I do not own Star Wars
Thank you to everyone that reviewed this story, your comments kept me going when I was flagging.
Thank you especially to regular reviewers Ander Arias, Just a Crazy Man, scottusa1 and davycrockett100
On with the story.
Chapter 7 – Into Motion
The pilots when they returned to base found themselves being lifted out of their cockpits and carried across the landing bay by the ecstatic base personnel who were almost deafeningly loud in their cheering. From his elevated position Luke could see Leia beaming at him from not far away and he beamed right back. To his right his could see Han lapping up the attention and Chewbacca roaring out in triumph at his side.
Not long after the base's personnel in full parade gear stood to attention as Leia wearing a magnificent white gown awarded Luke, Han, Chewbacca and all the other pilots involved in the battle medals for their heroism. Luke accepted his medal with a big smile on his face and stood in full view of the hall with all his new friends at his side as the base cheered and applauded. A few days ago the idea of being in front of so many people would have terrified him but after the battle they had just fought, it was a relief to just stand there and not be shot at.
Two days after the ceremony General Dodonna pulled him, Biggs and Wedge into his office for a private talk.
"Well done, you all showed truly exemplary service in that battle. I commend you all." The General told the young pilots smiling for ear to ear. "I'm putting together a special taskforce of elite pilots for operations in every theatre of the war code name Rogue Squadron. Given how well all three of you performed back there, I want the three of you to be part of it."
"We'd be honoured sir." Wedge said and Biggs and Luke nodded to signal their agreement. Then Leia came up to them still wearing her white gown came up to him and said looking very serious which dimmed Luke's good mood slightly.
"Luke, Master Billaba and the rest of the Jedi Council have arrived on the Sanctuary. They want to meet you." Leia told him and Luke felt a little overwhelmed.
"The Jedi Council wants to meet me?" Luke asked as Wedge and Biggs looked on awestruck at the idea.
"Yes." Leia said with a small smile. "To discuss your future training."
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An hour later a transport shuttle delivered Luke and Leia to the large Mon Calamari cruiser which held the leading Jedi masters of the Order. Leia walked at his side as he got more and more nervous until the pair all too soon arrived at the door to the council chamber.
"Just take a deep breath and stay calm." Leia told him with a comforting smile, Luke nodded and took a deep breath and feeling that he was as ready as he was ever going to be opened the door and stepped into the room.
Perhaps it was his naivety, lack of knowledge about the current Jedi order or just an overly fertile imagination but he had expected more somehow than the twelve people sitting in a near complete circle in the centre of a rather bare white walled room which had a two side doors at the back. However when his still developing force senses were brought to bear on the occupants of the room he quickly revised his opinion. All of them burned with powerful connections to the force that was nearly blinding when they were all together. Also as Luke walked slowly into the room he noticed how diverse a group they were. There a mix of species; six of them appeared human or so human like differences were easily missed but from his limited school lessons on Tatooine he recognised one Kel'Dor, a Togruta, two Twi'leks of different colours (one blue, the other purple), a Wookie taller than Chewbacca obvious even though he was sitting down with greying hair showing he was much older than the other Wookie and finally another master with scaly grey skin that he did not recognise.
Also the six humans were different too; the only human male had his long white hair tied back into a ponytail and wore rather than Jedi robes a sort of very dented and scarred green and brown coloured battle armour as if to match the scars on his face. Another was a woman in her late thirties that had her brown hair tied back in two pigtails. The woman sitting opposite her was wearing some silver armour outfit that like the older man's was at odds with the rest of the Jedi robes in the room, her black hair was tied back in a long ponytail.
The next woman was older by ten years with dark hair in a simple bob cut. Then another younger woman that had a bandage over her eyes indicating that she might be blind and her head was nearly completely covered by a hood leaving only her mouth and nose visible when combined with the bandage.
Finally the last was the one sitting at the centre; the eldest of the human women looking nearly regal in her simple Jedi robes with her perfect posture and firm gaze. She must have been in her early fifties but had the look of a woman nearly twenty years younger except for the expression in her eyes that showed her years clearly.
