A/N: Here it is, the final chapter of 2016! (I can't believe that I announced thing nearly a year ago) We're setting ourselves up one of the most historical battles in cinematic universe, and I hope everyone's ready for some serious awesome!

Edit: May the Force be with you, Carrie Fisher.

Retaliation

The group that had assembled in the briefing room consisted of the best pilots in the Alliance. Some were young, some were old, but every single one of them were veterans of more than at least a dozen encounters with Imperial warships.

Everyone that is, except for Luke, who was feeling incredibly out of place. What was I thinking, signing up to fight alongside these guys? He thought nervously as General Jan strode up to stand in front of a projector to give his presentation. They've all been doing this for way longer than me. Nice going, Luke, running your mouth…

His attention was then taken by the general, who powered on the console and indicated the images that were beginning to appear, showing the Death Star's technical readouts. "Thank you all for your patience," he began. "You all know why you're here, so I'll get right to it.

"This battle station is heavily guarded not only by its own defenses, but by its own personal armada. It contains a power greater than half the fleet." The men in the room began to murmur amongst themselves as some of the rumors they had been hearing were confirmed.

"The defenses are scaled to deal with large assaults," Jan continued, quieting the men with his strict voice. "A small, one-man fighter should be able to slip past the defenses."

Here, the men's concerns became vocalized. "Pardon me, sir, but what good are snub fighters gonna be against that?" one man asked.

Jan, to his credit, took the question in stride and replied with an instant answer. "The Empire doesn't consider a single fighter to be any threat, or else they'd have a better defense," he said.

"In summation, although their defenses can very well handle a warship, their turbolasers are essentially too slow to lock on to any of your fighter craft," a young, female voice said, surprising everyone as its owner strode into the room.

Luke's- as well as several other men's- eyes widened at the sight of Yui as she strode into the room confidently, dressed smart in her now-clean combat outfit. Not only was her beauty breathtaking, her voice and posture were strong and commanding, leaving no doubt that she was to be paid respect when speaking or spoken to.

She ignored their surprise, saying, "The trick will be getting past the outer defenses, of course, but once we make it inside the range of their guns, defenses will be at a minimum, much less than many of you are used to dealing with."

"Apologies again, General, but who is this?" the same pilot from before asked.

"This is Jedi Knight Yui Kirigaya," Jan replied, giving the girl a head nod in respect. "She is going to be leading this assault in person. As such, you are all expected to address her as 'Commander' or 'Master Jedi."

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Yui said as she bowed respectfully to the men, her grace and title further capturing their attention. All of them knew that the Jedi were supposed to be gone, but if one had come forward to help them… "I look forward to fighting the Empire alongside you."

Seeing that she was done introducing herself, the general pointed back at the console to say, "The schematics provided by Princess Leia have demonstrated a weakness in the battle station. Yui, if you wouldn't mind…?" He gestured at the screen as he stepped away.

"Of course, General," she nodded. As the screen changed to show a trench lining the station, she said, "Our two teams will have different objectives in this approach. Gold Squad will be harassing the communication towers, doing their best to confuse their signals and disrupt the chain of command in order to cripple whatever defense they throw at us by destroying their com towers. Red Squad- led by me- will be in charge of the actual destruction of the Death Star."

Pointing at the screen, she said, "We'll have to skim this trench to reach this reactor shaft in particular." The screen stopped as it showed a square hole in the trench itself. "It leads directly to the main reactor. If we can drop a precise shot down the shaft with proton torpedoes, the reaction will cause the Death Star to explode. The shaft is only two meters wide, though, so your targeting computers will be programmed to let you know when to launch your missiles. Only a precise hit will destroy the reactor."

A pilot sitting next to Luke protested, saying, "Even with a targeting computer, we can't make a shot moving that fast. Two meters is too small a target- it's impossible."

"It's not impossible," Luke said, surprising everyone in the room, himself more than anyone. He almost froze, but he saw Yui smile gently with encouragement at him, and he found that his tongue still worked. "I used to hunt Wamp Rats back home on a speeder without a targeting system, and they're not even two meters."

Some of the other pilots muttered their agreements- the new kid was right, they'd all had to take hard shots before, and that was without a pre-locked target to make it easier on them.

Sensing that they were all ready to go, Yui said, "Before we head out to get fueled and ready, I have one thing to say." When everyone's attention was on her, she smiled a bit before saying, "I know that what we're about to do is difficult, but so is being a Rebel in the first place, right? An entire galaxy stands against you, it seems like."

The men began to mutter amongst themselves- what kind of pep talk was this?

But Yui continued, saying, "But it's not you against the galaxy… It's us against the Empire." She paused briefly to let the words sink in before adding, "Here we are, twenty or so pilots. But each of you has accomplished things that twenty-trillion people would never dream of trying. The Force is with each of you, and I sense that it is strong when we stand together. I know not everyone here believes in it, but let it work through you to accomplish this." She looked around the room, feeling the men's hearts surge with hope as she spoke to them, and it made her smile even wider.

