed an electrical current pull Black One's X-wing down through the clouds. "All craft pull up!"

Leia watched Drek's ship disappear in the thick atmosphere. "PULL UP!"

Leia pulled back on the throttle. Her ship began to shake and rattle. Her fingers flew over her controls as she tried to send out a distress signal. She yelped as an electrical current snapped at her fingers and encompassed her console.

"I'm going down!"

Leia looked on helplessly as Remi's ship fell from the sky. Her own X-wing's control panel went dark, and the G-force glued her to her seat; she couldn't move a muscle. When she realized there was nothing she could do, her thoughts went to Han. He was on Ganga fighting yet another remnant of the Empire. She hadn't seen him in eleven weeks, and he had no knowledge of her taking this mission. What was the last thing she said to him? She couldn't recall, but it wasn't "I love you." Whatever she said, would that be the last thing she said to him?

That was the last thought that crossed her mind before she lost consciousness.

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Luke Skywalker dunked down and entered his dead Master's home on Dagobath. It had been two standard months since he took a leave of absence from the Alliance to search for information about the Jedi Order during the Old Republic. He already had collected Jedi relics and records from Ben Kenobi's abode on Tatooine. Luke didn't find much there; Obi Wan's place had been torn apart by scavengers, and the trunk from which Ben retrieved Luke's father's lightsaber was no longer there. Although, Luke came across no sentient beings on Dagobath the two times he was there, that didn't mean the planet was devoid of sentient beings. There was a slim chance that Yoda's home was ransacked after his death.

With both Ben Kenobi and Yoda gone, Luke had no one to guide him. He never felt more alone in the galaxy. Would they return to him like Ben did on Hoth? Like Ben, Yoda, and his father did on Endor? Would they appear to him again to help him fulfill his Destiny?

His Destiny. Now that he fulfilled his destiny by facing Darth Vader and killing the Emperor, what was his destiny now? Perhaps it was to seek out Force sensitives and restore the Jedi Order. At least that was what Luke was going to do. He would train the next generation of Jedi, and they would protect the budding New Republic as his predecessors once did. Luke was a Jedi now—the last of the Jedi—but he was no Master. He needed to become a Master of the Force if he were to train the next generation. With no Master to guide him, he had his fears. The last thing Luke wanted to do was have one of the pupils he trained turn to the Dark Side like his father did.

That was why Luke was seeking out all the information he could gather on the Jedi Order.

Luke moved through Yoda's home. Insects had taken up residence—along with a few mammals based on the droppings Luke spotted—but nothing had changed since the last time he was here. A wave of forlorn overcame him as his blue eyes fell upon the bed where Yoda's body had faded away. Would Luke's death be the same?

There had been so much death over the last several years because of the Empire. Because of the Rebellion. Now that he had stepped away from the Alliance, Luke allowed himself to mourn. He believed in the Alliance; he was committed to eradicating the oppressive Empire from the galaxy. However, he couldn't get passed the deaths their losses and victories had cost them. Luke had only fought with the Rebellion for the last three years, but it seemed like a lifetime. And the battles still continued as the Alliance forces hunted down the last remnants of the Empire.

Tears gathered in Luke's eyes, but they did not fall. He thought of his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru who died because they had the misfortune of purchasing R2-D2 and C-3PO from the Jawas, who also lost their lives. Biggs died just when they were reunited, along with the rest of the Red Squadron as they tried to destroy the first Death Star. His gunner Dak—fresh-faced and naïve—died when he and Luke's snowspeeder was shot down by an AT-AT. Rand, Scully, Fen, his friends and comrades, lost their lives in various battles. Luke had stopped himself from getting close to any of his comrades after Hoth.

But the anonymous deaths of the rebels he didn't know, of the civilians caught in the crossfire, and of the Imperials just doing their job still haunted him. So many died in the battle of Death Star I, but that did little to end the war. It was as if that victory meant nothing. And more losses came with the battles following whether they were victorious or not. How many rebels were left behind on Hoth?

Luke had watched the Alliance fleet lose many talented pilots, many more of his friends, from the Emperor's throne room on the second Death Star…

But Luke was still alive.

So many times Luke should have died but didn't. Over the first Death Star, he could feel that the TIE fighter—Darth Vader's TIE fighter, though he didn't know it at the time—had Luke in his sights.

Han had saved him.

On Cloud City, hanging on that weather vein. Luke should have died then.

Leia had saved him.

And on the second Death Star, withering under the electrical current that flowed from the Emperor's hands, Luke should have died.

Darth Vader had saved him.

Luke sighed. He had survived too many battles when the odds were against him. Did he not die because he was destined for something greater?

It is your Destiny, Ben's words. Yoda's words. Luke missed the time when he was just a farm boy with no Destiny. He mourned that naïve boy who was dissatisfied with his life on Tatooine and who longed for adventure. Back then, he believed fighting with the Rebellion was the greatest adventure. He imagined glorious battles won and heroic feats. That boy never considered how much death comes with war.

Would he have chosen the same path, if he had the chance to go back?

Leia would be dead. He would have never learned that she was his sister. Or that Darth Vader was his father.

Skywalker closed his eyes. The pyre he burned his father's body emerged in his thoughts. Yoda and Ben wanted Luke to kill the Darth Vader. Luke succeeded in turning Vader to the Light Side. Did Luke defy Destiny? Or did Destiny play out the way it was meant to be?

Luke wished he could have had time to get to know his father, Anakin Skywalker, before he died. But if Darth Vader had lived, he would have never been accepted by the Alliance—or anyone else in the galaxy. Vader would have been imprisoned, executed. He would always be Darth Vader to those he had tortured and oppressed. Darth Vader was the face of the Empire. No one would ever see Anakin Skywalker through that monstrous mask his father wore. Even Leia was unable to see her true father; she couldn't forgive Darth Vader.

Leia's anger always flared when Luke spoke of their father. She had a lot of anger inside her. Could Luke blame her? Vader had tortured her, destroyed Alderaan, killed her family, and froze Han in carbonite. Still, her anger was dangerous, and she needed to learn how to control it. He taught her some calming exercises so that she could contain that anger, but even when she practiced them, he could still feel her anger. Luke couldn't help but worry about her.

With a sigh, Luke crouched down next to Yoda's bed. There was a lone box nestled close to the clay wall. He had to lie on his stomach to retrieve the box. Luke froze when he saw the word written on the cover:

LUKE

Why hadn't Yoda given him this box before Yoda died? Did Yoda know Luke would return to Dagobath in search of knowledge about the Jedi Order? Did this box confirm that Luke's Destiny was to restore the Jedi Order?

Luke started to open the box. But then he dropped the box as a chill ran up his spine.