***Author's Note***
So, this chapter starts out with good family fun, closely followed by plot-y goodness! Ooooo, things are getting good, and quickly! Hope y'all enjoy!
***End Note***
Later that evening, Ben stood with his feet shoulder-width apart and his arms crossed over his muscular chest, a frown on his scarred face, Before him stood Finn and Padme, his ever-so-troublesome twins. He sighed and shook his head, "What are we going to do with you two? After that little performance this morning, you two should be counting your lucky stars that you weren't disbarred entirely! You could have hurt someone! You could have killed a child! You nearly did kill Master Finn! What were you thinking!?" Rey laid her hand on Ben's arm and shook her head.
Striding forward, she stood before her eldest children, waiting for them to meet her gaze. They both towered over her, having inherited their father's height. They'd gotten their appearance more from their mother, both choosing to wear their chestnut hair in a long braid down their backs and kept their Padawan braid over their right ears, tied with a gray leather cord and both were as willowy as their mother. They had Ben's eyes, though – a fact which frequently took her breath away. At last, they met her gaze and she laid a hand on each of their cheeks, "We're more disappointed than we are angry. We know that you two are capable of so much more than this. You have such power and kindness in you, and yet you waste your talents by getting yourselves into as much trouble as possible. Your father and I think that you may learn some humility in the village."
Both twins groaned and Padme whined, "But mother, they're civilians! What could we possibly learn from them?"
Rey's eyes went hard and cold as ice as they narrowed and she allowed steel to creep into her voices, "I was 'just a civilian' once, you know. I scavenged for hardly enough food to survive on when I lived on Jakku, where I was alone. I had no parents to get me out of trouble and no one to tell me everything was going to be fine. I had no powers that I knew of and I survived just fine, so don't you dare tell me that you have nothing to learn from normal people. That will be the end of it." Both twins had begun to argue again, but fell silent at their mother's words and dropped their eyes to the floor, looking shamefaced. "Now, go and make yourselves presentable – everyone is coming over for dinner, including your Great-Uncle Luke."
Finn raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, "Why do we need to be presentable for him? He' blind!"
Finn skittered out of the way as his mother aimed a cuff at him, "Because I said so, that's why! Now get out of here, you hellions!" The pair ran down the hall to the partitioned bedroom they shared, laughing. Rey chuckled, herself as Ben wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You worry about them too much, my love. They'll be fine, you'll see. I think this physical labor punishment is just what they need. They have to learn sometime that things up here are not the way they are out in the rest of the galaxy. It's incredibly sheltered up here – most of the Padawans came to us from some other corner of the galaxy, but not our children. They were raised in this life, and haven't really known hardship like the others have. The only reason Finn and Twila's children have a better idea of what the real world is like is because they're half-breeds. There will never be a time when they aren't discriminated against; there will always be someone to speak ill of them. Well, all that we can do for our children is our best, and I think this will go a long way towards fixing their wild natures."
Ben sighed as he breathed in the scent of her, "I hope you're right, my Light. Either way, our guests are beginning to arrive."
From behind them, they heard Poe's voice, "Well, yeah; and when have you ever known me to turn down free food?" With Poe came Luke; as Poe had been teaching at the Jedi Academy today, they thought it best for Poe to walk over with him. Luke was as self-sufficient as ever, but Ben still worried about the aging Jedi sometimes. "Lilia's just behind me; she's out front, chatting with Thamian about fighting techniques. I raised a little girl, I swear I did..."
Ben and Rey chuckled as Lilia and Thamian trooped in, laughing loudly. Thamian and Lilia had gotten along swimmingly from the first time they'd ever met. As a child, Lilia had been an enchantingly lovely little thing with piercing blue eyes and raven black hair that stood out beautifully against her milk-white skin. Now, she was even more enchantingly stunning as an adult; she had grown into her long, pale limbs, and gained the curves of womanhood. All in all, she was built like the warrior she was; Poe had always thought she looked like some kind of Celtic goddess. She was taller than her adopted father by about three inches, and carried herself in a proud, yet humble way that drew the eye of all the young men down in the village. "Mmmm, it smells lovely in here," she said, "I swear I could eat the table, I'm so hungry. I heard about what happened this morning during Master Finn's class; is everyone okay?"