"The Force isn't just a myth," she said to reaffirm what she had just said. "And it's not just for a Jedi. It can work wonders… Make twenty men feel like an army, bring light in the darkest times, and grant victory to those that never thought they'd hear the word."

As she spoke, Luke felt a calm peace wash over him, soothing his anxiety and chasing away his worry. I might not be a veteran like these guys, but I am a pilot, just like my father was, he thought. And someday, I'll be a Jedi like him, too. And the first step to my destiny… taking down the Death Star!

"Hear hear!" he shouted impulsively, standing up with a raised fist.

"I'm with the Jedi!" another man grinned.

"Those Imps won't know what hit 'em!" laughed another.

One by one, all of the pilots began to clap and add their voices to the enthusiasm as Yui walked into their midst, graceful and charming like a goddess among men. How did I do, Master? She wondered silently.

Those men will follow you beyond the stars if you ask them to, Revan chuckled lightly. You've done very well indeed.

Not an hour later, they received the red alert- the Death Star had come into firing range, the only thing keeping it from destroying them being Yavin itself. "I don't get it, why not just blow up Yavin and then target us?" Luke asked as he and Yui headed for their ships.

"Two reasons," Yui replied as they stepped into the hangar, which forced her to raise her voice to be heard above the noise of the fleet about to launch. "First, the schematics show that it takes hours to recharge the weapon after firing it, so destroying the planet at this point would actually just buy us time."

"What's the second reason?" the young man prompted.

"The planet is a gas giant," Yui said with a small smirk. "If they blew it up, they would take half the system with them- not even their shields could hold out against a blast that strong."

"Oh," Luke said. "Lucky us, then?"

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck," Yui replied, echoing her mentor's words. Stopping and turning to face her companion, she said, "The Force will move today, Luke. I'm not sure how it's all going to end, but I do know that there is no death- there is only the Force. And it has a will that brought us here."

"Are you getting the sense of some kind of disaster?" he asked worriedly.

"No," she shook her head negatively. "And even if I had, I would quote Master Yoda and say the future is forever in motion, so do not rely on visions as though they had already come to pass."

"Master Yoda?" Luke repeated, the name unfamiliar to him.

"He was the Jedi Grandmaster during the Clone Wars," Yui answered with a slight smile. "He was a wonderfully wise old teacher… and a good friend to my family."

"Master Jedi!" one of the veteran pilots called out as he jogged up to the pair. Facing Yui, he said, "We've got a number of our best ready to fly in your squadron, are you sure you don't want to swap out the greenhorn?" He made a vague gesture at Luke, who looked affronted.

Before Yui could say anything, though, another man stepped up to join them. "Sir, with all due respect, Skywalker could run with the best of us," said a young man with a thick moustache that Luke recognized instantly.

"Biggs!" Luke laughed as he and his childhood friend embraced roughly. "I told you I'd make it!"

"You left out the part where you'd be bringing a Jedi with you!" Biggs teased him. "It's good to see you!"

"Biggs, you know this man?" the other pilot asked.

"Sir, Luke was the most daring pilot I knew back in my days on Tatooine," Biggs grinned easily as he turned to face his commanding officer. "We're very lucky to have him with us."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, captain," Yui smiled at the rebel pilot. "Luke stays in my squad, and that's final. Green or not, he's a quick shot and if he's half as good as his father was, we've already won the battle."

"Your father was a military man?" the pilot asked Luke with surprise.

"No, a Jedi like Yui," he replied with pride.

"Not just any Jedi," Yui added. "He was, without question, the best pilot in the Order. If you need proof of the fact, look up holo-vids of Anakin Skywalker in action during the Clone Wars."

"When time allows, I just might do that," the pilot said as he began to walk away. "All right, Master Jedi. The fighters will be ready in T-minus ten."

"Understood," she nodded. "I'll be in place at the designated time."

As soon as he was out of earshot, Luke muttered, "Sounds like some of these guys don't think I have what it takes."

"Come outta this thing alive, and they'll be just fine with you," Biggs chuckled. "Happens to all the new guys. They did the same thing, giving me the cold shoulder until I helped take down an Imperial monitoring station near Ord Mantel."

"Thanks, Biggs," Luke said as he clapped his friend on the shoulder. "It's good to see you."

"You too, and have I got some stories to tell you when we make it back," Biggs said as he pulled away to walk towards his ship.

"Same here!" Luke said as he waved good-bye. Turning back to Yui, he said, "He was one of my oldest friends back home. He even knew Ben."

"I'm glad you got to meet up with him again," Yui smiled at her friend. "You ready to go blow up a Death Star?"

