Hey! Hope everyone is doing alright with the virus! My city has four official cases, and probably more cases that aren't official, and people are going batshit crazy. I should be on a fucking cruise right now in the Caribbean but I'm stuck on land because it was canceled so I feel for anyone who had their plans wrecked. Here's a chapter to tide you over.
KitWolfren: I'm happy to hear that. Glad you like it! Thanks so much!
DCDGojira: Guess you'll have to wait and see lmao. Thanks!
Love Fiction 2020: Thank you!
Zikashigaku: I'm giddy just thinking about what I have planned. I'll be sad to see it end.
Kaia: Coming up with the name was arguably the easiest thing I've had to decide for this story. I just love throwbacks so much.
4 ABY
The flight to the Sullust system went by faster than the flight to Dagobah. Kal was itching for a fight despite having just gotten into one. She needed to do something. Things through the Force felt tense. A battle was about to commence. The moment Luke and Kal landed in the main hangar bay of the Command ship, they were informed of the meeting taking place in the Command Center. Something about a new battle station and taking the fight to the Empire.
They heard Han's loud voice as they walked down the hall say, "My team's ready, but I don't have a command crew for the shuttle." Kal glanced at Luke as they heard Chewie growl. "That's one."
"General, count me in," Leia added.
"We're with you, too!" Luke called out as he and Kal entered the room.
Everyone in the room looked to them as they hopped down the steps and personnel parted to let them through to their friends. Han and Leia grinned and shot up from their seats, walking over to the two Jedi while everyone else talked amongst themselves. The group was back together again and they were about to jump back into the fray. As the leaders of the rebellion began leaving the room to attend to their duties and continue preparing for the attack, Luke's hand rested gently on Kal's hip as he held her close. His touch never ceased to comfort her.
As Leia was about to lead them to be outfitted for their mission, a voice called out from behind them. "I called it!" Kal and Luke turned around to see an excited Hobbie and an amused Wedge hurrying towards them. Hobbie pointed at the two Jedi. "I called it from day one, you remember?" he asked Wedge. "'He's so annoying.'" Hobbie waved his hand dramatically. "Bantha fodder, all of it. He grew on you."
Luke's eyebrows pulled together as he looked to Kal, slightly amused and slightly offended. "You thought I was annoying?" he asked.
She awkwardly shrugged. "Well, you were kinda whiny and naive." She turned to Hobbie and Wedge. "Thanks so much for that." Regardless of her displeasure of Hobbie telling Luke of her initial thoughts towards him, she moved forward and hugged the two pilots, both of which happily returned it.
"It's good to see you again, hunter," Wedge said. "We were worried you had died on Hoth."
"It takes more than some falling ice to kill me, you know that." She decided against telling them the truth in the public area. "I'll tell you all about my adventures if we survive this, alright?"
"We're gonna hold you to that." Wedge made eye contact with Luke. "Watch her. She likes to get into trouble."
"Don't I know it," Luke said, a small grin pulling at his lips.
Kal rolled her eyes. "May the Force be with you," she told them, her expression soft. She could feel that many people were about to die in the ensuing conflict, people from both sides. Whether they won or lost, she wanted her friends to survive above all else.
"You too," Wedge replied.
"Good luck," Hobbie added.
Kal and Luke were about to leave the two, but Kal stopped and turned to Hobbie. "Wait, are there enough ships for all the pilots?" she asked. Hobbie shook his head. There never are. "Use mine. It's the red and white JM in the main hangar. She's got quite a kick and we can use all the ships we can get. Gray's already there. He can help with shooting."
Hobbie nodded and smiled. "Stay safe. Please."
The group was outfitted with jungle fatigues and packs and standard comlinks. The strike team was issued more, such as weaponry and explosives, but everyone for the command crew brought their own weaponry to the table. Underneath the camouflage tunic, Kal continued to wear her clothing from Tatooine, except the coat. Trudging around on the jungle floor of Endor would be a picnic after the desert and she needed to stay cool.
As the Imperial shuttle was being prepped, Kal found herself in one of the hangar bays with Luke trailing behind her. She hadn't said anything to him once they had been outfitted for their mission. While confused, he continued holding her hand, knowing she had something on her mind.
Kal paused once she saw Zeb, the Lasat spectre of the Ghost, kneeling in front of a young boy with green hair in front of the ship that had brought her to the rebellion in the first place.
Luke gently squeezed her hand and asked, "Are you alright?"
She looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, I just. . . I need to say goodbye and good luck to some old friends. Just in case."
"I'm right here with you." She appreciated it.
She took a deep breath and continued moving forward with Luke by her side. "Miss me, ugly?" she asked with just enough sass to tease the Lasat once she was close enough.
The Lasat groaned as he picked up the kid and stood to face Kal. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I missed having Jedi around," he retorted gruffly. "You've met Jacen, right?"
