Prologue
Instability. Two years have passed since the Battle of Endor. The second Death Star was obliterated. Remnants of the Empire were scattered in specs across the whole galaxy. A new era was beginning to form in place of the once whole Empire and something needed to fill the void. With the help of Mon Mothma and the Rebel Alliance, Leia begins to go from planet to planet, requesting the worlds to help create a Senate like that before the rise of the Empire. It would be a new start for the galaxy's worlds to work together in a respectable manner.
While Leia was working through the political duties that the galaxy was going through, Luke Skywalker was busy maintaining the new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Inside the old Rebel base were several rooms already prepared for any new Force sensitive people that might join the establishment. On another level was a main room used for training and practice in both Force and lightsaber skills. The old hanger, where the fighters that attacked the first Death Star were held, was being used once again as a hanger for land, air and space craft of several different models.
By this time, several Force sensitive people had found their way to Yavin 4 to train in the ways of the Jedi. One was the most notable members was Kyle Katarn, a self-taught Force wielder that had defected to the Rebellion earlier in his life. Even though he struggled with the Dark Side, he thought that it would be best to surround himself with people who could keep him from going completely into darkness. Along with several other young and old students, the New Jedi Order was slowly on its way to becoming recognizable in the galaxy once more.
Even though he had the both the Rebel Alliance and the New Jedi Academy on his mind every moment of the day, Luke couldn't help but reminisce back to the days before he had gotten involved with the defeat of the Empire, before knowing his father was the infamous Darth Vader, before he had gotten involved with the Rebellion. He remembered helping out his Uncle Owen on the moisture farm and eating the meals that his Aunt Beru would make after he and his Uncle would come in from the desert land. The last thing he remembered of his childhood home was smoke rolling from the structures of the buildings. Everything there had been charred beyond recognition, including his Uncle and Aunt.
Suddenly, some voice in the back of his head threw out an idea that involved his old home.
Maybe if you go back there, something there could help further the New Jedi Order.
Luke replies back to the voice in his thoughts. What? What could possibly be there besides charred scrap and old memories?
The voice pauses for a moment, but comes up with an answer the next. An opportunity. If scavengers haven't been through the remains, there could be items there that could be sold to help further the Academy.
Luke shakes his head at the reply. The odds that scavengers haven't been through there are the same as Jawas not selling stolen droids.
The voice sends back a counter-argument to Luke. Maybe so; but, another opportunity to further the progress of the Jedi Order might reveal itself to you.
Thinking about the last reply from the voice, Luke finally makes a decision about his old home. Coming out of his meditation, Luke stands up from the floor of his personal sleeping quarters and leaves the room in his usual black attire. In fact, the clothes he had on were the same ones he wore when he had faced his father and the Emperor on the second Death Star.
Heading down the hall and towards the hangar, Luke casually walks by several other students, who cheerfully greet him as they pass each other.
"Good morning, Master Skywalker." A female student spoke.
"Good morning, young one." Luke happily replies back.
Soon after, a teenager boy walks by him. "Greetings, Master Skywalker."
"Greetings." Luke answers back with a smile.
Soon, the hallway turns to the right and so does Luke, as he continues making his way towards his destination. Knowing his way, he starts zoning out everything. Sight. Sound. Touch. Luke was calm. Relaxed. At peace.
"Are you in there, Luke?"
Coming out of his day-dreaming state, Luke suddenly sees Kyle Katarn standing in front of him, waving his open hand in front of his face.
"I'm in my mind." The Jedi Master replies back to Kyle.
Kyle stops waving, since Luke's reply confirmed to Kyle that he was okay. "That's good. I was just a bit worried. When I said hi to you, you just walked by me without saying hi back. Plus, you had a blank look on your face as if you were seeing a vision or something."
Luke couldn't help but let a smirk appear on his face. "No, no visions. Don't know if that's good news or bad news."
"Well, no news is good news, to me at least."
Luke agrees with Kyle's remark and nods at him.
"So, anyway, what's your plan for today, Luke? Give some students some lessons? Meditate for hours on end?"
Luke knew that Kyle would keep throwing questions at him until he gave him an answer. So, he decides to save him the trouble of asking twenty questions.
"Actually, Kyle, I was making my way to the hangar." Luke continues walking in the direction of the hanger with Kyle walking right beside him, trying to pry more info from Skywalker.
"Oh, giving yourself a secret vacation, huh?", jokingly says Kyle.
However, the joke reminded Luke of where he was truly going. Not only was he going back to Tatooine, but he was going back to old memories, more bad than good.
"Actually, I'm leaving for Tatooine. Not exactly a vacation spot for anybody."
