Chapter 12: Return to Keket

The ship emerged out of hyperspace above Keket. The planet looked just like Rin had left it. It was a beautiful planet of black, brown and purple. It had been ten years since he had seen his home world. He had changed so much but it didn't look like it had changed a bit.

"Is that Keket?" Ro asked when she saw it.

"Yup. It doesn't look like anything has changed."

Ro pointed to something off in the distance. "Uh, it looks like some things had changed."

There was change to the planet. The Star Destroyer was there. Rin manoeuvred the ship so they were separated by the planet.

"What are we going to do?" Ro asked, "The Empire is already here."

"We'll have to go down to the surface and see where they need help."

"Can we really do anything against, that?"

"I guess that we'll find out."

Rin steered the ship down through the atmosphere. They cleared the clouds and the fields and forests stretched out before them. It was peaceful there. The Empire had not made it to this part of the planet. Rin wasn't sure where he was. He didn't recognize the fields or the crops. They were far away from where he grew up.

"Did you grow up around here?" Ro asked.

"No. But I grew up in a place very similar."

"Aren't you worried that they might shoot us down?"

Rin laughed. "Shoot us down. With what?"

R5 beeped from behind them.

"She found the Empire!" Rin announced.

They flew past more fields and forests towards the Empire. The landscape was starting to get more familiar. They were closer to his home. In a few minutes they had covered thousands of kilometres.

"Is that the sun?" Ro asked pointing at the horizon.

"No. The sunlight doesn't reach here."

The horizon was getting lighter as they got closer. It was a yellow glow that did resemble the sun. When they got closer they saw that it was fires. The forests were on fire. Imperial forces were forcing the people out of the forests. They couldn't hide there like he had. The Empire had also come equipped with massive spotlights.

Below them, Rin spotted a group of Yokios trying to defend themselves against the Empire. There was someone down there with a red lightsabre.

"Is that a lightsabre?" Ro asked.

"Yup."

"Please tell me that you have yours."

"Sorry, no."

"What? You were a Jedi! How do you not have a lightsabre?"

Rin shrugged. "I destroyed it, years ago. I was on the run from the Empire. I destroyed everything that I had that connected me to the Republic."

"We're doomed."

Rin got up and left the bridge. "R5, set the ship down close."

"Where are you going?" Ro asked.

"Outside. Stay with R5."

He disappeared down the hall leaving Ro on the bridge. Dave was waiting for him by the cargo hold doors. Dave had the blaster that he had taken from the Stormtroopers in his hands. The sight reminded Rin that Dave was still a battle droid.

"You're going to want to be very careful down there," Rin advised him.

"I still have my tactical programing from the war. I will be fine. The Stormtroopers are not very formidable."

"It's not the Stormtroopers that I'm worried about," Rin said, "The last time that my people saw a droid was when the Separatist Army was invading. They are not going to react kindly to you. Just stay close to me."

"Understood."

Rin pressed the button for the intercom. "R5, open the cargo hold doors."

She squawked over the intercom.

"Yes I know this isn't safe. I'll be alright."

She beeped and squawked again.

"You were talking to Dave? Actually never mind. I do not want to know."

The cargo hold doors slowly creaked open. Below he could see the ones with the red lightsabres and Stormtroopers surrounding a small group of Yokios. Rin assumed that the red blades belonged to the Inquisitors. The adults were prepared to fight them and try to protect five children that were huddled in the centre of them. They didn't stand a chance.

Rin took several steps back and ran out the cargo hold doors. At first he felt weightless but then he started falling towards the ground. He angled himself so that he was aimed for the group of Yokios. The wind tried to push him off course but never did.

The ground was coming up fast. No matter how many times he had done this sort of thing during the war, he always had a moment of panic when he really thought that he was going to hit the ground. This time was no exception. The panic passed as he remembered what he was supposed to do. He flipped himself around so that he was going down feet first. He used the Force to slow his descent.

Rin landed on the shoulders of man with the red lightsabre and crashed to the ground. The others around him diverted their attention from the Yokios and onto him. He forced the lightsabre into his own hand and started spinning it. It felt so natural and it was like no time had passed. Stormtroopers started to fire on him. He easily deflected the bolts back to them. Two Inquisitors attacked him but were no match for him.

