Past Redemption: Jaina's Quest
Chapter 13The New Republic Navy was thrilled to add a Super Star Destroyer to their fleet for no cost…other than the repairs necessitated by the damage that Master Lison had inflicted on it, as well as normal wear and tear.
After inspecting said damage, the owner of the company contracted to make the repairs complained that the crewmembers has sabotaged it…and that there was no way that the damage had been done by one person.
After watching the footage of the incident, he conceded that, yes, the damage was consistent with what had occurred.
The Captain and staff were taken to Coruscant for debriefing, and the rest of the crew were given the choice of either defecting to the New Republic, or returning to the Empire.
Everyone without a family elected to stay.
The Navy, for its part, wanted to rechristen the ship again to "Lison"…until it was pointed out that it was considered bad luck to name Flagships after living individuals.
They had a big breakfast scheduled, but when Master Lison didn't show up, Jaina volunteered to go get him.
"Oh dear." C3PO said. "With all the preparations, I completely forgot."
"Forgot what, 3PO?" Mara asked.
"That Master Lison showed up here early this morning with a message." 3PO told her.
After a few seconds of waiting, Luke had to ask.
"What was the message, 3PO?"
"He wanted you to meet him at this address." 3PO told them as he retrieved a slip of paper from the counter he had placed it on.
"If I'm not mistaken," Han declared after seeing the address, "that's a garbage recycling plant not far from here."
"Did he say who he wanted to meet him?" Mara asked.
"All of you." 3PO told her.
They all looked at each other, then headed for the transport.
When they arrived, Mathu was standing at the edge of the docking platform in the common meditative posture…feet shoulder with apart, hands clasped behind his back, eyes closed.
They approached him without word.
"This is where the Jedi Temple stood." Mathu said without preamble…and Jaina was certain she detected a hint of sadness in his voice. "It was the tallest known artificial structure in the galaxy…visible for miles. It was where Palpatine had hundreds of Jedi slaughtered. It is now a garbage pile."
"We didn't know." Leia replied solemnly. "But now that we do…it will be corrected."
Mathu opened his eyes, looked at her, and smiled.
"That's not the reason I asked you here." He said, then turned back to the garbage. "I've been a fool."
Everyone looked at each other, not sure how to respond.
"How so?" Mara finally asked.
""The Sith legacy lives on", Macht said." Was all Mathu answered.
"And?" Luke asked after an uncomfortable silence.
"For centuries," Mathu explained, "we believed the Sith to be extinct. Then, a Padawan by the name of Obi-Wan defeated one on the planet Naboo. After that incident, Yoda claimed that "Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an Apprentice.", but we didn't know which one Obi-Wan had defeated…it turned out to be the Apprentice."
"Wait a second." Jaina exclaimed. "You're saying you think there is another one?"
"I'm certain of it." Mathu claimed. "Macht was the Apprentice."
"If that's the case," Han declared, "then we have to find the Master."
"He has already been revealed." Mathu told them.
"Who is it?" Leia asked.
"You tell her, my former Padawan." Mathu told Jaina, who only stared at him in shock.
"Think about it." Mathu encouraged. "After I deflected Macht's lightning back into the ship, and the operator yelled that all shields and weapons had been lost, what was Macht's reaction?"
Jaina closed her eyes to concentrate on recalling the event.
"He turned to Captain Grant." She finally said. "And he looked worried."
Everyone turned to Mathu in shock.
"You think Grant is the Master?" Luke asked.
"I'm certain of it." Mathu repeated.
"What do we do?" Mara asked.
"We kill him." Mathu declared, then turned to Jaina. "When we leave this platform, you are to gather all students and depart for Yavin. When you get there, if there isn't a message from one of us (he pointed to Luke, Mara, and himself) telling you otherwise, you are to order everyone to disperse and disappear…and to keep their identities a secret."
"Kinda paranoid, don't you think?" Han asked.
"Palpatine destroyed the entire Jedi Order in less than a day." Mathu countered and shook his head. "I will not let that happen again."
"But Palpatine had a system in place that took years to create in order to do it." Jacen reasoned.
Mathu turned to him. "And are you certain that Grant doesn't?" He asked.
Everyone was forced to concede the point.
"I have the fastest ship on the planet." Han bragged. "I will take everyone to Yavin."
"Thank you, Captain Solo." Mathu said. "We will give you time to leave the system, then we will confront Grant."
"What's the plan?" Mara asked.
"Overwhelming odds and brute force." Mathu said. "And may the Force be with us."
Grant was being held in a detention cell…but one designed for VIPs. It was similar in design to the quarters he had placed the Jedi in after turning over command of his ship to Master Lison. The only difference between it and a regular apartment were the fact that the door leading to the outside could not be opened on the inside.
Captain Grant was OK with that…he had nowhere to go anyway. He spent the time that he wasn't being debriefed by New Republic Intelligence catching up on his reading.