Kyle was a little bit surprised by Luke's statement. "Well, I won't pry you for more info. Your business is your business. I will, however, bid you well in whatever is you are going there for."
"Thanks, Kyle." Luke continues walking towards the hanger, but Kyle stops walking with him. He turns to go the opposite way, when he sudden hears Luke calling his name. "Hey, Kyle?" Kyle stops, turns around, and walks back to Luke, so that they wouldn't have to shout their conversation to each other.
Once he stops in front of Luke, he continues speaking to him. "Yes Luke?"
"I have a favor to ask you, that is, if you think you can handle it."
Kyle squints his eyes at Luke as if it would help him see what Luke was implying to him, but alas, he couldn't figure it out. "What favor are you asking me to do?"
Luke sighs. He already knew the reaction he would get from Kyle, but he believed that Katarn was ready to do it. "I would appreciate it...if you would teach my students some lessons while I'm gone."
Sure enough, Kyle reacts the way Luke thought he would. Kyle shifts on his feet and his eyes shift as well, while he tries to reply to Luke's favor. "Uh...teach. I don't know, Luke..."
"Kyle, you have come far from the Dark Side. All of the older members believe that you can teach some valuable lessons to the students."
Kyle looks straight at Luke and asks him point blank, "Do you think I can do it?"
Luke replies back immediately. "Kyle, I know you can do it."
A smirk appears on Katarn's face as he gives his hand for Luke to shake. "Alright." They sincerely shake hands, while Kyle adds on. "I'll do it, on one condition."
"What may that be?"
"Come back as soon as you possibly can. The kids here scare me."
Luke knew Kyle was being a bit sarcastic. It was a piece of his character that Luke loved to see. Releasing Kyle's hand, Luke continues walking towards the hanger while finishing his conversation with Katarn. "Well, in that case, I think I'll visit a couple of other star systems on the way back."
Kyle walks the opposite way, finishing the conversation by himself. "You would."
After strolling several more yards, Luke reaches the entrance to the hanger. He stops walking and glances around in the room for the Millennium Falcon. His eyes catch sight of the transportation on the other side of the hanger. He resumes walking over towards it, sensing that Han and Chewbacca were over near the spacecraft.
Always have little issues, don't you sweetie. Han's thoughts about the Falcon were the usual ones he had. Somehow, everyday, the Millennium Falcon always had a piece in her that wasn't at its best. However, a piece or two that was not working at its top performance usually didn't hinder the Falcon's capabilities.
Snapping the newly replaced wires where they belonged, Han removes his hand from them and gives Chewbacca, who was patiently sitting at the controls, the command to test out the new wires. "Alright Chewie, switch it on."
Chewie growls, telling Han "alright", as he flips one of the switches in front of him. The switchboard communicates with the ship, sending an electrical wave through the whole spacecraft. Han watches carefully at the switchboard that had the new wires connected to it. Sure enough, the switchboard lights up, indicating that the electrical pulses were moving through the new wires correctly. The smuggler smirks at the sight, then he speaks to his co-pilot again.
"They work, Chewie. You can switch it off now."
Chewie gives a growl of satisfaction as he reaches in front of him once more and switches the electrical back off. The Wookiee remains in his seat, waiting for Han to return back to the Falcon's controls. Since Han was on the top of the Falcon, he had to walk back over to where the opening into the Falcon was. Getting up from crouching, Han stands straight and turns to make his way towards the open hatch that led to the ship's interior. Before he takes the first step, Han spots Luke out of the corner of his left eye and turns his head to greet him.
"Hey, kid." Han walks over towards the edge of the Falcon, that was closest to Luke.
Luke walks up close to the Falcon and looks up at Han. "Hey, Han. Fixing the Falcon again, I see." The Jedi crosses his arms, waiting for the reply he would receive from Han.
"Oh, it wasn't really a fix." Han puts his hands on his hips as he takes the last two steps he could towards the edge of the Falcon and continues talking to Luke. "It was more of a 'necessary upgrade'."
Luke slightly shakes his head. He should have known Han wouldn't say he had to repair something. It was just the way Han's character was. "Anyways, I have a favor to ask of you, Han."
"Oh?" Han watches as Luke bends at the knees and uses the Force to jump onto the top of the Falcon. Han is now the one to slightly shake his head at Luke. "You could have went into the Falcon and used the stairs leading up here like a normal person."
Luke knows how to reply the question and does so, with a smirk appearing on his face. "You should know by now that I'm not normal. You aren't exactly the average person, either."
Han shrugs his shoulders. "You got me there. So, what sort of favor do you need, Luke?"
