Chapter 36
"And this just happened?"
"Yeah. I haven't seen anything like it in a long time."
I look up at Kanan's holographic figure. I'm standing by the small holotable in the corner of my room and Sabine is next to me. I had just explained what I saw to him with hopes he knows what to do.
"It's especially rare nowadays for the Force to call someone out like this... it's happened to you before with Maul and that senator," he says.
"What about that bridge he described?" Sabine asks. "Do you know of some place that would have that? Some Jedi temple or something?"
"Nothing comes to mind. There are many planets that could have that."
"I don't want to look at every planet in the map just to find it," I say.
"You won't have to. If it's the Force that showed you this, then it will guide you if you let it."
"The voice felt familiar, too... but I just don't know how."
"Wait, familiar how?" Sabine asks.
"I just said I don't know," I reply. "I just feel like it is. What should I do, Kanan?"
"Trust in the Force. Clear your mind and concentrate. Let it guide you."
"I'll... do my best," I say. I remember what Kanan told me back when he was training me. A famous quote from Master Yoda.
"May the Force be with you, Ezra," Kanan says before the call ends.
"So what's next?" Sabine asks me.
"I don't know. I just need to think," I say. I walk up to the mural she painted and imagine it changing just like it did in the vision.
I close my eyes and focus.
You're needed on the bridge. But what bridge? And where?
I picture the planet in my mind and think. Do I know this planet? It didn't look very familiar...
"If you need me," Sabine says, standing next to me, her hand on my arm. "I'll be on the bridge. The admiral just called in."
"No, I can go up," I say.
"Are you sure?" she asks.
"Yeah. Maybe some work can help clear my mind," I tell her as I pull my uniform shirt off the wall and put it on.
She helps me get it straightened out and my rank pins lined up before we both head up.
...
"We're moving out, General. One of our fleets protecting this sector was recently destroyed by an Imperial Star Destroyer task force," the admiral explains, pointing to an area of the outer rim.
"Do we know the size of this task force?" I ask him.
"We did receive reports on their strength, sir," he replies. He pulls up a datapad and reads it out loud. "It's mostly Imperial-II class star destroyers but there are a few of their Arquitens command cruisers and Gozanti class cruisers. Our fleet that was taken out was the Alpha-4 fleet. Subcapital. Frigates and destroyers mainly plus support craft and fighters."
"Alpha-4," Sabine says. "That's one of the fleets that utilizes those modified Pelta frigates."
"You're familiar with them?" I ask her.
"I helped Tenith and Hera form several fleets after we recovered those Peltas. We put one of the newly modified carrier variants in that fleet as the flagship," she replies. "They were escorted by three Artemis class destroyers, four CR90 corvettes, and two other Pelta class medical frigates."
"The region they were in explains why they were small. There's not a lot of activity in that area so it's a surprise that an enemy star destroyer force showed up," the admiral says.
"They must be desperate to wipe us out again," I say, unamused. "We've got a course set?"
"Yes sir. I've also notified Command of our movements and they've already approved the operation," the admiral says.
"Good. Then let's get moving."
"All ships report ready, sir," an officer reports.
"Nav, make the jump," I order.
The ship jumps to hyperspace, giving a blue hue to everything in the bridge.
...
"Are you okay, sir?"
I look over at the admiral. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm alright. Just didn't sleep well, that's all."
"Nothing's happening right now so you can always return to your quarters and rest until we arrive. I'll take care of things here," he suggests.
"No, really. I'm okay. What's our ETA?"
"We'll be in that sector within the hour."
"Well... I haven't eaten anything yet so I might as well go to the mess," I say.
"Yes sir," he says.
With that, I leave the bridge and make my way to the mess hall. I get turned around a couple times but soon find it. I pick up a tray and grab some food before sitting down at an empty table, deep in thought.
Bridge... on some ocean world with islands. So just single out planets with oceans? No, there's still too many. I could look through those planets on a map and see which ones look familiar. But Kanan told me to trust the Force. Let it guide me. I'm trying to do that but I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
I look down at my tray to eat, but find it's empty. Nothing but whatever crumbs are left. I must've eaten already without realizing it...
I get up and grab a second serving and sit back down at my table. I make sure I know I'm eating first before getting lost in thought.
When I finish eating, I start walking through the ship towards my quarters. When I open the door, the first thing I see is the mural. I sit on the floor in the middle of the room and start to meditate. Like Kanan told me, clear my mind and let the Force guide me.