"Yeah, but…" he frowned as he looked past her. Following his gaze, she saw that he had spotted Han and Chewbacca, who were busy loading carts onto the Falcon. "They're not coming?"

Yui's face fell a bit as she shook her head negatively. "I couldn't get them to stay, no."

Luke's frown grew heavier as he walked away from Yui to confront the smugglers. She let him go, knowing that he needed to sort this out himself. Turning away, she walked over to her designated X-wing fighter, appraising the ship with a practiced eye.

If I had the time, I'd make some modifications to this ship, but it'll do for now, she thought as she finished walking around it. "Master Jedi!" one of the technicians saluted her, even as a white-and-black astromech droid rolled up behind him. "We've brought in an R4 droid to help you today. Designation is R4-D9."

"Hello, R4-D9," she said with a smile as she knelt to be eye level with the short droid. "Ready to help me take on the empire?" The droid whistled merrily, causing her to smile wider. "Good to hear," she said. "Go on and get in the ship, and I'll be right behind you."

R4 bleeped to confirm the order and began rolling over to the loading zone for astromech droids.

"So, you're just… taking off, huh?" Luke said as he watched Han and Chewbacca load a crate full of what he assumed was money or spice.

"Yeah, of course," Han shrugged. "What'd you really think I was gonna stick around or somethin'? Besides…" he sighed as he turned around and lugged another crate to hand over to his first mate. "I got some debts I gotta pay off."

"Han, look around you," Luke pleaded. "You know what's about to happen- they could use a good pilot like you!"

"Maybe, but nobility and all that ain't really my style," Han shrugged again. "Besides this isn't even noble. More like… suicide."

Luke's face went hard, stoic. "Fine," he scowled. "Look after yourself, Han. I guess it's what you're good at."

"Hey, Luke," Han said before the young Skywalker could walk away. Luke stopped and turned to look at the pirate over his shoulder, his face still hard. And yet in spite of that and himself, Han smiled a bit and said, "May the Force be with you."

Luke's face didn't change, but his eyes did soften a bit as he nodded before walking away. So it was that he wasn't there to hear Chewbacca growl at Han, who looked at his best friend incredulously. "What?" he asked. "I know what I'm doing."

Yui was talking to Leia when Luke walked up to them, his expression clouded. "Couldn't talk him out of it?" Leia asked sympathetically.

"No," he shook his head disappointedly. "I just… I really thought that he would stay."

"Something that I learned early on in my career as a Senator is that no matter who you are, you won't always be able to change people's minds," Leia said sympathetically. "He needs to follow his own path, whether that leads him back to us or not."

"Yeah…" Luke sighed.

"Hey," Yui smiled encouragingly at Luke. "Come on. You ready to make your father proud?"

"Yeah," Luke said again, though this time with a more positive inflection. "Where's my fighter?"

"Right over here, next to mine," Yui said as she indicated the X-wing that he would be piloting. "And you'll having a familiar co-pilot along for the ride."

Luke looked up to see a blue-and-white droid being lowered into his station, and a smile broke through. "Hey, buddy!" he said to R2. "You gonna be good in there?" The droid whistled a couple of times, followed by a bleeping sound. "Okay, just don't get too comfortable," he chuckled.

"Sir, are you certain that you don't want to switch to an R4 model?" the technician that was helping the little droid into place. "These older droids don't compete with the next generations."

"Not on your life," Luke shook his head in the negative. "That little droid and I have been through a lot together. Not to mention, he helped my dad fight in the clone wars."

"As you wish, sir," the technician replied as he finished getting R2 settled in.

"Well, we're launching in three minutes," Yui said as Luke turned back to them. "See you when we get back, Leia."

"I look forward to the celebration," Leia smiled. Turning to Luke, she smiled a little wider and said, "You'll do great. And I'll be in touch the whole time."

"Thanks, Leia," Luke smiled back as he gave her a one-armed hug, which she returned. "I'll make you and the alliance proud."

"I know," she nodded before pulling away. "May the Force be with you both."

"And you as well, Princess," Yui said with a slight bow. Then she was gone, and the area was filled with the sounds of engines being prepped for launch.

"Well, I guess I'll see you up there!" Luke shouted to be heard over the noise.

"Yeah!" Yui shouted back as she threw her arms around the young man, surprising him. What downright shocked him- and her to a degree- was right before she pulled away, she planted a soft kiss on his cheek before pulling back and shouting, "That was for good luck!" Then she was gone, using the Force to leap high into her cockpit, her own cheeks blazing red from her forwardness.

"Good luck," Luke repeated dumbly before he realized that he was supposed to be getting into his own cockpit. Shaking his head to try and clear the stunned feeling, he climbed up his ladder to get into the pilot's seat before strapping on his helmet.

R2 beeped a question, to which Luke replied, "No, I don't want to know what my face looks like right now!" The little droid let out a series of noises that sounded suspiciously to Luke like laughter.