"Greeting young one." She said to Luke with modesty and nodded with a small smile at Leia. "I'm am Grand Master Depa Billaba." Depa then identified her companions turning to each of them in turn. "With me is head of the Jedi Shadows Master Celeste Morne." The silver armoured woman nodded.
"Head of the Jedi Researchers Master Woorwill" The Wookie gave a slight roar of acknowledgement.
"Head of the Jedi Aces Master Saras Lorne." The grey scaled Jedi master nodded.
"Head of the Jedi Guardians Master Rahm Kota." The old human man merely grinned which with his scars made him seem even scarier.
"Leader of the Jedi Strategists Master Serra Keto." The pigtailed woman nodded.
"The leading Jedi Seer, Master Idrina Seydeux." The hooded woman with a bandage over her eyes merely tilted her head.
"Keeper of Jedi Lore, Master Rachi Sitra." The purple skinned Twi'lek gave a slight wave.
"Chief of the Jedi Diplomats Master Plo Koon." The Kel'Dor nodded.
"Leading Jedi healer Master Bultar Swan." The human female with a bob cut nodded.
"Head Jedi Instructor Master Shaak Ti." The Togruta gave slight guarded smile.
"Leading Jedi Recruiters Master Aayla Secura." The blue skinned Twi'lek just stared at him with concern that Luke found unsettling. In the past the Jedi Council had been made up of twelve masters regardless of speciality but after she had taken over as Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Depa had changed the rules so that the leaders of different Jedi groups formed the council to bring more differing outlooks and ideas to the table during discussions.
"I understand you were the pilot that destroyed the Death Star and delivered the Empire it's most devastating defeat yet." Depa asked him her highly attuned senses regarding the young man before her whose connection to the force rivalled her own apprentice's although his surname was something of great concern. He nodded and she then added. "And Obi-Wan told you that Vader had betrayed and murdered your father Anakin Skywalker?" She asked and Luke nodded confirming what Leia had told her and Depa felt a headache starting as she regarded the situation Kenobi had left her in before she spoke to Luke again.
"I'm sorry young Skywalker but Obi-Wan has done you a great disservice." Luke looked puzzled at what she was talking about so she decided to get the worst of it over with as soon as possible. "Anakin Skywalker was not murdered by Darth Vader, he is Darth Vader."
That comment shocked Luke to the core, Leia too. Luke found himself unable to take it in, that the father he had idolised and the monster that he despised were in fact one in the same. Leia who despite her shock managed to speak asked as she put a comforting hand on Luke's shoulder.
"How is this possible? Why would Master Kenobi lie like that?"
"I don't know my student but I intend to find out." Depa said with firm resolve. Whatever her old colleague had been hoping to achieve Depa was stopping it right in its tracks. She was resolved to end the secretive and isolationist approach that had made the Jedi such easy targets of the Sith before. Hiding the truth about Luke's father made no logical sense, it would come out eventually once Vader himself learnt of the boy, best get it over with as soon as possible so that Luke could learn to deal with it and not have to deal with an even greater pain at a later date. The boy in question seemed to come back from whatever mental place he had retreated too and speak up.
"So I guess you don't want to train me." Luke said as he tried to get his head around what he had just learnt however then the grand master said something that brought a glimmer of light and hope into a world that seemed so bleak at that specific moment in time.
"On the contrary Luke of course we want to train you." She said with a small smile that was mirrored on some of the faces of those around her but not all as Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti looked on with a slight frown. It had been a close vote but the majority had decided to give the boy a chance. As Luke looked up hopefully she added. "But only if you want too. This current incarnation of the Order has never taken a student that was unwilling. Do you want to? Think about this carefully Luke." Depa warned him, she had a flashback to another council meeting she had sat in on where a young boy had stood before the Jedi hoping to be trained but shook herself back to the present. Luke was not Anakin but his talents and good heart could make him a great and noble Jedi, something that was very difficult to find in this day and age.