The Inquisitors were dressed head to toe in black with the crest of the Empire on their shoulders. They had some kind of helmet on that covered their faces. They were skilled with a lightsabre and the Force but they were not in the same league as Rin. He let the Force guide him as he defended himself and his people from them.

Dave crashed into the ground ten metres away from him creating a large crater. He was folded up into a ball. He unfolded himself and started firing upon the Stormtroopers.

Another Inquisitor tried and failed to take Rin. The other Yokios started to fight back against the Inquisitors.

"Fall back!" a tall thin male Inquisitor called.

The remaining three Inquisitors obeyed and so did the Stormtroopers. They had won. But only temporarily. The Inquisitors would return with back up.

Rin studied the lightsabre in his hand. It was double bladed and the two ends were connected by a circle. He had never seen a design like it before. All of the Inquisitors had lightsabres that were similar in design. It looked like the blades might be able to spin. He did not know how that feature would be useful.

"It's one of them!" One of the adult Yokios called out.

Rin looked up to see that they were starting to gain up on Dave. One waved their hand and Dave started to float in the air.

"No!" Rin cried out. He rushed to his droid and got between them, "He's alright! He's with me!"

"And who are you?" A woman asked him, "Who are you siding with this monster?"

"He's not a monster. He's my friend. We're trying to help."

"But who are you?" she asked again.

"Rin?" said a man from within the crowd. The man stepped forward and Rin did not recognize him at first. He was a little shorter than Rin but was stockier. His hair was perfectly combed back and made him look cool. He finally remembered who it was in front of him. It had been ten years but he could not forget how he had envied having that cool hair.

"Koda? Is that you?"

"You know him?" one of the men asked Koda.

"Yeah, we were kids together. But, but you left. How, or why are you back?"

"I came to help. The Empire-"

"Wait. What's the Empire? Why are you helping this thing?"

Rin glanced back at Dave who was still struggling under the invisible hand that was holding him. "He's not the bad guy anymore. He's my friend. The Empire is the real danger here. Not him."

"Why should we believe you?" Koda asked, "You left us with the people that just attacked us. We were told that he was the bad guy. Now you're telling us that, that thing is trying to help us and the men in white are now the bad guys?"

"Um, well, yeah. It's complicated," Rin stammered, "But the guys in white are not the ones that I left with. They're different. Just trust me and let him go."

Koda looked up to Dave and back to Rin. It was clear that he was trying to decide what to do with the droid.

"We can't trust him," an elderly woman said. Rin thought that she was one of the town elders, "He left with the outsiders. He turned his back on us. He is now an outsider. He cannot be trusted."

Many of the others in the crowd nodded in agreement.

"Wait! No! Would you at least give me a chance to explain. I am trying to help."

"Rin! Are you alright?" Ro called from the trees. She came stumbling out of the woods with R5 close behind her. R5 had a light on but it was not enough that Ro could see with it.

"Ro, stay back!" he yelled.

"Who's she?" Koda demanded.

"He brought another outsider here," the old woman said.

"What is following her?" someone had asked, "It looks like a barrel on wheels."

"Hey!" Ro screamed.

Ro started to rise up in the air as someone in the crowd moved their hands.

"Leave her out of this!" Rin cried, "She's just a kid. We are not here to hurt you. I want to help. Look, Koda. You know me. You used to beat me up for not being able to harvest as much gava fruits as you. We helped each other when the droids invaded."

"That was ten years ago. A lot has changed."

Ro was struggling against the invisible force that was holding her. She was starting to have difficulty breathing.

"Alright! You're right. A lot has changed. I have changed a lot. I have done a lot of things that I am not overly proud of. But I don't believe that you have. She is a fifteen year old girl. I don't think that you would hurt her. Your cato says that you are a protector. Show it!"

Rin's words did not seem to convince Koda or any of the others.

"I am protecting my home," Koda said quietly, "If this is what it takes then so be it."

The grip on Ro started to tighten.