The sound of the engines fade away and I go numb. I concentrate on the planet I saw in my vision and I find myself standing on an island. The cloaked figure is there staring at me. The only words he says to me are what he's told me in my vision: "You're needed on the bridge."
What bridge...?
The vision fades, but I stay focused on the Force, willing it to guide me.
At least give me a direction to look...
I feel an urge to open my eyes and walk towards the holotable. I activate it and the blue light fills my room.
"Alright... where do I need to go?"
My hands seem to move on their own and in a moment the planet I saw in my vision appears in front of me.
"So it is an ocean planet..."
I look for coordinates but they're locked under some Imperial code. I sigh with mild frustration, but take a deep breath to calm down. I vent my frustration into the Force.
"Okay... You've shown me it's a real place. Now where can I find it?"
There's a loud buzz by my door and I turn around. "Come in."
The door opens and Sabine enters.
"Hey. You doing okay?" she asks.
"Yeah. I've just been thinking a lot," I reply.
"Is that what you saw in your vision?" She points to the planet on the holotable.
"Yeah. I can't get the coordinates though because some Imperial code is blocking it," I say.
"I'll help you with that later. Right now we're arriving at the last known location of Alpha-4," she says.
"Alright, I'll be right up," I say.
Sabine takes my hand and puts her left on my cheek, making sure I don't look away from her. She smiles softly.
"You'll figure it out. I know you will," she says before kissing my cheek.
My face burns lightly but I smile back. "Thanks."
"Now let's go find that task force and secure this sector. Then we can find that planet of yours."
...
"General on deck!"
"As you were. What's the status, admiral?" I ask.
"We've found what's left of Alpha-4. All ships are confirmed destroyed. There are no escape pods," he reports.
"The Empire must've either taken them or destroyed them," Sabine says.
"There was a scavenger ship here when we arrived. Must've spooked them since they left pretty quickly."
"Send a shuttle to search for anything worth saving," I order. "Maybe we could find some survivors somewhere. Admiral, order the fleet to take defensive formation Sierra. Flight control, keep alert fighters on standby. I want U-wings deployed to help with search and rescue and X-wings to a perimeter patrol routine. A-wings will remain on defensive action in case of any fighters."
"Yes sir!"
"Yes sir, right away," the admiral replies.
Defensive formation Sierra. It's a search and rescue formation. The fleet prioritizes the defense of recovery craft like shuttles. Fighters and corvettes cover the shuttles while destroyers and the rest of the fleet encircles the recovery area. Destroyers on the outer layer, cruisers middle, and capital ships in the center as always. Other fighters patrol outside the formation. The kinds of fighters vary on the situation. In this case we're keeping our X-wings out of the formation on patrol so in case somebody arrives, they can hit the ships and retreat to capital lines. The A-wings would intercept any fighters that possibly make it through our point defense grid to attack the shuttles.
"All ships are in position, general. Our fighters and shuttles are deployed," the admiral reports.
"Keep our T-70s on alert," I order. "I don't want to risk our new fighters straight off the bat. Maybe give the Imperials a false sense of security. Whatever they've used to destroyer Alpha-4, they would use it on us."
"Then why are we putting them on alert?" he asks.
"The Empire would be used to seeing our T-65s," Sabine says. "They don't know about the T-70s so if they arrive they won't expect a better fighter."
"Exactly," I say.
"Understood," the admiral says.
...
A couple hours go by with no luck of survivors, but we were able to salvage much of the wreckages. We recalled a lot of our fighters and deployed fresh pilots to fly beside the fleet.
We just started cruising around the sector, looking and waiting when I just had this feeling. I was sensing...
Somebody...
"Ezra? You okay?" Sabine asks me.
"Yeah. I sense something..."
"Is it the Empire?"
"No. It's one person. I just don't..."
It seemed to click and I rush out of the bridge.
"Admiral, get my fighter ready by the time I get to the hangar," I order.
"What for, sir?"
"He's up to something, just do it. We'll explain later," Sabine says. "Prep mine, too."
"Um... yes sir," the admiral says before the lift doors shut.
"Not going to protest me coming along?" Sabine asks.
"No use in protesting. You're just going to come along anyway," I reply.
"Yup. So is this about your vision? You said there was a person there."
"I think so. But there's only one way to find out for sure," I say.
"Then we need to be cautious."
"I know."
The lift doors open and I run towards the hangar.
"General, Commander, your fighters are prepped and ready to go," the deck officer reports.
"Thanks," I say as I climb into the T-70. I do a quick pre-flight check and put my helmet on. R3 beeps at me.
"It's something I have to do really quick. We'll be back before anything happens. I hope," I say.