He always enjoyed a good book.
At the present time, Mathu, Luke, and Mara were talking with the Commander (Commander Michaels) of the platoon they would have stationed outside Grant's door as a contingency plan.
After having survived Palpatine, Mathu was not taking any chance that meant Grant might survive this day.
"What's a good code word?" He asked Luke.
Luke had to think for a minute.
"Dagobah." He answered.
Mathu turned to Michaels. "If that door opens, and the occupant does not yell "Dagobah" before exiting…you are to open fire without hesitation."
"Forgive me, Master Jedi." Michaels replied. "But it can't be opened by the occupant."
"That security measure will be disabled." Mara corrected. "If we fail…we don't want anyone else to have to go near the door to open it."
Michaels simply nodded.
When they entered the room, Grant was sitting on the couch in the main room, reading. He looked up as they spread out after walking through the door…Mathu in the center, Luke on his left, and Mara on his right.
"Three Jedi Masters?" He asked. "To what do I owe the honor of having such distinguished guests?"
They simply ignited their lightsabers.
He stared at them for a few seconds, then set his book down and stood.
"Is this really necessary?" He asked.
His casualness caused Mara to have doubts about Master Lison's conclusions.
"So be it." Grant continued when no one answered him. "I had so hoped to have more time before you figured it out. But…"
He ignited his lightsaber and charged them.
Mara reflected later that Grant was actually quite adept at swordsmanship, perhaps even as good as Mathu, and was doing a very good job of defending himself.
Grant quickly realized that he wouldn't be able to fight off three opponents for very long.
When he saw an opening, he delivered a kick to Luke's chin that was sure to stun him for a while, leaving Grant to face only two opponents.
Because he knew that Lison was the greater swordsman, he concentrated his attack on Mara, while simultaneously defending himself against Lison.
The Jedi made a mistake in their concerted fight, and Grant took advantage of the opening.
His back was to Lison, but he was able to feint an attack on Mara, then used his momentum to spin around quickly and run his blade across Mathu's chest.
In the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, which was currently in hyperspace on its way to Yavin, Jaina screamed.
"Noooo!" She yelled, startling everyone.
"What's wrong?" Han worryingly asked.
"Turn around!" Jaina yelled. "Turn the ship around and go back to Coruscant!"
"You know I can't do that, Jaina." Han told her. "Just calm down."
She responded by jumping on him, trying to get to the controls.
"Turn around!" She repeated, screaming again as Chewbacca grabbed her and pulled her away from Han.
"Get her out of here." Han ordered Chewie as Jaina fought to break away from the Wookie's grip.
When the door closed behind them, Jacen looked at Han in shock.
"What the Hell just happened?" Han practically shouted.
Jacen just shook his head.
As Mathu fell to the floor, Grant turned back to Mara.
"Not quite the outcome you had planned…is it?" He mocked as he advanced on her.
He felt Luke's attack coming and moved his blade in position to defend against it at the same time Mara swung.
He wasn't able to defend against both lightsabers, and Mara's blade severed his head from his neck.
For a few seconds, Luke and Mara stared at his now lifeless body as it fell to the floor, then Luke extinguished his blade and knelt down to Mathu.
When he turned him over, he was stunned to see the burnt scar across his chest.
He felt for a pulse, then looked up at Mara and shook his head.
Mara just stared in utter shock.
As soon as the Falcon left hyperspace, Han called back to Coruscant.
"Stand down." Mara told them. "Grant has been defeated."
Despite the great news, everyone could hear the sadness in her voice.
"How is everyone?" Han asked.
There was a long pause before Mara replied.
"Unfortunately," she told them, "Master Lison was lost in the battle."
There was a shocked silence in the cockpit, and everyone turned to Jaina, who simply stood and walked out.
"We are turning around." Han told Mara. "We'll be there as soon as we can."
A little over a week later, the Super Star Destroyer "New Hope" hung in orbit over Targon IV. Again, there had been talk of renaming the "Mace Windu" to "Lison", but it was decided that Windu would keep the name given to it by Master Lison, and that the new Super Star Destroyer, currently under construction and estimated to be completed in a little over a year, would be named "Lison".
They had brought Master Lison's body back to the shelter he was living in when Jaina had found him. They would have a small memorial service and then set fire to it.
"As I stand here, I have mixed emotions." Jaina was currently saying.
It was a small ceremony, in addition to all of the Jedi, the only ones present were Leia, Han, Chewbacca, Lando, Hank Maris, and Captain Thrice.
"While I am grateful for your training," Jaina continued, "I know that, had I not come here, you would still be alive. I promise you that we will use the training you gave us to make the Galaxy a better place. And I also promise you that I will personally destroy anybody who dares assume the title of "Sith Lord"."
She looked over at Jacen, who only nodded.
The End
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