Unfortunately, the Siege of Mandalore and the Crimson Corsair book plot will have to be ignored here. :(
(Original Timeline)
Poe and the others watched with much trepidation as each of the clones took turns patting him on the back.
Fortunately, Leia must have told them about him, because they didn't shoot him to death with a blaster (seriously, every Resistance member hates Kylo Ren for his crimes against the Republic).
They looked pretty old, Ben noticed. Back at home, the Kaminoans stopped the clones' age acceleration before they got too old, so most of them were still looking rather youthful and kind of stopped ageing. That wasn't the case here. All of them sported white hair or beards. Ben guessed that they were pretty old when someone put a stop to their age acceleration.
' You know them, don't you?' Rey peered at the clones interestedly.
' Yeah,' Ben said. ' But they look... So old.'
' They are like nice old grandpas,' Poe commented.
Finn seemed confused, ' I thought the clones were brainwashed into becoming the original Stormtroopers at the end of the Clone Wars! How the heck did they end up in the Resistance?'
' Maybe they rebelled?' Rey suggested.
' Under Darth Vader's very own nose?' Poe shook his head. ' Very unlikely. They say Vader can sniff for traitors like a bloodhound.'
Finn sniggered,' Does he even have a nose? I mean, he's this hulking robot-'
' You had better hope that Anakin's ghost didn't hear that,' Rey said, stifling a smile. ' I think he's pretty sensitive.'
Ben said, ' Well, we can ask them. But is that a good idea?'
' I have a better idea. Let's just ask the ghost of Darth Vader himself,' Poe said.
' But... Where to find him? We don't exactly know his whereabouts,' Finn said curiously.
' We can summon him later, after we finish our lightsabers,' Ben grinned.
They decided to build their lightsaber outdoors. Rey chose a rather nice, quiet spot at the makeshift park (' No one goes there,' Poe admitted) and they sat down with boxes and boxes of tools.
' That's waaaaaaay more than you actually need,' Finn sorted through the strange tools that he couldn't name. ' Why do you even need...' He held up a strange silver studded piece.
Ben ignored him and started reaching for the parts he needed. Fortunately, his lightsaber was one of the more simple designs (he added some personal twists to it, but it shouldn't be hard), so he had all the parts. But Rey was staring at the box. She had no idea what to take.
Ben sighed. It was true he had seen double-bladed lightsabers, but he had no idea how to make a design for one. Sure, he had seen holos of old Republic saberstaffs in History class. The patterns on the hilt were so intricate and the workmanship was impeccable that he was so sure he'd never be able to recreate anything as beautiful as that. So, no.
Well, he told himself. Ahna's lightsaber design is simple. I could just copy her design...
A small voice in his brain shouted out she's going to kill you.
Yeah! But she won't know.
Alright then. He hoped that the Force wouldn't punish him for plagiarising his good friend's lightsaber design. Not exactly, though. He'd change the shape of the blade emitter. He had always disliked how Ahna had shaped her blade emitters, but since he valued his life, he said nothing about it.
' Let's start with a simple design,' Ben said aloud, picking out the basic parts for Rey. ' Since it's a double-bladed lightsaber...' To his own surprise and horror, he began spewing out a bunch of sophisticated lightsaber building and mechanical facts.
' W-wow,' Finn said, jaw dropping. ' How do you know so many stuff?'
' Let's say my best friend takes interest in swallowing up random texts in the archives and throwing them in my face,' Ben said plainly. ' And my grandfather loves tinkering. Let's start then.'
He sat down cross-legged, arranged the parts into a rough shape of his lightsaber hilt on the floor, and carefully placed his crystal in the centre. He found Rey staring, and asked, ' What?'
' What do I do?' She said, desperately trying to remember Ben's instructions and assembling her parts.
' That's actually correct, except... There,' Ben rearranged the power cell. ' Now reach into the Force, and assemble the stuff with it.'
' What?' Rey stared at him.
' Hm?' He stared back.
' ... How?'
' The Force will guide you,' Ben said, sitting up. ' Trust in the Force.'
Rey nodded, and closed her eyes.
Ben took a deep breath, and with well practiced ease, he levitated the stuff (judging from Poe and Finn's gasps, he guessed he had succeeded) and moved them around with his mind until the final piece clicked.
' That was quick,' Poe said.
' Master Luke made me disassemble my lightsaber all the time,' He shrugged. ' Ahsoka also said I have to be familiar with my lightsaber design, just in case... I inherited my grandfather's habit of losing lightsabers.'
Rey was still working, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. She was working well for a beginner, and yeah, Ben always knew Rey was powerful with the Force.