"Spectre 5 to Spectre 6, ready to go when you are," Sabine says.
Those callsigns bring back memories. Good memories.
"Just follow my lead Spectre 5," I say as I pilot my X-wing out of the hangar.
"I'm just off your left wing, Ezra."
I look over my left shoulder and see Sabine give me a thumbs up.
I look back to my controls and concentrate. I can feel that presence again and I punch in coordinates I don't recognize.
"Sabine, I'm sending you coordinates. Jump on my mark," I say.
"Where'd you get these coordinates?"
"They just came to me. I'm hoping this will take us to where we need to go," I explain.
"This is risky... even for you," she says.
"I know. But I think the way is clear. Are you ready?"
"You think?! That's reassuring... Yeah I'm ready. I hope you know what you're doing."
"Me too. 3... 2... 1... jump!"
I pull a lever and my X-wing jumps to hyperspace.
...
I open my eyes from meditating and I call out to Sabine.
"I'm right here, Ezra. We're almost to your destination, ETA 3 minutes."
"You doing okay over there?" I ask her.
"Perfectly fine. How about you?"
"I'm doing fine. Haven't crashed yet."
She laughs and I crack a smile.
The fighter lurches as we leave hyperspace. Right in front of me is an ocean planet. The same one from my vision.
"Looks like we made it. Does this planet look familiar, Ezra?"
"This is the place."
"Now we just need to find whatever bridge the Force was telling you about."
"Easy... I can sense somebody. It's even stronger now. Follow me in, and raise deflectors," I say.
I pilot my X-wing towards the planet and see Sabine following me on my scope. We break through the atmosphere of the planet and level out below the clouds.
"Where do we go from here?" Sabine asks me.
I concentrate.
"Over here..." I turn my fighter to the right and fly straight ahead. Before I know it, I see an island connected by a stone bridge.
"That's it..." I mutter.
"Is that the place?"
"Yup. We're here. R3, is there a good place to land?"
He beeps at me and I look to where he wants me to look.
"You see that spot, Sabine?"
"I see it. You go first."
I fly around the islands a couple times before finally landing on a flat-ish surface. As I'm climbing out of the cockpit, Sabine lands next to me.
I jump down and hit sand. I look around but I don't see the cloaked man.
Sabine jumps down next to me and also looks around.
"I don't see anyone here," she states.
"No, but I can sense him... follow me but stay close," I say before walking to the stone bridge.
I'm needed on the bridge. That's what the cloaked man said. This could also be a trap...
The ground quickly changes from sand to grass, then to stone as we reach the bridge.
We continue walking a few yards, then I stop.
"What is it?" Sabine asks.
I nod ahead of me. The cloaked man is standing right at the top of the bridge.
"Ezra Bridger," he says. "You're finally here."
"Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" I ask him.
"I'm not a threat to you, I assure you," the man says.
"You're not Imperial," I say matter of factly.
"No, but I was a Rebel once."
"Do we know you?" Sabine asks.
The man approaches us and Sabine draws her blasters. The man takes the hint and stops walking towards us. Instead, he brings his hands up to the hood of his cloak and pulls it down.
"No... It can't be you..." Sabine stammers.
"How... How are you...?" I begin to ask.
"Alive? Good question. Something I can explain right now," the man says. "Oh, and welcome to Ahch-to."
"But... we thought you... you were shot down! At Yavin!" Sabine says.
"My death was... exaggerated, I guess," he says.
I stare at the man in front of us. His sandy blonde hair seems well groomed, but his arm looks like it needs medical attention. There's a deep gash right down his right forearm. Slightly pale skin as well, but one thing's for sure... he's alive.
"Luke..." I manage to say. "How did you survive Yavin?"
"I'll tell you inside. Come with me," Luke says.
He leads us to a small shack made from stone and metal. The outside looks rugged but the inside is cozy and somewhat comfortable. He motions for us to sit down and I do, Sabine sitting next to me.
"Now... as to how I survived. I was just about to fire my torpedoes down the exhaust port when my X-wing was hit. Instead of blowing up or crashing, the blast activated my hyperdrive. I blacked out before I could stop the jump. When I woke up, I was here," he explains. "Well, in orbit and free falling to my death. I got control of my fighter and crashed in the water just off the shore over there," he points out the small window. There's remains of a T-65 half buried in the sand.
"I managed to salvage my radio but the transmitter was too weak. I could only receive what was happening up there," he continues, looking up at the ceiling.
