Hello my fellow Star Wars fans!
I am back with the second chapter! And I must say I am absolutely floored by the response. I'm incredibly glad it's being well received as I had really high hopes for this fic so I hope it continues to impress.
This one is going to be more of a Segway chapter but I promise: big things are on the way. At the very least, we know where Luke is now haha.
May the Force be with You.
"People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."- Albert Einstein
Chapter 2. Forty Nine Years Ago
(Forty Nine Years Ago)
A disturbance in the force rippled throughout the galaxy so suddenly, that it was felt by all in tune with it. From Coruscant all the way to the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim, every Jedi gave the slightest pause, even those in the midst of fighting the Confederacy.
At the Jedi Temple, Yoda and Mace Windu were discussing the latest strategy put forth by the Council in disrupting Trade Federation colony worlds when the spontaneous phenomenon occurred.
Both beings looked at each other, with only the buzzing hum of the situation room to dull the silence.
"I assume you felt the same thing I did," Windu spoke aloud.
"Yes, indeed. Mysterious this is. Such a ripple I have not felt in many years."
"Should we tell the other Jedi to remain alert?"
Yoda mused, rubbing a claw on his scraggly chin. The wisest of all the Jedi, and at an age of almost nine hundred years, no decision was ever made rashly on the part of the Grand Master. Nevertheless, in these troubled days some scenarios daunted even him.
"Say nothing for now," he finally answered. "Reveal itself in time, the meaning of this ripple will."
Obi-Wan Kenobi was just in the middle of inquiring about the whereabouts of Maul and his brutish accomplice over a space bank over Cybloc when he felt the ripple surge through him. So strong it was, he temporarily forgot himself.
"Master Kenobi?"
The concerned face of Adi Gallia glanced over him while the Snivvian he was just talking to looked puzzled. His companion's expression was inquisitive but gave away she probably had felt it too though perhaps not as much as himself.
"Excuse my manners, I do apologize," he quickly reassured them. "Please continue."
"I was just askin to spark up that lightsaber now would ya?"
Kenobi did so, igniting his azure blade in a demonstration.
"Mhm. Well the droids that got attacked said that the two guys who busted in here, theirs was red."
That only confirmed his suspicions.
"They are Sith. We need to find them before they strike again."
"Well they took my cargo ship," the Snivvian informed them. "The droid survivor said they heard somethin' bout the Certar sector."
Obi-Wan thanked him for his time and began to walk back down the hallway of the station, Gallia alongside him.
"What's in the Certar sector?" she quizzed.
"That's where Florum is."
"You've been there? What can we expect?"
The explanation was simple enough in the answer.
"Pirates."
They began walking back to their ship but not before Gallia brought up the obvious in a much more hushed tone.
"That was no ordinary disturbance you and I just felt."
"No, indeed. So you can guess as to why I blanked out there for a moment."
"What do you make of it?"
Obi-Wan was noncommittal in his answer. There was no true way to know. The Force worked in ways even the most powerful among them did not understand. Such a ripple however, could not be insignificant.
"I am not sure. Perhaps it is best to focus on our mission at hand for now. The Council may have an answer when we get back."
Master Gallia seemed to accept that for the moment, but Obi-Wan sensed that more was yet to come from this recent turn of events.
The feeling was uncanny.
From his posh office chair, Chancellor Palpatine, the being otherwise known as Darth Sidious, was deep in thought. He was gazing outside of his large window which held an overview of the afternoon skyline in Coruscant but that was not where his mind was presently.
He had felt it. He was certain the Jedi did too. No doubt every Force user in the galaxy regardless of which side they aligned was aware of the booming ripple that just occurred. More frustrating still was interpreting its message. All such ripples carried some kind of underlying meaning, his master taught him well in that regard despite being bloated and arrogant.
Subtly, he drew upon the dark side, basking in its embrace with relish, breathing in the rich embers of its power. Every day, it grew stronger, gradually engulfing the weakness of the light those archaic fools at the temple continued to preach, blinding their vision. And yet, strangely, this time the reach of the darkness could not reveal the mystery of this disturbance. It annoyed the Sith Lord, something he was unaccustomed in dealing with. Rarely was he denied an answer when it came to knowledge he sought.
Curious. Very curious
He doubted this ripple through the Force posed a serious threat to his plans. No, everything was going just smoothly. The Jedi and the Clone soldiers under their command remained blissfully unaware of what was to come and the Senate was as inefficient, corrupt, and bureaucratic as ever. Yet these anomalies could not be ignored. It was not in his nature to let loose ends go untied.
Suddenly, a red button silently flashed twice on his desk. The signal of his apprentice. No doubt he was calling about the same subject he was pondering.
Silently pulling over his hood, Palpatine got up from his chair and headed to a secret room within the office far from any security cameras or prying eyes. Accepting the transmission, the bearded face of Count Dooku appeared, looking as regal as ever.
