This is dedicated to Treenahasthaal for her birthday. You have been and continue to be a huge inspiration for me. Thank you for being a friend.
After Leia had dragged him back into the fray, he looked around at all the people who were celebrating with them.
Humans. Ewoks. A Wookie. Several Mon Calamari. Sullustans. Beings from all over the galaxy had gathered here to eliminate the ultimate threat to peaceful life on their own homeworlds as well as those of others. So many had sacrificed their lives for their beliefs today. So many friends, so many dreams - lost.
Yet here they were, gathered around a blazing bonfire, to celebrate the victory these sacrifices had bought.
Of course, even he was not naive enough to believe that it would end here. Even with its leader and his henchman eliminated, the Empire wouldn't just fold over, crumble, and cease to exist. Nor was that desirable. Corrupt planetary, regional, and local governments and administrative structures would need to be replaced, not just eradicated - after all, they didn't want to see the galaxy erupt in chaos. Today's victory was, ultimately, only the first step on the path that they wanted to follow to the end.
Freedom for all planets, all people in the galaxy.
Freedom for all the different kinds of beings out there, irrespective of species.
No more oppression, no more fear.
Ultimately, a new republic to replace the empire and bring justice and freedom to all.
He couldn't wait to see it.
Having witnessed the fear that everybody lived in on his home planet, and on so many more after that, he felt a burning need to instill confidence in all those who had been denied it for decades.
And suddenly his path, which had been murky until just now, seemed to lie ahead of him, perfectly clear, sparkling and new - a path made only for him, for only he could take it.
He was the last.
The only one.
Yet maybe, if he and his sister had survived their father's and the Emperor's relentless quest to find them and either turn or kill them … others might have lived as well?
A burning desire awoke in him to pass on what he had learned - just like Yoda had urged him to. If he managed to find just a handful of other Force sensitives, he might be able to train them, pass his knowledge on to them and no longer be the odd man out - the one guy that stood out for this singular ability that he had.
Closing his eyes, basking in the warmth of the fire seeping into his body, still feeling chill from the uncomfortable cold of the space station his comrades in arms had destroyed, he envisioned a future in which Jedi were again called upon by governments to advise them, to help them keep the peace, to use their gift for the benefit of all life in this galaxy - because all life deserved it.
He could only hope that, unlike those before him, he and any Jedi he might manage to train would not make the same mistakes, go down the same path to failure with similarly disastrous results. He would have to be careful to not lose sight of his goal, but also to not lose himself in his vision.
A cool gust of wind from behind raised goosebumps on his back and the nape of his neck, and he opened his eyes to once again look at all the people - friends - gathered around the fire with him.
Maybe he had an advantage on the Jedi of old.
Maybe all they would have needed was friends to keep them grounded in real, day to day life.
He was pretty certain that his own friends would always be there to do that for him.
Smiling, he reached out and pulled Han into a hug. Tonight was a time to celebrate.