"No!" Rin cried, "Stop! Stop! Koda, you were right. You warned me that no good would come from siding with the Republic," the grip on Ro stopped tightening, "The Republic has fallen. The side that I thought I was helping no longer exists. I didn't know it at the time but I helped create the Empire. It's my fault that they're here. I am trying to make it right. You were right about them. I-I was wrong."

"You mean that?" Koda asked.

"Yes," Rin replied.

Koda seemed to accept that. "Release her," he ordered, "And that thing."

Ro and Dave were released and fell to the ground in a heap. Rin rushed to Ro to check if she was alright.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Fine," she coughed, "Your people really do not like outsiders."

"Tell me about it."

"I can barely see you. I can see figures but I cannot make out faces," she exclaimed, "What's wrong."

Rin smiled. "Nothing is wrong. My people blend into the shadows. The only reason that you can see us is because of the fire. I am actually surprised that you can see that much."

Koda walked up behind them, away from the crowd. "These invaders are much better prepared than last time. What do you know about them? How do we beat them this time?"

Rin stood and turned to face him. "First, you have to trust me. I know that you don't like me but I know how to deal with the Empire better than anyone here."

"There's not going to be anyone coming to help us this time is there?"

Rin shook his head. "We're on our own. So you need to listen to me otherwise we are all dead."

"Daddy!" a child cried. A little boy, around three ran up to Koda, hugged him and hid behind him.

Koda knelt down and picked up his son. "It's alright squirt. What is it?"

"Where's Mommy?" He just wrapped his arms around Koda's neck and buried his face in his shoulder.

"You're a father now," Rin said in disbelief.

"Yeah. A lot of things have changed since you left. I want to protect my son. He has already lost his mother to them. I don't want him to lose me as well."

"Then we should get somewhere sheltered. We are too exposed out in the open. We're close to the northern cliffs aren't we?"

Koda nodded.

"That would be a good place to stay safe. The Empire would not be able to find their way in the caves and mines there."

Koda nodded again. "Alright. I will let the others know."

Koda went back to the other Yokios with his son in his arms. Rin thought that is was so odd seeing Koda as a father. He seemed so young. Rin could not imagine having a child at his age. But in his culture, it was normal for couples to have children young. His own father was eighteen when Reggie had been born.

"A friend of yours?" Ro asked him.

"I'm, not sure. I guess that I could have considered him a friend at one point. Looks like their leaving. Come on," Rin helped Ro to her feet, "Stay close to me. You too Dave and R5. It's best if I kept you away from them."

"I now understand the need for your warning," Dave stated, "It is clear why my fellow droids were unable to conquer this planet. Though with so many this strong with the force, it is strange that they were not ordered to keep trying."

"Maybe they just saw that it was too much effort," Ro suggested.

"Or maybe someone thought that we would have a much better use later on," Rin said, "I would not be surprised if someone had planned all this from the beginning."

They set off with the others to the northern cliffs. Ro and the droids stayed close to Rin at the back of the group. No one really talked much on their way there. There were times that Rin caught some pretty nasty looks from the other Yokios. They were not happy about him being there.

He was beginning to recognize a few of the Yokios that was with them. He was pretty sure that the old woman who was trying to kill Ro was Koda's grandmother. Rin also thought he recognized a couple that had lived on the same street that he did. There was even one of the kids that were with him when they were hiding in the woods. It was a long time ago.

"These northern cliffs that we're going to, are they safe?" Ro asked him after they had been walking for an hour in silence. They were away from the fires and the only night came from the stars. Explosions could still be heard in the distance. A couple times TIE fighters would fly overhead but they never caused any problems for them.

"Um, I'm not sure," Rin answered, "When I was a kid, everyone used to hang out around there even though our parents told us not to. I have never heard about anything happening there. Though my brother swore that they were haunted."

"Haunted by what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I think that he was just trying to scare me."

Despite it being warm, Ro still shivered.

"Are you alright?" Rin asked.

"I'll be fine."

"Watch your step."

Ro tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground. She let out a small yelp and Rin caught her before she landed on her face.