Sensing that only Han, Chewbacca and himself were the only ones in the hanger, Luke relaxes a bit and tells Han what he needs from his friend. "I would appreciate it if you could take me in the Falcon to Tatooine."
Han stares at Luke, running through the words he had heard from him. Something in Luke's voice was different when he spoke the favor; and Han heard it. However, he didn't want to ask him point blank. Instead he nods at Luke and accepts the task. "Yeah, sure. I can get you to Tatooine; but, why not just take one of the ships here in the hanger? Why the Falcon?"
Luke didn't want to say why he truly wanted Han's Falcon. He, instead, tells Han a different, yet true, reason that he wanted Han and his Falcon. "Even though I could use one of cruisers here, yours isn't as massive. I don't need a huge amount space for my trip. Your Falcon is sufficient for me. Also, I can just sit back and relax on my way there since I personally know that the pilot of the Falcon won't let me do any of the work in flying it.
"You darn right you aren't flying my Falcon." Moving past Luke, Han walks towards the open hatch with a grin on his face. "Whenever you're ready, we will leave. Chewie and I will be at the controls."
Luke nods to himself, thinking if he should gather anything before leaving. "I'll only be a couple of minutes." Using the Force once more, Luke walks off the side of the Falcon and lands feet first on the floor of the hanger. Something in the back of his mind told him that he should take a couple extra things, just in case something unexpected were to happen. Luke walks out of the hanger and makes his way back to his room to gather some extra items.
While waiting for Luke to return, Han makes his way to the Falcon's controls and sits down in his pilot's seat. Chewie, who was already sitting in his co-pilot's seat, notices how Han sat down. Instead of showing the least bit of enjoyment that he had replaced the wires successfully, Han's stare makes Chewbacca infer that the conversation Han had with Luke was not a usual one.
"Gggggrrrraaaaahhhhhh?"
"Luke asked if I would fly him to Tatooine." Han continues to stare blankly out of the Falcon, knowing full well Chewie would continue asking questions.
"Rrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhgggggg?"
"His excuse to me was that the Falcon wasn't massive in space and that he knows that I won't let him fly the Falcon, which gives Luke a break from piloting all the way to Tatooine; but...something tells me there is a different reason he wanted me to fly him to Tatooine in the Falcon."
"Hhhhhrraaghhhh mmmmrrraaaarrrrrr?"
"No, I didn't. I didn't want to pry on him. Remember what I told you what happened to his family there? Luke told Leia about the ordeal when he was explaining to her how he managed to get to her and the Rebel Alliance on Yavin 4." Han starts looking the controls in front of him instead of staring blankly out the Falcon. "Leia then told me, which I told you. Maybe, Luke wants someone he knows to come with him."
Chewie growls in agreement, which pulls Han out of his fixed gaze. Repositioning himself in his seat, he notes the time that had elapsed and decides to start preparing the Falcon for flight. "Let's start preparing for our trip to Tatooine, Chewie. Luke will be back any moment."
Hearing Han's statement, Chewie helps Han in preparing the Falcon for its trip to Tatooine. It didn't take but a couple of minutes, since the two of them had worked together for a long time. When they piloted the Millennium Falcon together, they were of one mind. They could sometimes do something before the other one said it.
As soon as they completed the last item on their mental checklist, Luke returns and boards the Falcon, walking towards the control room where Han and Chewbacca were already at.
"I'm back and ready when you are." Luke sits in the seat that was behind Chewbacca's chair, letting Han and Chewbacca do what they did best: flying the Millennium Falcon.
Han speaks to Luke. "Well, Chewie and I just finished preparing the Falcon for flight. So, away we go." Chewie howls in agreement and starts using the same controls that he always uses to takeoff. Han does his fair share and uses the controls in front of him to aid his counterpart in lifting the Falcon from the hanger floor.
In no time at all, the Falcon lifts itself from the hanger floor. Han uses the controls to guide the Falcon forward. Since the Falcon had landed near the opening of the hanger, it was a straight shot out of the place. The Falcon is soon out of the hanger, allowing Han and Chewie to slowly start ascending the ship into the atmosphere.
Once the trip through the atmosphere is completed, Han slightly leans back and to his left, flipping a switch that would give the coordinates for the route that needed to be taken in hyperspace. The navi-computer gives the coordinates and the ship follows the instructions exactly. The ship positions itself in space, awaiting for its pilot to activate it. Han grabs hold of the switch in front of him with his right hand and gently pulls it down.
The hyperdrive whines as it begins to accelerate the Falcon at an extremely rapid rate. The three beings aboard watch as all the stars, they could see, stretch in length, creating an array of different shades of blue. The Falcon leaves the area of Yavin and takes flight in hyperspace. It's next destination was the desert planet known as Tatooine.