"There's not a lot of room in our X-wings but we can bring you home. No, I could call the fleet. Have them send a ship to pick you up. Bring you back with us," Sabine says.
"I'd like that. There's nothing I wanted more than to go back up and help you guys. I'm glad you two are alright. How's Leia doing? Is she okay?"
I look at Sabine and she back at me. She has a grim expression and I guess I did, too.
"She... never made it off Yavin. The Death Star..." Sabine says.
"Oh... right... I missed my shot. I should've known better," Luke says.
"It's not your fault, Luke. There was nothing you could have done," I explain. "Besides, it's all in the past. We're better equipped. Our own fleet, our own army. We're fighting on multiple fronts against the Empire and with news that you're still alive? That would bring more fire to our cause."
"I thought you found it," he says with a smile.
"Found what?" Sabine asks.
"That station. I might've forgotten one more thing... It's all fuzzy so I have to think of it to really understand but I was thrown out of the galaxy. I woke up to an alarm and I shut down the hyperdrive right outside a huge space station. The hangars were open but nobody was there so I landed and repaired my fighter. But still nothing could've been done about the transmitter and I didn't want to stay long since... well, a huge station by myself. Gives me the creeps," he explains. "I also repaired R2 as best I could so he's doing alright. He's charging right over there." He jams a thumb over his right shoulder and sure enough, the little blue astromech droid is sitting dormant.
"If you repaired your fighter, why didn't you come back to the Rebellion?" Sabine asks.
"I tried. But I guess I missed something on the hyperdrive because the controls kinda exploded in my face. Next thing I knew I was here. There, that's where I started off. I always forget all that..."
Sabine gets up and kneels in front of him. She pulls a small flashlight from her belt and looks into Luke's eyes.
"Uh, what are you doing?" he asks.
She doesn't respond. She just looks a little longer and shuts off the light.
"I can't be one hundred percent sure, but he's got some memory loss. That last blast before ending up here probably did that for you. And here... you look like you need this." She pulls out a small medkit and fixes up his arm.
At first, Luke winces and groans, but soon relaxes and sighs with relief. "Thanks... That's been bothering me since yesterday."
"What did you do?" I ask.
"Ah, I cut it while trying to get food. I've been trying to self train myself with the Force and occasionally, old Ben would appear to assist and give advice," he says.
"Obi-wan? I thought he was killed!" I exclaim.
"He was. But there's this technique where he could basically live forever through the Force. It's... confusing to me, too."
"We need to get him out of here. The cut looks bad already and there's nothing more I can do for him with the supplies we have," Sabine explains.
"How long do you think it will take for a ship to get here?" I ask her.
"About as long as it did for us. A few hours give or take," she replies.
"Go ahead and call one in. Just a shuttle would do or a U-wing."
Sabine heads out the door to go to her X-wing.
"Those are some nice looking X-wings. They look brand new," Luke says.
"They are. Courtesy of Incom-FreiTek. They've secretly given us blueprints to produce them. We've made first contact with two new groups. Terrans and Conglomeration. Terrans are friendly and run a company in the galaxy to help fund our cause. The Conglomeration isn't so friendly, though. We have a lot of new warships. Capital ships, destroyers, frigates, star destroyers. We're fighting the Empire on relatively even footing. We have been lacking adequate ground units like tanks or walkers but our chief engineer has been working on that," I explain.
"I'd like to see all that," he says.
A sound from the corner grabs my attention and I see R2 waking up.
"Hey, R2, look who finally showed up!" Luke says.
R2 beeps happily and rolls up to me.
"Hey R2! Everyone's missed you!"
He beeps a question and my face falls.
"3P0 didn't make it either, I'm afraid. I'm sorry, pal..."
He lets out a sad whine.
"I got a hold of our fleet, Ezra," Sabine says, walking in from outside. "They're sending a cruiser with a shuttle. I explained Luke's medical situation and the medical facility on the cruiser will help him."
"Good. What's their ETA?" I ask her.
"Four hours. It's your lucky day, Luke," Sabine says.
R2 beeps happily and bumps into Sabine's leg.
"Ow! Hi R2. Good to see you're still alive as well," she says with a smile.
"R2, remember don't run over people's legs. He's done that to me out of frustration multiple times," Luke says.
"It's no problem. He's just excited. Aren't you?"
R2 spins his dome head and whistles.
"Well... I don't know about you two, but I'm going to catch some shut eye for a bit. Help yourselves to whatever's here," Luke says as he lies down on a makeshift bed.
"We'll keep an eye out for that ship. Rest easy, Luke. This will be a long trip home," I say.
...