"Ugh. I can barely see a thing. I can't even see you," she complained, "Are you sure we can't turn on a light?"

"Yes. We can't risk having a light on. It would give away our position to the Empire."

"And you lived here in the dark? I couldn't imagine it."

"It's not that bad. We've adapted to the dark. This whole world has."

"Do you really believe what you said to Koda? Do you really think that you made a mistake by joining the Republic?"

"I don't know," he told her, "There are times that I think that my life would have been better if I had stayed. It would have been simpler."

"You didn't help form the Empire you know."

"Are you sure? The war was just a way for the Empire to come on top. The Republic and the Separatists were just being used. Neither side would have won the war."

Up front, the group stopped to rest. They were in what looked like an overgrown gava fruit orchard. There were weeds and tall grass amongst the trees and the trees were wild and untrimmed. The only reason that Rin knew they were in a field was because the trees were in a straight line and all the trees were the same.

There was something familiar about the field. Rin saw that one of the trees had old shards of rock in its trunk.

"Koda," he said as he walked up to his old friend, "Is this Mr. Sato's field?"

"Yeah. Or at least what's left of it."

"What happened here? This was the largest field of gava fruits."

"It fell into disrepair," Koda explained, "The whole Sato family died in the first invasion. When the town started to rebuild, no one had the resources to keep the field. There was no longer the demand for the fruits anymore. Many people moved away. It was too much to rebuild. Most of the town is still in bad shape. Pita, and Hano, they all moved to neighbouring towns. Very few have stuck around."

"What about my brother?"

"He stuck around. He helped to rebuild most of town. He's doing well."

Rin looked around at the field that we used to work in. "So much has changed."

"Ten years is a long time. Where have you been?"

"To places that even I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. I have seen so much and yet, I don't feel like I have seen very much."

"And we're still here living our little lives," Koda said, "It's about time that we continue on."

Koda went over to gather the others while Rin left and re-joined Ro, R5 and Dave. Ro was sitting down underneath a tree with Dave standing guard over her.

"We're heading out" Rin announced when he reached them. Ro couldn't see him coming and jumped a little.

"Are we still going with them?" Ro asked.

"Yeah I think that would be for the best."

"Is that really the best idea? It's no secret that they don't like us."

"I don't know what else to do."

She nodded. "Alright then."

"Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"She has been complaining about not bringing anything to eat," Dave said.

Rin leapt up into the tree that Ro was sitting against. He gathered as many gava fruits that he could carry. He jumped back down and handed some to Ro. "These are gava fruits," he told her, "They're a little sour but they should work for you."

"Thank you." She bit into the fruit and made a face showing how sour the fruit was.

"Let's get going," Rin announced.

"Rin, wait," Ro said, "Do you know how to get rid of the Empire?"

Rin paused. He really had no idea how to make the Empire leave the planet. There were so many Stormtroopers there and how could he make sure that the Empire would not come bothering Keket again.

"You don't have a plan, do you?"

"I'm working on something."

"With the current strength of the Empire and with how scattered the Yokios are, they will most certainly loose," Dave stated, "But, if the Yokios people were able to unite and fight together against the Empire, they might stand a chance."

"But how can I do that?"

"I believe that you have already started by getting them to safety. You need to get as many people together as you can. Then you can unite them and lead them to a strong offence," the droid advised, "It is, as I hear, the best defence."

"But they are not warriors. They're farmers!" Rin said.

"True. But if the rest of your people are anything like you, they are very stubborn. I do not believe that they will go down without a fight. They were able to fight back the droid army by themselves. They can do that with the Empire."

Rin nodded. "Alright. Let's get them together. I hope this works."

"I think that it would be best if I was to scout ahead and find out the strength of the Empire's presence here. It will help us in our fight against them," Dave suggested, "Also, your people do not like me very much. I would like to remain functioning."

"Go. But be careful."

R5 squeaked and nuzzled up against Dave's leg.

"I will be alright. I will be back," he said as he softly patted her on the head.

Dave disappeared into the trees and R5 called out to him. She made a sad little noise when she could no longer hear him.

"Those two have a very strange relationship," Ro whispered to Rin.

"Very."