He watched Juno as she flew her hands around the controls, bringing them down to the ground as softly as she could. She looked over at him as they touched down and smiled. His heart warmed, knowing that they finally were finally together, and that nothing would tear them apart again. She stood out of the captain's chair and began to walk to the ramp to meet Kota, Garm, Organa, Mothma, and what looked to be about 50 troops, all with heavy blaster rifles trained on the boarding ramp of the Rogue Shadow. In addition to them, Starkiller noticed 2 E-Webs and 5 soldiers with PLEX rocket launchers trained on them as well. Obviously the leaders didn't want their prized captive getting loose and escaping.
He stood up and stretched out his joints, weary and happy to be on firm ground again. He didn't have a problem with space travel, but it always felt nice to have real gravity again. He followed the path Juno had gone, so he could meet the leaders of the rebellion. He was going to give them quite a shock, considering the last time any of them had seen him, he had been fighting the Emperor on the Death Star. In his first life he had sacrificed himself for them, so he hoped they would not hate him for at first betraying them, even if the betrayal had not been intended. And besides that, he needed to be on the ground in case Vader broke out, which was a thought too horrible to imagine. He reached the boarding ramp and walked into the bright sunlight of Dantooine.
Dantooine was a small world in the Outer Rim, in the Raioballo sector. It was a temperate world, warm and filled with prairies, grasslands, hills, streams, and savannahs. The rebel base was situated at the base of a small mountain in the Taikaha Hills, with much of the base underground to conceal it from the air. A large hangar had been dug out of another mountain, with the tarmac also leading outside of it. Starkiller could see a few X-wings, some Y-wings, and a few transports, along with many supply crates and fueling tanks, spread out across the area. Besides the troopers pointing their armaments at the Rogue, it looked as if the rest of the base were going about their normal day to day duties. Refueling and repairing starfighters, moving around storage containers, and other assorted tasks. He reached the bottom of the ramp and went over to where the leaders, Kota, and Juno were talking,
"A completely successful attack. We took some casualties, but managed to destroy their cloning program, and capture the Emperor's pet," Kota was saying in his usual gruff and to the point attitude.
"We don't know how to thank you General, or how you managed to pull this off. It should have been impossible, but you and your men did it."
Kota grinned, sensing Starkiller coming up behind them. "It's not me you have to thank, Mothma."
They all turned to see him walking up to them. His bright white robes were flowing in the light breeze, and an aura of light seemed to be emanating from him. His twin sabers were hanging from the brown belt he wore at his waist, swinging slightly as he walked. The brown sash had his family's crest proudly displayed on the front.
Mothma gasped at the sight of him. Garm's eyebrows narrowed as he saw the man who had betrayed them and almost gotten them killed. Organa surprisingly smiled. Unbeknownst to his allies, he knew that Juno and Starkiller had been in love, and was happy for them to be back together. Kota and Juno both smiled at him, and as Juno walked up to him and grasped his hand in hers, Kota announced his return.
"Yes, it is really him. Yes, he is on our side. He is the one who provided the Alliance with the coordinates and schematics for the Kamino Invasion."
Mothma was at a loss for words. She just stared at him, and then looked from Kota, to Juno, back to Kota, and finally at him. "Bu-but- but how?! We saw the explosion on the Death Star as we were leaving. You're dead! And besides, you're a traitor to this Alliance after what you pulled on Corellia!" She was extremely angry, and her voice was taking on a screeching tone that few heard, as normally the senator was composed, but now she was furious.
Starkiller began to get agitated himself, and felt Juno squeeze his hand. But before he could say anything to defend himself, Kota, who could feel his irritation, stepped in and began to speak.
"Now Senator, this boy helped us pull off the biggest attack the Alliance has ever undertaken against the Empire. What he was in the past doesn't matter anymore. He had changed paths on Corellia, and he was tricked by Vader, just as we all were that day. He fought Vader on Kamino didn't he? He brought him back here, didn't he? He is a hero. This Alliance wouldn't even exist if it weren't for him. Lay off him. He's back and this is his Alliance now. His power will draw in thousands of warriors, and he will lead us into battle after battle until the Empire has been defeated. End of story."
Starkiller felt a little embarrassed at Kota's words. He knew he was powerful, but he didn't like it to be talked about. It made him uneasy for some reason. "There's that self-consciousness again," he thought. He really hated that feeling, but it seemed as if he was going to get have to get used to it.
Mothma stalked off, obviously still mad but maybe a little bit less than she had been at first. Kota laughed and began to observe the process of getting Vader off the Rogue Shadow. Starkiller turned as Garm reached out to shake his hand.
"Don't worry about her, she'll get over it soon. As for me, I forgive you. You have proven through your actions that you mean well. It'll be good to have a strong fighter such as yourself leading this rebellion," he said, in a gruff voice that reminded Starkiller of Kota.
Senator Organa just shook his hand, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled at Juno before turning and following Garm into the compound.
"Well, what do you think?" Juno asked him. "All of this is because of you. You were the catalyst of it all."
