The sounds of blasters and explosions could be heard for miles around. Jupiter could feel the vibrations in the earth and the trembling of the Force as she moved through the fog, keeping her senses alert as the Rebel Alliance were forced to retreat back to the ruins of the ancient city which now stood as their final battleground. Quite honestly Jupiter was a little overwhelmed by the sheer mass of numbers that the Empire had accumulated in such a short amount of time. They had sent absolutely everything they had in order to crush their opposition for the final time, even in the absence of their Death Star they had pure, inconceivable power.
Yet again, so did Jupiter. Even at the age of fifty one, there was none alive now who could compare to her control over the Force and the abilities that she commanded. The fog continued to roll forwards, cutting off the Empire forces' field of vision so they halted their attack as a single heat signature appeared on their scanners. "Halt!" The general who had been given command, a great honour and one to surely bring him recognition, frowned. Just a single person? The small blip might have even been a malfunction, however as the fog cleared slightly, something began to go wrong. All of their equipment and machines trembled, groaning and quaking as if something had reached down and was crushing them completely.
As quickly as it had begun it stopped, causing the ground forces to shift nervously as they warily eyed their assault machines, carefully observing them to ensure they were not about to explode. "General!" A voice called out and he turned his head to look across the fog where all at once, a bright orange light appeared with a thrum of sound. It blared against the ears of all those who were watching, mouths dropping open as the forces behind, the rebels, stared in equal shock at the sight of a single orange blade. Most had no clue what it meant, however to some, it meant everything in the galaxy.
"General…" Keyes stared in disbelief, his greyed silvery beard twitching in shock as he looked at that single orange light in the fog, Rex also at his side even older than he was.
"Well I'll be. She's back. The general has finally come back." Rex breathed before giving a hearty laugh, the sound booming outwards as more light began to shine from amidst the fog. Blades of green and blue shining like beacons as Leia stared, Han and Chewbacca at her side with Luke slowly stepping forwards, watching as the fog peeled back to reveal a mass of hundreds. Perhaps even a thousand Jedi knights, all of them standing between the Empire's army and the last of their forces. They remained greatly outnumbered, however even then more ships started to pop into existence in the atmosphere, bearing down upon the empire as Jupiter lifted her hand, displaying it high in the air before cutting down all at once.
And just like that, everything burst into movement and sound. Bombs exploded as the ground tore itself up from the traps that Jupiter had planned ahead, cutting off the escape routes and pushing parts of the army away from the core sector where the enemy general stood in horror as a fleet of ships bombarded the Star Destroyers, fighter pilots coming down and bringing hell down upon his larger machines and he could barely manage to order a return fire. Jupiter remained calm, sending out her orders even as she continued to advance upon the ground forces, intending to lay waste and have them all surrender before nightfall. It had to happen all at once, it had to be a unanimous defeat otherwise pockets would escape and rise again.
As Jupiter began to increase her pace to a run, her other hand swung out and to it jumped another lightsaber and this time, the blade that emerged was brilliantly purple. "Guide me Master, this is for you and all those who suffered that day." The quiet whisper was lost within the sounds of battle, something that Jupiter had not heard for a very long time, not since the war against the Separatists. Everything was so familiar yet unrecognisable. The blur of light from the luminous blades shone around Jupiter as she carved a path directly to the heart of the army, the allies she had accumulated over the years. There was Hondo and all the smugglers in the galaxy he could find, the Wookies whom she had helped free from slavery, the Mandalorians who had rallied under Sabine, Geonosians whom had returned to greater numbers after the Empire had tried to destroy them and everyone Jupiter could bring to her side in this final battle.
The ground exploded close to her however with a flick of her hand she used the Force to send the shockwave back towards the enemy, sending them flying as her reverse grip on her blades switched and she moved like a bright whir of movement and colour, her eyes focused and instincts readied to expect every possible outcome to this battle. Back at the fort, the rebels were cheering in celebration at the arrival of their unexpected allies. The Jedi were a sight to behold and to most, who had only known the Jedi to be figures of legend, were dumbfounded to see them in such numbers and at such strength. It brought Jupiter pride and the moment she had fulfilled her task she handed the command over to Ezra who took their unit the rest of the way to hurry back.
She fought her way to the fortress, holding out a hand and lifted a walker off the ground by herself, crunching the circuits inside and throwing it full force into the air where it crashed against another and the thunderous boom shook the ground as she sheathed her weapons and continued to walk forwards, eyes fixing upon a particular spot where two figures were running towards her. Luke and Leia. Luke had his lightsaber in hand and was expertly deflecting blaster fire as his sister returned volley, however Jupiter stopped and held out her hands, guiding the Force before she clenched her fists and with a yell, punched the ground.
Immediately it trembled, rearing its head and cracking open as the ripple caused the Storm Troopers to fall onto their backs as Jupiter then turned around, fists still closed as she pummelled her fist against another trooper and sent him flying into a speeder bike, crashing both into a pile of rubble before her orange blade appeared in her hand and with expert swipes, cleared the way to her niece and nephew whereby she ignored everything around them and pulled them both in her arms. "Finally." Breathing softly Jupiter clutched them tightly, closing her eyes as she marvelled in the sensation of holding them both against her for the first time since they were born. "Finally, I have you both with me. You've grown so much the two of you, my starlight, my sunbeam, I'm never letting go of you again."