Rey smiled ruefully, "Everyone's just fine, though the twins scared a few years off of Twila's life, I think. She felt Finn go over the side; right in the middle of her class, she stopped talking mid-sentence and nearly ran out on the class she was teaching. Poor thing; I dread to think what Twila might do if something ever did happen to Finn."
Lilia nodded and Thamian chuckled, "Well, give 'em to me for a few training sessions, and I'll beat the rebellion right out of them!"
Just then, the twins came hurtling through the hall, young Han hot on their heels, the three of them making such a racket that all conversation ceased as the adults present watched tiny Han chase his older siblings as fast as his tiny little legs could carry him. Luke smiled, and Ben was certain that he was watching through the Force. Finally, the twins exchanged a glance and slowed their pace, letting Han catch up to them and grab on to young Finn's leg. Finn pretended to careen into his sister, and both of them collapsed into a screaming heap on the floor as Han squealed with delight and scrambled on top of his sibling-heap, jumping up and down, screaming "Again, again!" The adults laughed at the spectacle just as the front doors slid open again, admitting Finn, Twila, and their boys, trailed by Leia and Anakin who were often found in each others' presence; today had been Leia's day at the Jedi Academy, and as such, she and Anakin had most likely found some meadow or other to practice healing and other Force abilities until it was time to leave. As they were both out of breath and covered in sweat, Rey figured they had lost track of time (again) and had to run after their Great-Uncle. Chewie was the last to arrive, and the youngest children swarmed him, causing him to growl out a laugh.
Rey sighed happily; she was never so happy as when her entire family was in one place. Anakin, Leia, and Han were dancing around Chewie with T'arla and Jar'lek giggling madly from the floor. Lilia laughed from the sidelines, most likely remembering some long-ago time when the old Wookie was her favorite jungle gym, while the twins had the glint in their eye that told Rey they were considering some mischief, most likely involving their younger siblings. Moving to where Ben sat at the table, she sat on his left knee and leaned her head on his, smiling hugely. Ben's hair had gone a little white at the roots and there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth now, but she thought him more handsome than ever. He'd allowed his hair to grow out, too; it now hung far past his shoulders, and was often tied up with a silver strip of leather that Rey had dyed for him herself two years ago for Midwinter.
At last, Rey stood and called the madhouse to the table for dinner and the children filed into the massive kitchen, each knowing their place as a waiter. Lilia grabbed a carafe of wine in each hand, the twins gathered up the wine goblets, Anakin grabbed up the ham and carving knife, T'arla snatched up the potatoes, being very careful not to burn himself, Jar'lek grabbed the bread, Leia the vegetables, and at long last came Han with his face ever-so-serious as he took up the linen napkins to set the table. Rey grabbed glasses for the under-21 crowd and began to fill them with milk, water, or juice, depending on preference as the children filed back in to take the silverware and plates to the table. All in all, the table was set and everyone had found their seats within twenty minutes, which was the fastest this crowd ever did anything. But then, Rey's cooking was the stuff of legend among the children, and many of the other students envied their friends, at least until Rey cooked for the entire Academy for Midwinter or Midsummer. Ben stood and began to carve the ham, causing mouths to water all around the table. As plates were filled along with mouths, there was a round of thank-yous and mmm, this is goods around the table before all was silent, save the clinking of knife and fork and the occasional exuberant outburst from little Han and the resulting laughter from the rest of the table. Altogether, it was an incredibly merry event, as these family dinners always were. Luke happened to be sitting directly across from Rey, and she took the moment to study the aging Jedi. His hair had gone completely white in the last fifteen years, and the folds of his face had deepened, giving him the appearance of a harmless old man. Rey knew, however, that though his sight was gone and his body aging, Luke Skywalker was still every bit the Master that he ever was. His skill with a blade was unrivaled by any but a spare few, including Ben and Rey, the twins, Finn and Twila, Lilia, and a couple of other students. Rey thought that Luke actually cultivated the "harmless old Master" image so that when he truly had to fight, his opponents would be taken aback. Many a time, Rey had witnessed a youngster face Luke who'd never faced him over crossed blades before, only to find himself horrifically outmatched beyond his worst nightmares.