"Oh, do take good care, my little friend," 3PO said as Luke began strapping himself in. "You wouldn't want my life to get boring, would you?"

R2 bleeped a response just before the golden droid was told to leave the area. The hangar began to echo with the sounds of the Alliance's attack squadron. It was the sounds of the brave men and women that were ready to attack the Death Star.

As Luke's ship began to rise off the ground, all seemed to be strangely quiet for a moment. Then the voice of his teacher, Ben Kenobi, resounded in the deepest corner of his mind, saying, "Luke… The Force will be with you".

Back in the HQ room, Leia and General Jan stared intently at the map that would show them the progress of the battle. Around them, technicians raced to their stations, many of them already establishing contact with their designated pilots.

"Alert," the announcer said over the stations network. "The Death Star is approaching. Estimated time to firing range- fifteen minutes."

The atmosphere in the room immediately intensified. As Leia gripped the monitor with her anxiety, she thought silently, Yui, Luke… We're counting on you.

The Death Star loomed against the vastness of space- there was no other way to describe it. Yui could sense the awe and fear emanating from her pilots as they raced across the vacuum between them, so she decided to give them something to focus on.

"All wings, report in," she ordered. The softness and charm was gone from her voice. Now she spoke crisply and with power layered in her tones.

"Red Ten, standing by," the first X-wing pilot reported.

"Red Seven, standing by," another said.

"Red Three standing by," Biggs answered.

Reds Six, two, nine, and eleven also reported in, each one of them coming through loud and clear.

"Red Five, standing by," Luke added his voice to the count.

Yui nodded to herself as the rest of the Red squadron checked in. "Lock S-foils in attack position," she ordered as they drew even closer. Soon, they all noticed that their ships were vibrating hard enough to rattle them in their seats, so Yui spoke again to inform them, "We're passing through the magnetic field. Set up your deflector shields to double-front."

Details of the Death Star were coming into view, especially the trench that they were going for- and the arsenal of weapons all aimed at them.

"Look at the size of that thing," one of the pilots said, fear evident in his voice as they came close to firing range.

"Cut the chatter, Red Two," Yui ordered, her voice sharp. I can't let them focus on their fear, she thought. "Accelerate to attack speed." As she felt the engines thrum at her command, she said in a grave tone, "This is it, boys."

Just before they came in range, a new voice came in on the radio. "Red Leader, this is Gold Leader," another pilot informed Yui.

"I copy you, Gold Leader," she replied.

"We're starting for the target shaft now," Gold Leader said.

"We're in position," Yui nodded, even though no one could see her. "I'm going to close in on the axis and draw their fire. Red squadron, let's move!"

"We're with you, Master Jedi," Biggs said.

Yui gunned her engines to maximum and swooped in so close to the Death Star's surface that one could have barely fit a hydrospanner in the space between, prompting her astromech to scream with alarm. Ignoring its cry of protest, she shot straight for one of the nearest turrets, which was aiming to gun down some of the trailing fighters.

Eyeing the rapidly closing target closely, she allowed her years of training with Obi-Wan and her newly-enhanced connection to the Force guide her, waiting until the precise moment to let loose four lasers- a single blast from each barrel on her ship. The first shot slammed into the turbolasers themselves, blowing them to smithereens, while the other three beams hit the tower on which it was based, rupturing the munitions that were stored inside and causing it to go up in flames.

"Whoo!" One of the pilots exclaimed. "That was some fine shooting, Commander!"

"I'll deal with the turrets," Yui replied. "Reds Five, Nine, and Two, you're with me. Everyone else, disrupt their communications as best you can while Gold Squad makes their run to clear the trench for us."

"Copy that, Red Leader," the pilots all replied.

"The Force is with us for now," Revan said quietly into her mind. "I sense that it will not be so for long, though." Yui frowned, but she said nothing in response.

Focus on the present, she reminded herself.

Red Squadron split itself as she had ordered, and every ship opened fire.

The siege of the Death Star had begun.

Kirito: ...

Asuna: ...

Anakin: ...Why is everyone being so quiet?

Mataras: Give it a second.

Asuna: Are you serious?!

Kirito: You did not just do that!

Anakin: Whoa, why all the yelling?!

Mataras: They're mad about the cliffhanger- they're essentially voicing what I imagine to be the thoughts of a good number of my readers right now.

Anakin: Why do you antagonize them like that?

Mataras: Because it makes them come back for more, despite their protests. Also, I kind of forgot how to turn it off...

Anakin: Turn what off?

Mataras: Cliffhangers. Truthfully it's very concerning.

Anakin: Any ideas on how to make them stop?

Mataras: Yeah. I end the segment- like so.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope to see many of you when the Legacy of Korra debuts on the first day of the next year!

Anakin: Next time- One With the Force.