' Done!' Rey grabbed her lightsaber. ' That felt weird. But it's like... The Force was pushing and encouraging me.'
' I told you so,' Ben said. ' Let's ignite our lightsabers together... 1... 2... 3!'
Snap-hiss!
Ben's blade was bright emerald green, much to his satisfaction. And Rey's blades were blue.
' The colours are beautiful,' Finn said dreamily.
' We are done with our lightsabers, so let's summon the ghost,' Rey said. ' Any ideas?'
' Dunno... Let's try...' Poe hollered. ' ANAKIN? ANAKIN? WE NEED YOU, ANAKIN!'
Nothing happened.
' Er, I have an idea,' Ben said. ' SAND! ANAKIN! SAND!'
' You can't summon a ghost with the stuff he hates,' Finn commented. ' He's a sand-hating terror. Let me try... Er... HEY, HANDSOME ANAKIN! WE NEED YOU! YOU ARE AWESOME AND COOL!'
Those were the magic words. They watched, as the air in front of them shimmered magically, and he just appeared at the picnic table. Obi-wan was there, too. They were working on a lump of something.
' I know I am handsome,' Ghost-Anakin said impressively. ' But I'm working.'
' On what?' Ben tried to look at their work.
' Master Yoda's birthday present. Look, we are making a Yoda statue!'
Upon closer examination, the 'lump of something' was in fact a crudely made clay figurine that didn't resemble the esteemed former Grandmaster. It probably looked like Snoke if they cut off the strange, mismatched ears, Ben guessed.
' That's, er, wonderful,' Poe lied. ' So, Master Skywalker, do you know anything about the clones?'
' Clones?' Ghost-Anakin dropped his carving knife. ' Rex and the others are back?'
' Yep. All of them.'
' Oh, I can't wait to see Cody and Gregor again,' Obi-wan chimed in, wrapping some more clay around the figurine.
Rey said, ' Well, we want to ask about the clones. How did they end up here? Weren't they supposed to be working as Stormtroopers? Rumour has it that they have control chips that are impossible to remove-'
' One question at a time, young lady!' Obi-wan said serenely. ' Those clones didn't stay in the Empire for long after that cursed Order 66 happened. Not all of them took part in Order 66, actually. Kix was in coma and placed in a bacta tank for intensive treatment at that time. Dogma was still in custody. Rex, Wolffe and Gregor deserted the army. Fox was staying with the Emperor. Yeah, Cody and Bly participated in it, but they were terribly regretful once the effects of the program wore off. Afterwards, Kix, Dogma and some others deserted the Empire because they didn't want to work in it.'
' But... You let them go?' Ben asked Ghost-Anakin.
' I did, yes. Whoops,' Ghost-Anakin said, accidentally putting a hole through the figurine Yoda's cape. ' I have always been fond of my men. Most of the older clones left, leaving Appo and the shinies behind.'
' How did they end up in the Resistance?'
' Well, that Ezra and his crew managed to get Rex into the Rebellion. Wolffe and Gregor eventually joined as well. After the war against the Empire, Rex had been trying to search for his other brothers. Most of them were still in hiding, but he managed to find Kix, Dogma, Fox and Bly. They started working together again,' Ghost-Anakin said. ' Happy ending. Now... You got your story, and I need to finish my figurine. Oh! Master Yoda will be so happy with his present!'
' Er, okay,' Rey said, and they watched as the ghosts disappeared along with their misshaped figurine.
(Altered Timeline)
Kylo almost missed his Uncle's stupid Jedi Order. Almost.
The Jedi instructors gave him so much homework that he literally spent days to clear them off his desk.
His Uncle never gave that much homework! None of the instructors did. That was one of the better things about his Uncle's Order.
He was working on a particularly nasty one issued by the Language instructor on some kind of dramatic, missing poet (he didn't care about it). He groaned, wanting to bash his head against the window.
Suddenly, something caught his attention. A large ship was zooming down towards the Jedi Temple's direction... And that shape! The Millennium Falcon!
That could only mean one thing!
His father!
He hadn't exactly thought about it, but his weak and foolish father was pretty much alive in this timeline. Which was bad. Really bad.
Immediately, the door to his room swung open, and Luke ran in, screaming, ' Han is back! Han is back! Let's go and meet him at the hangar-'
' I have tons of homework, Master!' Kylo protested.
Luke seized his arm painfully, ' You can finish that when you get back later! Now come!'
Oh, man. He didn't want to see his father.
He came to resent and hate his parents when he was growing up in the Jedi Temple. He guessed that was also why he chose the Dark Side.
