AN: Hey! Thanks to everyone who's been following this series. I'm sorry my updates with it have been so slow. I'd like to say I'll do better now, but I'm currently taking grad school courses, meaning fanfic might be on the back burner for a while (but I definitely WON'T be abandoning this series).

"Defenders of the Force Episode 8: The Revolutionaries Strike"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 1

Mae felt surreal walking into school the next day. The next day . . . in this world Jaina and Jacen's birthday party was only yesterday while from her point of view more than two weeks had passed since then. Some part of her felt like it should still be in that alternate world where her father was Emperor.

She thought her parents believed her. They trusted her, right? Even when she had an outrageous and unbelievable story, right? She might have expected her mother to mention the possibility of other universes existing in her Philosophy of the Force class, but no, Rianna didn't even hint at it. She walked with Anakin and Tamyra from class to class as usual, but they were both strangely quiet. Of course, Mae supposed that she herself could start a conversation, but the thought of actually doing so made her wince.

Finally at lunch, when the silence between the three friends had reached awkward levels, especially when compared to the noisy cafeteria, she forced herself to speak.

"So . . . you guys have been awfully quiet today."

"So have you," said Anakin.

Mae suddenly got interested in figuring out whether or not the two halves of her sandwich were the same size. "Well . . . I would've thought we might like to discuss that . . . adventure we had."

"I'm not sure if Dad believes it," said Anakin.

"Hey, I was there and I'm not sure if I believe it," said Mae.

Tamyra was shuddering a bit. "I'm trying not to think about it, personally."

"Why not?" asked Anakin.

"Oh, maybe because I almost became a Dark Jedi," Tamyra snapped.

Anakin gulped, gazing down at his food. "Well . . . I did too."

"Not like I did," Tamyra said in a cold voice. "You were trying to save your father, but I . . . I was going to throw away my soul just so I wouldn't be blind anymore."

Mae didn't know how to respond to that. Her interest in the two halves of her sandwich was growing more intense – it seemed like the right half was indeed larger than the left one.

"Tamyra, don't worry about it," Anakin was saying.

"But I still want to see," Tamyra blurted out, holding her hand in front of her eyes. "I've been told my skin is green – but I don't know what green is. My double in the alternate universe could see . . . so why can't I?" Her breath shortened. "Does that make me weak?"

Mae slowly put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "You're not weak, Tamyra . . . it's perfectly understandable that you'd want to see."

"But I almost . . ."

"Shhh," Mae quickly interjected. "You heard Yoda – we all succumbed to something, but we'll learn to be stronger."

"But I'll still be blind."

Neither Mae nor Anakin knew how to respond to that.

. . .

"Hey everyone," Ahsoka shouted as soon as they were all in Basic Force Training class, "guess what?"

"We're skipping meditation?" asked the Torgruta student Sylia, giving a hopeful grin.

"Sorry, no," Ahsoka said, meeting with a collective groan. "But you'll still like it." She gave a big grin, shifting her weight from foot to foot as if she were preparing a surprise party. "Master Skywalker has given me permission to take you first-year trainees on a trip!"

A chorus of "ooohs!" went through the class. "Where are we going?" Anakin shouted so fast that it sounded like one word, causing Mae to snicker slightly.

"We'll be going to Yavin 4!" Ahsoka exclaimed, immediately met with another chorus of "ooohs!" "Yes," she continued, "we'll be visiting the old Rebel Base from that historic battle where the first Death Star was destroyed. The temples where the base was have since been converted into a museum with all sorts of artifacts from the war. Doesn't that sound cool?"

"I dunno," said Sylia. "Sounds kinda boring to me."

"It's not boring," said Anakin. "I've been there with my parents and there are lots of neat exhibits and holofilms and stuff."

Mae had been there several times with her family too. In fact, one of the holofilms they showed there was of Luke and Rianna playing with Mae when she was a baby.

Wait, what if they showed that particular holofilm during their trip?

Mae swore that one day she would learn how to keep herself from blushing when thinking of potential embarrassment. While she was at it, she'd also figure out how to stop thinking of that film in which her infant self spat up when she didn't want to think about it.

"And guess who will be piloting the shuttle there?" Ahsoka continued. "General Han Solo himself!"

"Wow," Anakin whispered to Mae. "We're gonna meet my dad, imagine that."

Mae stifled a giggle.

"So now you're taking the kids on a trip?"

All heads turned and there was Master Uma once again standing in the doorway, causing Ahsoka to give an exaggerated groan. "Do you just hang out by the door whenever I'm trying to teach or something?"

"Personally, I don't know why Master Skywalker is letting you teach his class when you never rose beyond the rank of padawan," said the lightsaber teacher, leaning against the door frame and folding her arms. "You're not much more advanced than they are."

Ahsoka ground her teeth. "Need I remind you that Master Skywalker is trying to track down the Revolutionaries right now? Besides, didn't I help you capture the guy who shot General Solo?"

"Yes, but I did most of the work," said Master Uma. "Anyway, when is this trip?"

"This weekend."

"Good, then I'll be able to come with you."

"What?" Ahsoka exclaimed along with several of the students.

"Well someone needs to be there in case you get into trouble."

. . .

"Mae, can I ask you something?" Tamyra suddenly asked as the shuttle flew towards the small moon of Yavin 4.

Mae was pressing her finger against the window, circling it around the moon. "What is it?"

"Well . . . what does Yavin 4 . . . look like?"

Mae gulped, wanting to point out that her friend seemed to have been obsessed with sight ever since their return from the alternate world, but instead she simply said, "Well, it doesn't look like much from space. It looks like a big greenish-blue ball."

"You do know I don't know what greenish-blue is, right?"

Mae gulped again. How was she supposed to explain color to someone who had been blind her entire life? "Well . . . green and blue are kind of . . . cool colors. Grass is green and water is blue – or at least it looks blue when it's in a lake or ocean – so those two colors make a lot of people think of the outdoors. My family takes trips to Naboo a lot to visit our relatives, so I guess those two colors make me think of that planet – have you ever been there?"

"No, but I hear it's supposed to be . . . beautiful." Tamyra said that last word as if it were a curse.

"It is," said Mae, concentrating on how to describe the planet without alluding to sight. "Lots of different flowers grow there, so the air smells real sweet, and you can hear birds most places too. It's warm there most of the year and perfect for swimming. Most of the time we stay by the lake country, where there's this huge lake that you can swim in and a warm beach right by it where you can feel the sun beaming down on your faces. And then there are the underwater cities – there you can hear your voice echoing off the barriers and the water splashing against them."

"It sounds real nice."

She didn't say anything else as the shuttle made ready for landing, but Mae could sense that there was more on Tamyra's mind than she was revealing.