Once dinner had been cleared and desert devoured, the happy family sat together around the fireplace, some sitting on the floor, some on the couch, others standing as they finished their nightcaps. The younger children were either already asleep where they had last sat or were hurtling rapidly towards it. All at once, every alert, Force-Sensitive person in the room lurched to their feet, hands on their weapons. None could say exactly what it was that had alerted them, but they all knew that something was terribly wrong. In the deathly silence, there came a knock at the door. The twins glanced at their parents, unnerved, but Ben and Rey just nodded in unison; whomever had come to call had not done so with harmful intent. Finn and Padme hurried to the door, opened it, and led a young man in the livery of the Chancellor into the living room. At once, Ben held his finger to his lips, silencing the intruder, and rousing Han, Leia, T'arla, and Jar'lek just enough to send them to bed. It wasn't the first time that the children had fallen asleep on Ben and Rey's floor. Young Finn, Padme, Anakin, and Lilia were allowed to stay due to their ages. Ben poured more wine for the adults and moved to stand behind the couch where Rey was sitting, "So; what is it that my mother needs from us this time? Is there another problem she needs our help with?"
The messenger took a deep, steadying breath and gulped deeply from his wine goblet. Oh, hell, thought Ben, this can't be good. At last the young man spoke, "Your mother sends her regards, Master Solo, and hopes that she finds you, your wife, and your children well. Master Skywalker, your sister sends you the same wish for well being along with her hope that your dream of re-establishing the Jedi Order is flourishing. Masters Solo, Master Doroturo, Master No-Nerves, Master Skywalker, Masters Dameron; I've been sent to fetch you."
The room grew terribly still at his words and for a very long, tense moment, none spoke until Poe said very softly, "There's only one reason I can think of that would require Chancellor Organa to summon all of us at once. We're all thinking it, and somebody's got to say it; the Darksaber."
A shudder seemed to run through the room at his assertion and the young man raised his brows, "I thought you were the one who wasn't a Jedi." Poe smirked and motioned for him to continue, "Master Dameron is correct. The Chancellor believes that whoever it was that stole the Darksaber from the Battle of Kashyyk has finally begun to make their move. There's not much besides whispers and rumors yet, but what the Chancellor has heard disturbs her greatly. There are stories of a nameless force sweeping through villages overnight, leaving none alive. Often, these villages are home to Force-Sensitives who might otherwise have been brought to Takodana for training. There have, of course, been operatives sent to investigate, but to no avail; the operatives have been shipped back to Her Excellency in pieces. Terror is beginning to spread through the galaxy again; there are more rumors that a great army has begun amassing in secret cells throughout the galaxy but by the time the Chancellor manages to send help, they've moved on. She's out of options, and the only explanations she can come up with are that there's a rogue Force User out there, or it's the Darksaber. Either way, she feels that this can no longer be ignored, and requests that you come to her immediately for further briefing."
"Well, the seeming would be that my arrival is only just in time. My honor would it be to join you in your quest, little friends," Came Huur's voice from the doorway. Every head in the room snapped around in surprise to see the massive Togorian leader's jet-black fur and massive blue eyes filling the room with a new sense of power and authority as his tail whipped back and forth excitedly. The poor messenger, who had apparently never seen a real live Togorian before, shrunk into the couch, clearly terrified.
***Author's Note***
The whole gang's back together, now! Looks like Leia's really pulling out all the stops for this one! We're going on a wild ride for this one, my friends! Hope you enjoyed this chapter; leave a review if you'd like, and thanks for reading!