"Aunt Jupiter." They both answered and Jupiter could feel the brightness of Leia's smile so she hid her tears and smiled also, the three of them finally reuniting upon the battlefield whereby Jupiter then pulled Leia aside and had her stand close to her, refusing to allow anything to come within ten feet of her niece as she and Luke fought side by side, Leia finding cover and watching their backs as Chewbacca and Han arrived also. He roared to Jupiter in recognition and Jupiter answered with a laugh.
"I know Chewbacca, it is a small universe after all. It has been a long time since we last met."
"Wait, you know this old lady?" Han demanded and Jupiter answered him with a smack to the back of his head, shooting him a look as he yelped in pain.
"Old? I am not quite that old you uncouth, scruffy looking scoundrel. If you have any intention to marry my precious niece then you had do a better job at impressing me." Han eyes widened in shock as Leia smirked slightly, trying her best to remain serious considering the position they were all in at the present.
"Scruffy looking…niece?! Okay, so first I find out that you're Luke's sister and now I find out you have an aunt who just so happens to call me scruffy looking and has two rather dangerous looking laser swords. Any crazy uncles or cousins you want to warn me about?" Han demanded to know however Leia merely kissed him in response, the two of them hunkered down undercover with Chewbacca close by still firing upon the enemy as they tried to take over the fort. Jupiter smiled to herself, enjoying the sensation of their peaceful love against the chaos of battle.
"Aunt Jupiter, look out!" Luke called in warning so Jupiter turned, quickly dispatching her opponents before taking a moment to breathe and look around. Perhaps she was not as young as she thought, her back was already starting to ache and the battle had barely begun. Soon enough she would know how Master Yoda had felt back in the day. Just as Jupiter was about to go and oversee the tactical assault on the enemy cannons, the presence of familiar and dearly missed loved ones caused her to stop and turn her head, seeing an ancient looking Rex and an aged Keyes coming towards her, still laying fire upon the enemy but looking pretty intent on reaching her.
With a lift of her hand the broken rocks of the bridge rose up and flew away, crushing the artillery guns and the Storm Troopers, allowing Rex and Keyes to leave the fort and head straight for her. "General! General it's us, it's…"
"I know who you are, Rex, you do not need to tell me." Jupiter told him warmly as she walked towards them both, calling out over the sound of battle. "No matter how old and different you look, I shall always be able to recognise you. Rex, Keyes, it's so…" Before she could even finish, both had crushed their arms around her and pulled her close for an embrace. "Keyes?" Keyes was holding onto her so tightly that she could barely breathe, her arms naturally rising as much as they could to hold them also however Keyes was clenching his face with unbound emotion as his fingers gripped into the grey robes she wore.
"General. General Jupiter. We knew. We always knew you'd come back. We never lost hope or doubted you for a second and now you're here. You're here." He was nearly crying, the tears ready and waiting to fall even as he fought them so as Rex released Jupiter and gave her a hearty pat and a smile before taking up a place to hold off the ground forces, Jupiter was able to wrap her arms around Keyes and place one hand against his shaved head.
"Forgive me for leaving you for so long, Keyes." Jupiter whispered to him softly, his head resting against her shoulder as his fingers brushed against her wrist where her bracelet lay. Above them the Unbowed and Unbroken flew overhead to join the battle, the Hammerfell also joining them and both Keyes and Jupiter looked up, watching them fly with a mixture of emotions shared between them before they looked back at one another once more, leaning forwards until their foreheads rested against one another. "I won't ever leave your side again. I promise." Jupiter murmured and Keyes nodded his head before pulling back and saluting.
"General Jupiter, Commander Keyes reporting for duty." Keyes stated, gazing at her with nostalgic dark eyes and Jupiter's mouth twitched into a smile whilst trying to maintain her composure.
"You may dispense with the formalities, Keyes, you know that they are unnecessary." Behind them Jupiter sensed all the Clone Troopers who had remained to fight until the very end, recognising several of them instantly as men she herself had once commanded long ago. Turning around she faced them and her chest panged with heavy pain. They were all older, greyer and even white haired, wrinkled and not as spritely as they had once been, but still Jupiter felt that same sense of kinship with them all as the day she had first introduced herself as they had stood in formation just like now, awaiting her orders. "Prepare to advance, those cannons are going to be turned against the enemy and I'll be damned if those walkers get within firing range of the base. Understood soldiers?"
"Sir yes sir!" A smile stretched across her face as Jupiter ignited her orange blade, Keyes straightening up and lifting his blaster a little higher as the orange glow smoothed out her wrinkles and detracted attention from the greying streaks in her dark hair. To him, she was still the same. He could see her as she was once before, young and full of life, energised and always ready for battle with a mind so unique that he always struggled to keep up and follow along with her. With her recognisable and distinguishable orange blade, Jupiter was as they all remembered and as if the years were being peeled away from her face, she placed a hand upon her hip and lifted her head high with a pride which only Jupiter could carry, a pride which brought her respect and the love of the men who now followed her willingly and without fear.
"And I am not a sir."