Luke did think and was silent for several minutes as he thought carefully feeling their eyes on him.
"Yes. I do want to train." Luke said finally coming to a decision. "Whatever monster my father has become, I want to be a Jedi. I want to defend the people of the galaxy and liberate it from the Empire." He said with resolve and the masters present did not need the force to pick up on his sincerity but did feel the good nature of the young man in front of them and Depa nodded with a sad smile knowing that it would not be easy on the boy given all that his father had done. Others were bound to judge him, she resolved to speak to Leia to make sure that the young woman was there to help him.
"Good, you will become a valuable member of our order I'm certain." Depa told him and then gestured to the door off to the side of the room. "It was not easy to find you a new master at such short notice but through that door you will find your new master." A man she had chosen for his easy going manner that should put Luke at ease and help him find his confidence in himself and overcome his deeply rooted insecurities and doubts.
Luke felt shocked that they had been that sure of his decision but he was still muddled from all the conflicting feeling inside him, something that he would need a lot of time to process. So he nodded and quickly made his way to the side door and walked through to find a tall figure in Jedi robes standing next to a large viewport just looking out at the stars beyond.
"Quite a view isn't it?" The figure asked as he turned to face Luke. He was a tall dark skinned well-muscled human in his late thirties. His head was bald but he had a small well-trimmed beard around his mouth and a gleam of humour in his dark eyes.
"Yes master." Luke said not sure of how to address him. The man chuckled before telling him.
"Now none of that master business. My name is Jabel and you will call me that and I will call you Luke. I want us to be friends not just teacher and student." He said to his new student with a warm smile. "So Luke do you have any hobbies?" Jabel asked him.
"Not really, I like flying though." Luke said a bit taken aback by the question and Jabel's manner as he had been expecting a dour and stern old master. The man in question smiled sensing Luke's confusion.
"Good then I suggest you keep at it. I always encourage my students to have a hobby that they can use to let off steam and relax."
So he then gestured to a pair of chairs on the other side of the room and sat down so the two men could get to know each other.
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Now far away from the previous battle site on the Super Star Destroyer Executor Darth Vader sat in his special meditation chamber and fumed in frustration. Only one thing occupied his mind…the pilot that had destroyed the Death Star. A tremor in the force unsettled him when he reached out to it looking for answers that seemed to echo him in some way.
He would find him and find out why. That was a promise.
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On another planet Vader's master, the Emperor sat on his throne contemplating recent events.
The destruction of the Death Star had been a massive setback in his plans for the galaxy and had given the rebels a huge propaganda victory in both its destruction of Jabiim and its own demise. He had raged and electrocuted the aide that had dared bring such news to him before finally calming enough to decide what to do.
The construction of the second Death Star would have to be accelerated although it would still be years before it was ready. What he really needed was a way to combat the rising power of the Jedi, already his domination of the force was slipping away from him so he thought back to a few months ago when he had visited a certain tomb on Korriban.
Flashback…Korriban
As Palpatine with a lamb in his hand journeyed down into the depths of the planet that had been so important to Sith Lords for centuries he felt the power of the dark side so strongly here that it made him feel invincible bringing a sinister smile to his face. The darkness of the caverns that he was traversing did not frighten him as he arrived at the ancient stone arch that was the entrance to his destination, there was no sign of what lay beyond only blackness. His hand went to the large stone talisman he wore around his neck to make sure that it was still there before he stepped into the dark void.
Entering the chamber it was impossible given the lack of light to see its true size but the faint illumination from the lamp that the Emperor carried showed the lines of a throne made of stone.
"Why have you come here little sith lord?" A voice asked from the direction of the throne. It shook with the tremble of great age but Palpatine secure in the knowledge that he was the one in a position of power here demanded.
"How do I destroy the Jedi when all my plans thus far have failed?" The silence stretched out for a moment until a laugh met his ears.
