Epilogue: Galactic Celebration
As the Gallifreyan Jedi Grand Master known as the Doctor walked back to the Ewok village in the trees, he could hear the booming sound of fireworks being set off in the Endor night sky. He smiled to himself. He knew that the entire galaxy, from Bespin to Tatooine to Naboo to Coruscant, was celebrating the defeat of the Galactic Empire and the death of Emperor Palpatine, under whose tyrannical rule they had suffered long enough. Every single planet, the Doctor could sense, was lighting up with the sounds of cheers and whoops of joy. But nowhere in the galaxy was the celebration more joyous, more deserved, than on Endor.
It was on Endor that the Empire suffered its ultimate defeat. The Rebel Alliance chose to have their own celebration there, in the Ewok village that had helped them considerably when all seemed lost. And it was to that Ewok village that the Doctor was headed.
As soon as he arrived, the Doctor was swept up in a hug by Jennara Oswin. After they reluctantly parted, the Doctor began to dance with her. Everyone was dancing, hugging, and overall having a good time. Even Luke Skywalker was celebrating, despite having just buried his own father. His father had died a good man and was an integral part of defeating the Empire, however, so the Doctor figured that Luke was celebrating in his memory.
The Doctor initiated a dance that he had called the "Drunk Giraffe," and everyone seemed to love it, trying their best to join in his awkward dance. Even Fordo let himself loose a little and did the Drunk Giraffe with his old friend and commander, the Doctor.
The Doctor laughed with joy. He hadn't had this much fun in a very long time. He danced with everyone, Ewoks and Rebels alike, and even Obi-Wan Kenobi at one point. The man may have been old, but he could dance quite well, the Doctor observed.
At one point near the midpoint of the party, the four Jedi-the Doctor, Jennara, Luke, and Obi-Wan-had clumped together to enjoy each other's company. During their conversation, which contained much joyous laughter, Luke looked out into the distance and froze. The other three Jedi looked with him and found that they had been joined by a fifth Jedi. The ghost of Anakin Skywalker had appeared before them, smiling radiantly. He was clad in white robes, and his looks had returned to those handsome features he had had before his descent into the Dark Side. He waved at the Jedi, still smiling quite brightly, and the Jedi waved back, each one of them smiling just as brightly as Anakin. The Doctor could see a tear in Luke's eye as he was pulled back into the party by Leia. Obi-Wan joined him, nodding and smiling one last time at his best friend. Jennara left as well, and the Doctor told her he would join her shortly.
It might have been the Doctor's own wild imagination, but he thought he saw someone appear beside Anakin. Ten someones, as a matter of fact. If the Doctor's eyes weren't tricking him, then he was definitely sure that all ten of his previous incarnations had appeared in front of him. All of them, from the First Doctor all the way to the Tenth Doctor, were smiling at him. The Doctor knew what those smiles meant. He had finally proven himself worthy of the title "Doctor," and he would continue to uphold that name for the rest of his eleventh life and into his twelfth and thirteenth lives.
The Doctor bowed to Anakin and to his previous incarnations, and they all bowed back as he left to rejoin the party. As he danced with Jennara, he looked back at where Anakin and the previous Doctors were, but only Anakin was there, still smiling radiantly and clapping along with the music that the Ewoks were playing.
"Who were you bowing to just then?" asked Jennara.
The Doctor took a long time to answer, but when he answered, he did so with a big old grin on his face.
"Just some old friends," he said.
And the Doctor continued to dance with Jennara.
As the celebration went on, the Doctor and his friends and companions laughed the night away, thinking only of their astounding victory. As the Doctor looked out on all those happy faces-the faces of Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, Jennara, Obi-Wan, Fordo, Wedge, and even the droids and the Ewoks-he thought about the peace of mind and soul that had been achieved for all beings by the defeat of the Sith. The peace that the Doctor and his friends had been striving for for over thirty years. This peace, felt by all beings, and certainly by the Gallifreyan Jedi Master, would last forever. The Dark Side may return, but the Doctor knew in his hearts that the Light would ultimately triumph over all things Dark because of what they had done here on Endor. And that was a comforting thought, indeed, the Doctor realized as he danced the night away with his friends-no, not his friends. His family.
This was the story of the Doctor, and this is how it ends.
And there you have it! The end of the main story of Star Wars (Starring the Doctor)! While it isn't quite the end of the story for the Doctor just yet, the main part of his story is, in effect, finished. I made it all sentimental and such because it's the end, and I like sentimental endings, okay? Don't judge me! :P
Moving on to the farewells (for now, anyway). Friends, this has been quite the undertaking. To write these seven volumes took me about nine months in total of just constantly working it out, both in my head and on the page, and I am honestly surprised at myself that I finished it at all. If I'm being really honest with myself, it's because of you all that I did. Your support has been invaluable to me, guys, regardless of whether it was a favorite, a review, a PM, or just simply reading the story and (hopefully) enjoying what I had to write and share with you all. So, while I was the one typing away at this computer, trying (and succeeding, not to brag) to finish this story before I turned eighteen, you guys were the ones who helped me immensely with your support and encouragement. You were the ones who made this story happen.
And for that, I couldn't possibly begin to thank you enough.
But this isn't the end, not yet, friends. No, there's still more story coming. This Friday will mark the beginning of the "add-ons." These are not part of the main seven volumes, but they are stories that I wanted to tell. There are two portions to this: "Return to the Temple" and "Adventures of the Doctor."
"Return to the Temple" is a one-shot in which Jennara and the Eleventh Doctor, as the title suggests, return to the Jedi Temple after being away for twenty-five years. There will be feels that will be felt. That will be posted on Friday.
"Adventures of the Doctor" is a delving into the first-person. In this, the Eleventh Doctor writes down a story from each of his previous incarnations for this universe's version of the New Jedi Order. It was a lot of fun to write this, and I hope you like it!
As I said before, thank you all so much for your support of this story. It really means a lot to me! Leave your thoughts of this epilogue, this volume, or this series as a whole in a review! I really do appreciate them all!
Friday: The Doctor and Jennara return to the Jedi Temple after twenty-five long years of absence.
And that's about it for this rather lengthy author's note. Until the one-shot, my friends!
blade0627