His parents never really cared about him. His mother was a famous Senator, rising through the ranks of the new Senate. His father always left to go on dangerous smuggling missions in the Outer Rim worlds. Since they were too busy to look after him and he had the potential to become a Jedi, they sent him off to his Uncle's Jedi school to train with some other snobbish kids.
It was unbearable. He never learnt what it was like to live with a family. The other kids jeered and mocked at him for not having a family. He would get so upset by their harsh words that he locked himself up in his quarters, until Luke made him go down to have dinner.
He waited for holo calls from his parents, and would go to bed disappointedly when he didn't get one. By the time he became a Padawan, he was so sure his parents had forgotten about him.
Finally, someone understood his pain. One night, Snoke approached him in a vision.
Your family doesn't want you, Snoke had told him. Why do you stay if they have failed you? Join me. I can train you in the ways of the Dark, and you can have all the power you want. They betrayed you, and you shall be more powerful than those fools can be.
Power sounded great. And he wished to follow his grandfather's path. So he answered Snoke's call.
But right now, his blasted Uncle was dragging him off to see his father. He wasn't sure if he was mentally prepared for it, because the last time he saw him, Han Solo had a lightsaber buried in his chest, and had stared at him with an expression of incredulous betrayal. The grown-up Rey was screaming in the background. Not the best family reunion.
They arrived at the hangar bay... And... It seemed like Han Solo had made himself a lot of Jedi friends, because Ahsoka, Ezra and Caleb were there, standing near the Millennium Falcon.
The side door slid open, and there was this loud, excited Wookiee roar. Could that be... Chewie?
The famous Han Solo swaggered out, in all his handsome, youthful glory. On the cue, Ahsoka, Ezra and Caleb cheered. ' Luke! I see you, my friend!' Han shouted. ' And... WHERE'S MY BOY, BEN?'
Kylo grimaced, and answered, ' I'm here, Dad.'
Han beamed, ran forward and started ruffling Kylo's hair, ' That's my boy! He's growing bigger and bigger! What have you and Leia been feeding him? Magical growing mushrooms?' Chewie engulfed Kylo in a massive, warm hug. Again, Kylo hated to admit it, but he liked Chewie's hugs.
' Well, that's because of the training. Body building, healthy diet and stuff,' Luke coughed.
' Good! He's going to be the best Jedi ever,' Han beamed with pride. ' I'm so proud of you, my son.'
The last line struck Kylo like an arrow. Proud? His father was never proud of him. Snoke said his father didn't want him. He stood there, in a trance, and he didn't even notice Han calling out for his wife.
' Eugh,' Ezra's gags brought him back to reality. ' Are they kissing now?' True, Leia and Han were locked in a passionate embrace.
' Sure, they haven't seen each other for ages,' Caleb said. ' I haven't seen my wife for quite some time now. Aaah. Love. Hey kid, did Leia tell you how she met Han?'
' Um, I don't know?' Kylo said, and he mentally added, I don't want to know.
Caleb continued (not knowing Kylo's real feelings), ' Ah, it's a beautiful story, really. When Leia was on her final mission before achieving Knighthood, she got kidnapped by some rogue leftover Separatists and dragged off to some kind of distant Outer Rim planet. Coincidentally, Master Obi-wan and Luke were stranded on Tatooine thanks to a mission, and they received Leia's distress call. They had no choice but to get to the Cantina and struck a deal with Han, who agreed to take them to that planet on his ship. They performed a speedy rescue mission, and afterwards, Leia and Han fell in loooooove. What a beautiful story, it brings tears to my eyes.'
Looking at his parents, Kylo felt more conflicted than ever.
Well I tried to interpret Kylo's fall to the Dark. :P
Hints for next chapter... Hmm... Ben and Rey will go to Malachor. And Kylo... Has anger problems. Again. The next chapter should be up pretty soon. :D
Okay, so here's the Me and Star Wars section...
Me: *texts* #ahsokalives
Classmate: ...
Me: #ahsokalives
Classmate: ... What is that supposed to be?
Me: Ahsoka Tano!
Classmate: ...
Me: One of my fave Star Wars characters... Who is presumably 'killed' by Darth Vader.
Classmate: *knows a bit about the fandom without watching the films thanks to me* Well... Everyone is killed by Darth Vader.
Me: Nay! She is not! Technically she LIVES! SHE CRACKS OPEN A PART OF DARTH VADER'S MASK! AND SHE SHALL LIVE BECAUSE I SEE HER AT THE END WALKING DOWN THE TEMPLE SO-
Classmate: *capslocked* OH YAY CAPITALS AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT