Yavin IV: Three years later:
"Daddy I'm ready to go!"
Luke turned to see Ben running towards him.
He bent over and scooped up the redhead as he turned to see Padme, Leia and Han entering the room.
"Is the Falcon ready to go Admiral?"
"On your demand," Han replied.
Luke nodded as he saw Mara stepping into the room, "Everything is packed."
Luke kissed his wife as he spoke, "I'm taking my starfighter straight to the line of battle.
Luke turned to Han as he spoke, "Do not bring the ships out from behind the moon until we have made our attack."
"You got it," Han replied.
Luke turned to Padme as he spoke, "If anything goes wrong you and Leia will get my wife and my son off of that ship before he gets to them."
Padme nodded as she stepped forward and hugged Luke, "Be safe."
"You know that I will."
In the last three years Padme had been the closest thing that Luke would ever have to a mother. In fact, she treated him and Mara as though they were her own. Luke was convinced that it was due to her relationship with Reina although Mara insisted that there was something about Padme that they were missing.
It was three years since the Alliance had joined forces with Luke. They knew that their time on Yavin IV was up. That is why they allowed word about the location of their base to reach the ears of the Empire. They already had a new base prepared on Hoth. Vader was approaching Yavin with the Executor and a fleet of five Star Destroyers. He believed that his arrival was unexpected. Instead, he was about to walk into a trap that Luke and his war council had been in the process of setting for three years.
If all went as they had planned, they would inflict heavy losses on Vader's fleet and at the same time retreat from the system with minor casualties.
Luke walked away from his family feeling relieved to know that his family was in safe hands. He noticed Obi-Wan walking towards the Falcon as he spoke, "Watch out for them Master."
"I will do that Luke. Padme has them covered. You know how far back we go do you not?"
"She said that my father even saved her life on a few occasions."
"Yes they know each other all too well," Obi-Wan replied.
A few minutes later, Luke climbed into the cockpit of his customized Tie Advanced X1 fighter and lifted off as he looked back at Obi-Wan.
Space above Yavin:
Vader stared out of the viewport as Firmus Piett approached him, "Sir there are no ships above the fourth moon of Yavin as we were told. Could our source have lied to us?"
Vader shook his head, "He is here. I can sense him now. I can also sense the presence of a Jedi that I haven't seen or heard from in many years."
"A Jedi?" Firmus asked.
"My Old Master."
"Obi-Wan Kenobi? What makes you think so?" Firmus exclaimed in disbelief.
"I can feel his presence trust me he's here."
"It's just hard to believe that he is still alive after all of these years."
"Perhaps I can have the pleasure of killing the old man today," Vader replied with a smile.
At that moment, Vader felt the ship shaking as he stared out of the viewport in time to see several Tie Fighters flying by followed by a squad of X-Wings.
"Our shields are down by fifteen percent!" Exclaimed a young officer.
"Two of our ships have lost their propulsion abilities and the Crucible has confirmed casualties."
Vader stared out of the viewport in disbelief as he saw star destroyers and rebel ships coming into view.
A great and mighty stream of artillery fire from all of the ships was released as Vader spoke, "Brace for Impact!"
The Executor shook once again and Vader looked out of the viewport and saw one of his star destroyers exploding.
"It's a trap! Get the crews to their fighters! Take the bridge Admiral I'm going out!" Vader yelled.
Firmus didn't say a word as his Emperor left.
Luke spoke into his comlink, "Keep focusing on these other ships. If we concentrate too much on the Executor we will lose men that we don't need to lose Wedge."
"We are going for the Bridge shields of the ship that we immobilized on this run. Then we will pull out," replied the young pilot.
Luke had met Wedge shortly after the Alliance had joined his army. Wedge Antilles had instantly earned his attention and earned a promotion due to his piloting skills and his leadership skills.
"I've got two concussion missiles that I will release with the rest of you boys," Luke replied.
Luke locked his rockets on the shield generator and released them as Five of the X-Wings released their own proton torpedos.
As the shields on the Star Destroyer were brought down Luke spoke into his comlink, "Ok boys let's pull out."
Within minutes, the three hundred starfighters were clear of the Imperial fleet as the combined force of Alliance and Imperial Star Destroyers released another barrage of firepower.
Han watched as a second Star Destroyer was destroyed.
At the same time, he noticed Mon Mothma's face turning grim, "There are enemy fighters coming out according to Admiral Ackbar."
Han turned to Biggs as he spoke, "Alert Luke."
"Yes Sir," Biggs replied.
Luke didn't have to be told by Biggs to know that his father was leading the attack.
"Wedge you will have to take command. My Father is leading the attack and none of you can compete with him. I will hold him off. We need to take out one more Star Destroyer if we wish to win this fight."
"You've got it boss," Wedge replied.
"Stay away from the Crucible it's already not a threat. Go for another one."
Luke then looked to see his father's identical Tie Fighter flying his way.
Luke flew head on with his father as he let loose his cannons.
Vader smiled as he started to fight with his son. The boy had always been a skilled pilot but he still wasn't as good of a fighter as he was. He still was more skilled than Luke although he had to admit that Luke had taken him by surprise with this ambush.
As he got onto Luke's tail he started to fire upon the boy's fighter.
At the same time his fighter shook as he was thrown off course.
He recovered just as Luke started to get on the offensive.
"What was that?" Vader asked in his comlink.
"We lost another ship," Admiral Piett replied.
"The Crucible?" Vader asked.
"No Sir, the Crucible is still intact. We are now getting our remaining vessels in line with it in order to protect her."
"My Son knows what he is doing we are almost outmatched. Even with the hell from our cannons."
"WE released our main guns on the Devastator but the Alliance flew damaged ships into the pathway of our guns."
"Another scheme of my son's and how many times did you fire the main guns?" Vader asked.
"Three they are recharging now, it will be at least twenty minutes because they were overheated in the last barrage."
"Well I will soon have my son," Vader replied with a smile as he managed to outmaneuver the boy.
He then fired his guns and caused the engines of his son's fighter to stop.
"Pull our fighter's back and hail the Devastator tell them we want to discuss a ceasefire."
Luke cringed as he realized what his father had done.
He was going to use him as a bargaining chip in order to get his forces to stand down. He was closer to the Executor and all that the Executor would have to do is get within a few more kilometers and they would be able to tractor beam him.
"Han you have to listen very carefully to me," Luke stated.
Executor:
An image of Han Solo materialized before Vader.
"This is Admiral Han Solo. I am ready to discuss your terms Lord Vader."
"We are preparing to tractor beam your leader. You will surrender and disarm yourselves and prepare for arrest," Vader replied.
"Lord Skywalker said that you would say that. That is why he has given me strict orders. There will be no terms. Our nearest ship, Home One is going to move closer to Lord Skywalker's fighter and they are going to tractor beam him. If you fire upon that ship we will fire back."
"Solo you must certainly realize that the Executor has superior firepower. We will cause great damage and possibly destroy Home One."
"If you tractor Beam my commander or fire upon Home One, I will order Captain Darklighter to lay in a collision course with your ship. You may have more fighters and guns than we do but you can do nothing to stop nine capital ships from colliding with your vessels. There would be no survivors from this battle if that was the case and I will follow the orders of my commander even if it costs me my life," Han firmly stated.
Vader's eyes turned yellow.
He clenched his fist in rage as he spoke, "Take him and get out of this system within the hour or you will pay!"
Han laughed, "We have to get out of here sooner than that unless we wish to fall into the hands of the reinforcements that you called."
"I swear to you Solo you and my son will both die like the traitors that you are before my time is up."
"We shall see," Han replied with a smirk as the transmission was severed.
Vader turned to Admiral Piett as he spoke, "This was a scheme to inflict more casualties on our Navy. Luke knows what he is doing. The base probably wasn't even on Yavin. That dammed Bounty Hunter was all a part of his plan. We will have to take a more drastic approach if we are to find him and arrest him."
Firmus looked out of the window as he saw Home One pulling Luke's fighter in.
He saw his Emperor storming off of the bridge in anger. After four years he also was feeling just as frustrated with the results that they were receiving. Luke had outmaneuvered and outsmarted them for far too long.
Devastator:
Luke stepped out of the shuttle as he saw his three year old son rushing towards him with Mara running behind.
"Daddy!" Ben exclaimed.
Luke scooped up his son as Mara approached her husband and kissed him. "Thank the Force Luke, I thought that we were going to lose you."
"You almost did," Luke replied.
Luke noticed Han walking towards him as he spoke, "We are on our way to the new base," Han stated.
"Excellent, how long until we get to Hoth?" Luke asked.
"About a day," Han replied.
Luke looked down at Ben as he turned to his wife.
He then turned to Han as the older man spoke, "I'll take charge of things take your family and go have your family time."
Luke walked out of the hanger bay with his wife and son as he spoke, "Let's join the men in the cafeteria for lunch."
"Ok," Mara replied.
Luke and Mara entered the packed Cafeteria to the sight of pilots who had returned from battle.
The young Jedi got into the lunch line with his wife and son.
As they were handed their trays, Luke walked into the room with his wife and son. He soon found three open seats at a table that was full of pilots.
"Mind if we join you?" Luke asked.
"Our honor," one of the young men replied.
Luke and Mara sat down with Ben as Luke looked around the table, "How many did we lose? Admiral Solo didn't give me the casualty report."
"My squad lost three," stated one pilot.
"I hear that there was about twenty nine altogether," another pilot stated.
"That's bad," One pilot replied.
"It's not as bad as what they suffered."
"But still bad," Luke muttered.
Mara noticed Leia taking the seat next to her that had just been abandoned by one of the pilots.
"We are almost there aren't we?"
The bounty hunter nodded, "Yes we are."
"Where is your mother?" Mara asked.
"She's eating lunch with Obi-Wan and your mother."
"Oh," Mara replied.
Luke looked at his wife as he spoke, "After things calm down we are going to take a family trip. Just you and I and Ben," Luke stated.
"Where are we going?" Mara asked.
"It's a surprise," Luke replied with a smile.
Luke gave her a kiss as he spoke, "I just happened to remember that our anniversary is coming."
"Oh Luke!" Mara exclaimed.
As Leia stood up and walked away, Luke noticed Ben taking her place.
"You rarely leave your chambers Master."
Obi-Wan looked at his two padawans and down towards his namesake with a fond smile.
He looked at Luke as he spoke, "I felt a need to. It seems like your buddy Solo forced Vader to compromise."
"He hated it more than anything. I'm willing to be that he is already seeking retribution for our actions," Luke replied.
"Oh you can be assured that he is," Obi-Wan replied.
"Didn't you already eat with my mother?" Mara asked.
"Yes we did, I just thought that I would check on you two," Obi-Wan replied.
Tibrin: One week later:
Luke allowed Mara to remove the blindfold after the shuttle that carried the couple had landed.
Mara let out a gasp of shock as she felt the sand in her bare feet and the warm sun on her body. She stared at her husband in disbelief, "Oh Luke this is beautiful."
Luke affectionately kissed his wife as Ben reached up wishing to be held.
Luke picked up his son as Mara spoke, "What planet is this?"
"It's Tibrin," Luke replied.
"Tibrin? I'm not familiar with this place," Mara replied.
"Not surprised it's just an ocean world with islands like this. I rented the cottage on this beach for us for a few days under a false ID. We will spend our anniversary with Ben because I don't want to leave him behind during a time of war."
Mara kissed her husband as she spoke, "I couldn't have asked for a better and more thoughtful husband."
"Well let's get unpacked."
An hour later, Luke and Mara were both swimming in the shallow water that covered the reefs with Ben who had been given a floaty for the purpose.
Mara appeared to be in heaven as she moved closer to her husband, "I had no idea that you were planning this. We haven't been able to do anything like this."
"The days of serving my father are over. We are a family now. We need to focus on raising our son and moving forward," Luke stated.
"What happens after this war is over?" Mara asked.
"I say we continue our lives as Jedi Knights and raise our son."
Mara looked her husband in the eye as she spoke, "That sounds perfect to me."
Luke moved forward and wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a kiss as he spoke, "If I have you and Ben I have everything."
"I feel the same way," Mara replied.
"My father needs to realize that what I have he cannot give me. I don't want anything that he has. I only want the life that I have now. I didn't have a life of my own until we met. You showed me what it was like to have your own life. I have it all because of you. Because of you I am free."
Mara looked at Luke as she thought of one thing, in their four year marriage he hadn't gone one day without expressing his gratitude to her for freeing him of the lies that he had grown up believing. She had freed him and he had shown her unbelievable gratitude for being freed of his father's influence.
The couple headed for the small cottage as Luke spoke, "Ben gets his own room and we get ours," Luke stated as he stepped into the small living room.
Mara noticed a large fireplace that was against the wall.
"I'll get dinner going. Is there food here?"
"Yes, while you're doing that I'll get a fire going. It's the main source of heat in here."
Mara gave her husband a kiss on the cheek as she led her son towards the kitchen.
Mara stepped into the living room with a tray of food. She set the tray down on the small caf table as she spoke, "We can just eat in here tonight."
"Yes we can," Luke replied as he turned off the lights leaving only the fire to light the room.
The family started to eat as Ben spoke, "Are we going swimming tomorrow?"
"We will swim after lunch. In the morning I think that we are going to take a little boat out and go fishing," Luke replied.
"All of us?" Ben asked.
"Yes we will fish for lunch," Luke replied as he looked down at his son.
Ben smiled at his father as he took a bite of his salad.
Luke looked at his wife as he spoke, "He is growing so fast isn't he?"
"He is," Mara replied.
It was less than an hour later when Luke carried his exhausted son into his waiting bedroom. Mara expertly changed their son into his pajamas and the couple tucked him into bed together.
They then left Ben's room and headed for their own room.
As Luke removed his tunic he noticed Mara leaving the room for the refresher.
She returned in a seductive looking nightgown as she looked at him, "Luke you're the best husband that I could have ever asked for. I cannot imagine life without you."
"And you're the most perfect wife Mara. I owe you my life, I am yours. You freed me after all."
Mara stepped forward and kissed her husband as she spoke, "I want you."
Alright that's it for now. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Sorry it took so long I had a lot of assignments to get in this week.
-Fallen Jedi 79