"Greetings, Lord Tyrannus."
"My, Master."
"I can already guess why you have messaged me at this late an hour."
"That ripple was no random occurrence, my Lord. The Force has presented us with quite an enigma."
So his apprentice had also tried to sense the truth but ended up being as equally as unsuccessful.
"It is most unusual for such a thing to occur. However, it is not unheard of."
"Shall I investigate?"
"And where would you start, Lord Tyrannus? You are as blind as I am in locating the source. No, we have no choice but to leave this be for now. Report anything out of the ordinary worthy of your findings."
"Yes, my master."
The transmission ended and Palpatine lowered his hood, placing both of his hands underneath his chin. Dooku really was gifted in the force and a master strategist to boot, truly befitting the ideal nobleman. It was a shame that he would soon outlive his usefulness. After all, the true prize still lay in wait.
Smirking to himself, the Chancellor stretched his arms elegantly and left the secret room to retire. Even someone such as himself needed rest. Though patience was still needed, the Dark Lord of the Sith could wait. The war would end soon and his order- which had remained in the shadows for nearly a millennium- ready to seize its revenge.
One more year was practically a cinch.
Out of nowhere Luke suddenly found himself in the middle of a busy crowded street. Disoriented and completely lost, he bumped into several people before using the side wall to catch his breath and settle his mind.
That...that was the most intense experience I've ever had. Was it a dream?
It was difficult to concentrate with the mix of sounds that surrounded him from every direction- the chatting of multiple species in multiple languages, the roar of multiple speeders that congested the traffic lines, colorful posters that flashed brightly colored advertisements and multiple messages about the war.
The war…
It suddenly hit Luke that he wasn't on Ahch-To anymore and the familiarity of this setting dawned on him. He wasn't a fan of Coruscant and only visited sporadically after the fall of the empire, mostly to visit Leia and Han, the former of which often took him to political dinners he didn't care for. The capital was always a hectic place, but nothing like what he saw now.
"By the stars," he whispered. "It actually worked."
Through the Force, training, and the virtue of a miracle he had done it. He had gone back into the past. But there was no time to weep or take in the magnitude of his accomplishment. Immediate questions formed in his mind, namely just how far back was he? Judging by some of the flashing screens, the Clone Wars were well underway but what year? His next actions depended greatly on that answer.
Quickly, he set about finding that out. Pulling up his hood, he pushed his way through the crowd until he spotted one of the flashing screens with a time and date underneath.
"Almost one year exactly to the fall of the Republic," he muttered to himself. That date was permanently stamped in his brain due to the fact it was a mere two days before his birth.
That left him with enough time to hopefully change enough outcomes to prevent the chaotic future he came from. But where to start? Should he go to the Temple? No, that would be too obvious and besides, what could he provide as of now that would get the old masters to believe him?
He thought back to the numerous conversations and visions shared by the imprints of his father and first master. Racking his brain he remembered they were both off doing something at the turn of the third year of the war.
Yes, he remembered now. Anakin was involved in a space battle off of Trandosha who were becoming increasingly hostile to the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk. He was no doubt engaged with the Trandoshan slavers with a group of the 501st. To show himself in the middle of something like that would be impractical to say the least.
On the other hand, this was also right around the time Obi-Wan was investigating the reemergence of an ex-Sith Lord warrior by the name of Darth Maul or just 'Maul' for short. A heavily tattooed Zabrakian, his former master gave him a severe warning about this brute.
"Maul is...was extremely dangerous. Not dangerous enough to pose a significant enough threat to the Republic but he built a powerful criminal empire by the end of the war. He was very cunning and a highly skilled warrior that wielded a double lightsaber to deadly effect. My dealings with him were numerous and often...traumatic. Should you encounter him, be very wary of what he might do."
"When did he resurface?"
"Almost a year before the Clone Wars ended. Should that be the time you end up, know that I was engaged with Maul on Florum as he was trying to amass a group of pirates to his cause."
He had his answer. Luke was very familiar with the Outer Rim and no stranger to pirates who ran their operations far from the oversight of any government, Empire or Republic. If Obi-Wan currently had his hands full in dealing with a powerful Sith assassin, what better way to make a first impression by assisting him in the endeavor?
To Florum he would go then.
Rushing towards the side of the street, he stretched out his hand and sure enough a speeding taxi pulled up next to him, it's door open.
"Where ya headed?" the Nimbanel driver asked.
"The nearest hangar with a ship," came the simple reply as he stepped in.
"Eager to leave Coruscant, are ya? You some Jedi or something with that cloak?
"Just drive," he responded gruffly.
"Alright, you got it."
And just like that, he was off.
Shorter chapter but all good things take time ;) Rome wasn't built in a day.
As always leave those reviews and feedback! Another update within a week!
~The Wasp