He smirked and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close to him. "I'll be honest, it's a little intimidating. When I was gathering the senators to lead this Alliance, I didn't think it would grow to be this big. I'm glad it has, since we'll need all the help we can get to defeat the Emperor, but it is a little daunting to think I will be leading all these people."
Juno laughed a little and smiled at him. "Don't worry, if you can take down 2 AT-STs, 20 stormtroopers, and 2 flame war droids at the same time, you can lead these men and women."
He smiled back at her. "At least I have your vote of confidence." Before he could go on, Kota spoke up.
"Can we save the touching reunions for later? If you don't remember, we still have a Dark Lord to transport."
He and Juno let go of each other. She touched his cheek in farewell, and walked over to a group of pilots standing near their Y-wings chatting. As he and Kota walked back over to the Rogue, he remembered what PROXY had said about his robes.
"Kota, PROXY said these robes mean something special to the Jedi, and he told me to ask you about it," he said as they walked.
Kota stopped and put his hand on Starkiller's shoulder. "They are ceremonial Jedi robes. They were awarded to Jedi posthumously who gave everything in order to save the galaxy. You've earned them boy, don't make me regret giving them to you." He smiled and continued walking towards the ship. Starkiller almost missed it, but he thought he had just received a rare compliment from the old general.
He waited at the ramp while Kota and 10 men ran up the ramp and into the meditation chamber where Vader was waiting. Starkiller hadn't faced him since before their departure from Kamino, when he had told him that as long as Juno was alive, his hold over him would never be broken. He hadn't had a response for those words at the time, and didn't think he would have any even now.
It had made him angry because Vader was right. He had taken the entire rebel fleet to Kamino, not because he wanted them to win, but because he was determined to save Juno, at all costs. He suddenly was reminded of something he had told Juno once, that Vader would do anything to sell the deception, and that lives and credits and starships meant nothing to Vader as long as he got what he wanted. In a way, he and Vader were similar in that respect. Sure, their motives were different. His was his love for Juno, Vader's was, well, he wasn't exactly sure. But it was nothing good.
But did the motives matter, if the tactics were the same? Did it make him any better than Vader, at least in that respect? He didn't really know, but he did know that he was determined to become a Jedi, or as close he could be to becoming one. He had to become one, to live up to the expectations of Kota, the Alliance, and his Father. He was trying so hard, but at times the dark side pulled at him so intensely, it was difficult to resist the temptation of falling back to where he had started as Vader's assassin.
He was shaken out of his thoughts at the sound of feet hitting the metal deck and men yelling orders at one another. He detached his lightsabers from his belt, just in case something was to happen. He watched as 4 men came down the ramp first, followed by the huge metal casing and shackles Vader was encased in, with Kota, lightsaber drawn, and the rest of the soldiers following behind him. He heard the sounds of dozens of blasters being drawn up and powered on, as the soldiers behind him trained their weapons on the evil Sith Lord. He tensed as Vader got to the bottom of the ramp and the soldiers began to guiding him on the pathway to the base doors.
Kota called out to the men, "If he tries anything, let us handle it before engaging him!" He kept his lightsaber pointed directly at Vader's back, ready to strike if he should try anything.
Starkiller was beginning to think that it would all be fine, and Vader wouldn't try anything. Vader was halfway to the base when the first soldier began to choke. The metal restraints that were holding Vader began to strain and brake. The first man fell to the ground, dead, as the rest were lifted into the air and Starkiller leapt towards him, both of his lightsabers igniting as they flew into his hands. The soldiers, like they had been told, were standing still, obviously wanting to do something but following their orders. He landed next to Vader just as he got his arms free. He quickly brought up one bright blue blade, slicing off Vader's right hand just above the wrist, while Kota got his left. Sparks flew from the stumps as Vader sagged in the restraints still left, his escape attempt thwarted.
Starkiller stood with his blades crossed at Vader's throat, while Kota shouted for soldiers to get more powerful restraints and something called "Ysalamiri," whatever they were. Medics were helping the 2 men still alive from Vader's sudden and unexpected attack. The rest had been deemed dead by the medics when they had arrived. Starkiller's breathing was slowing as the rush of adrenaline he had experienced began to fade. He was angry at Vader for killing those men, and angry at himself for sensing something but not acting on it until it was too late to save them. But before his thoughts could continue, he noticed something particularly odd. He couldn't sense anything the force.
At first, he thought it was another of Vader's tricks, but before he could slice off his head, Kota put a hand on his shoulder and pointed at several strange, fuzzy, lizard-like creatures in the hands of two rebel soldiers.
"Those are Ysalamiri. They're from the planet Myrkr. These furry little creatures have a special little ability that is going to prove useful to us. They can block out the force, so anyone in their vicinity can't use it. Several of these will be going in Vader's cell, and the hallway leading to it. He'll also be held with some much stronger restraints."
Starkiller relaxed some, but not much. "It's… unsettling. Being disconnected from something I'm so used to feeling all the time."
"Just be thankful you won't be surrounded by them at all times."
The excitement over, the soldiers gathered around Vader, and began the march towards his cell again. Starkiller and Kota stayed much closer this time, just in case. As they passed underneath the stone arch, Starkiller realized his first true day with the Alliance was about to begin.