"You think that you can destroy the Jedi? So may Sith Lords across millennia have tried and failed to extinguish their light from the galaxy and yet you think you are certain to succeed." The voice mocked echoing around the chamber making Palpatine's fury rise.
"You are to obey my will as long as I hold the key to your prison." He snarled at the unseen figure that he was speaking too holding out the talisman that he reached for around his neck. The owner of the other voice had been chained here with ancient Sith alchemy lost to time that kept him alive but chained forever in this chamber and submissive to the will of whoever held the talisman which would continue to hold him here until it was destroyed. "How can I destroy them?"
"You cannot." The voice said mocking him, the distain for the little Sith Lord in front of him as evident as a mountain on a flat plain. "But you can check their power…they are many that is why you cannot destroy them alone even with your apprentice at your side. You need knights of the dark side to defeat them."
End flashback…
Palpatine thought on the words the being said to have once been a seer in ancient times although no-one knew for sure. It was true that Vader was a very powerful weapon to use against the Jedi but he was just one man and could not be everywhere given how many Jedi there were now. So he looked to the foot of his throne where a dark armoured figure was kneeling. He was not Lord Vader, his armour was quite different resembling a dark beast moulded from metal. He was completely encased from head to foot and unlike Vader who was known for his frightening breathing sound this new warrior was chilling by his near complete silence just like a statue until the moment he would choose to strike or his master called for it. The dark warrior was known only as Ira Ren, swore to Palpatine's service and to carry out his will.
"Ira Ren, the death of the Grand Inquisitor has shown the need to create a more powerful group of force wielders to counter the Jedi. You will take the Inquisitors and some of my hand agents and turn them into a new organisation capable of destroying the Jedi. They will not be sith." He said firmly wanting to make that very clear. Only he had the right to wield the full power of the dark side. "And they shall take your surname as their own and hence forth be known as the Knights of Ren."
Ira Ren was silent for a moment before answering in a synthetic growl.
"It shall be done…my master." And got back to his feet before exiting the room to begin his task of turning the Jedi hunters into a more powerful force that could destroy the Jedi. Palpatine watched him go with a sinister grin when he began reaching into the force to see how this might affect the future and received a powerful vision that he had not been expecting.
He could not tell the time or the place but in front of a vast and grand throne lay the bodies of Jedi and rebels all as if bowing in death towards the throne. Surrounding were Stormtroopers and Imperials alongside figures dressed in a similar manner Ira Ren kneeling before the figure that was sitting on the throne as did many others. When he tried to see who it was sitting there he could only see a pair of slender looking feet in rough cloth boots but in the force was a burning presence that made even him sliver in anticipation.
When he returned to the present he was silent for a moment as he processed what he had seen. The sheer power of the force in the person that he was certain would not only destroy the Jedi but rule over the entire galaxy was more than he could ever have dreamed. He then remembered a project he had once conceived of some years ago but decided not to pursue due to it taking over a decade for even the slightest possibility of achieving any results and even then it had been doubtful that anything might come of it, however it had the potential to produce great results.
In the vault of his biological research division he had DNA of many force sensitives from Jedi medical samples looted from Jedi Temple after Order 66 and others that had been collected over the years by various sith. By crossing the samples in the laboratory to discover the optimum combination they could create a force wielder of incredible power that would be the heir he had always wanted, like he had once hoped Vader could have been. A Sith Lord that could dominate the galaxy and crush the Jedi once and for all. It might take over a decade before any real progress was made but for now there was time.
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Days later Depa Billaba arrived on Dagobah where a small green figure watched from his small hut. His ears drooped as he felt the reason for her visit become clear. The female Jedi master sat down on a stump in front of him and with a stern gaze asked him.
"Tell me everything about Anakin Skywalker and his family."
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That is the story for now. I have thoughts on what to do next but I'm not sure about trying to write Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi let alone the Force Awakens. If anyone has any ideas I would be glad to hear them.
Sage1988 out.