Kal brought her free hand to her hip. "How could I not? His dad instilled some life lessons into me once or twice. Just wish he was around to know him. Zeb, this is Luke. Luke, meet Garazeb Orrelios, one of the spectres of the Ghost."
Zeb eyed the blond man up and down and looked back to Kal. "Weren't all Jedi like wiped out or something? You're all practically oozing out of the frameworks now." Kal shrugged. "Well, it's good to meet you. Any friend of Kal's is a friend of ours. You're probably here to see Hera and Sabine, right? Take the little devil to her."
Zeb immediately pawned little Jacen Syndulla off into Kal's arms. "I hate you sometimes," she told him as the toddler squirmed in her arms. "Good luck out there, alright?"
"You too, kid." Zeb playfully punched her on the shoulder and left them to it to go get full for the ship.
Kal looked at the green-haired kid in her arms who was smiling at her. If she did her math correctly, Jacen was about four years old. He wasn't much of a talker without his mother around. "Let's get you to your mom." Kal and Luke boarded the Ghost. She smiled at the familiar cargo bay. "I don't think I've told you the story of how I met the Ghost crew. If we make it out of this alive, maybe I'll get around to it."
Luke smiled at her. "I'd like that."
"Hera!" she called out. "Found your kid wandering around a cache of explosives!"
"You what?" she heard the Twi'lek captain exclaim from deeper in the ship. "I'm going to kill Zeb!" Captain Syndulla came running into the cargo bay with Chopper at her heels. She stopped at the sight of Kal's smirk. "Scratch that. I'm going to kill you." Chopper beeped in amusement.
"Hi, mama!" Jacen said while waving excitedly.
Hera brought Kal and Jacen into a hug. "It's good to see you, Kal. What brings you here?"
Pulling out of the hug, Kal handed her the kid. "I wanted to wish you all good luck before the battle. May the Force be with you, Hera."
"And you, Kal." Her gaze drifted to the man beside Kal. "You must be Luke Skywalker."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied. He held out his hand which Hera happily shook. "You're Captain Syndulla. I've heard a lot about Phoenix Squadron. They'll be lucky to have you flying out there."
"As long as you make sure the shield is down, we'll do our part." Hera turned to Kal. "I'll go get Sabine."
Luke and Kal watched the freighter captain walk away. "She seems nice," Luke said off-handedly.
"She is," Kal replied with a small nod. "Loves taking in strays."
"Were you a stray?"
"You can say that."
Sabine came rushing into the cargo bay without her helmet on, her hair purple and cut short. "Kal, it's so good to see you!" Sabine greeted as she wrapped her arms around the former bounty hunter. "Everything is about to get a heck of a lot crazier." Sabine pulled away and grinned at Luke. "You both look like you just went through hell."
"Well, we did bust Han out of Jabba's Palace," Kal told her.
"That'll do it." Sabine and Kal chuckled. "So, what do you say about all of us going out once we blow up this second Death Star? I'd say we all deserve it."
"Assuming we can get away, definitely," Kal conceded. Kal didn't say it in front of Luke, but she knew why Sabine was insistent on a night. Sabine, more than anyone, believed Ezra to still be alive somewhere in the galaxy. The moment things calmed down and the rebellion was no longer needed, she intended to go find him. But she didn't know where it would take her.
"Fantastic. You better get going, though. Rex left not too long ago to be issued his equipment for taking down the shield generator."
Kal's eyebrows furrowed together. "Rex is part of the strike team?"
Sabine nodded. "He was one of the first to volunteer. Between Hera, Zeb, and I being on the Ghost, all gunner positions are taken and Chopper is a good copilot. And let's just say he wanted to be on the ground." Sabine gave her a sincere look. Rex was always better with a blaster and taking the fight to the enemy.
"Thanks, Sabine. May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you." Sabine gave her a quick hug and nodded to Luke who returned it with a smile.
Kal grabbed Luke's hand. "Come on." She dragged him out of the ship and to the hangar bay where the shuttle Tydirium was located. Outside it were rebels securing their weapons and gear. Kal stopped a short distance away and called out, "Rex!" She waved the old clone down and watched him walk over to her and Luke. With Rex in front of her, she felt giddy. "I think it's high time you two met."
Rex looked at her strangely. "You look exactly like your father always did when he was being devious," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kal snorted. "My father? Devious?"
If anyone alive still knew Obi-Wan's tendencies, it was Rex. "General Kenobi was a sly fellow," Rex explained. "It always surprised people to find that the great respected Jedi General had quite a sense of humor."
Instead of replying to him, Kal turned to Luke. "This is Commander Rex," she introduced. "He's one of the few clones left from the Clone War and served as a Captain in the 501st Legion under Commander Ahsoka Tano and General Anakin Skywalker."
Luke's face dropped, completely shocked to meet yet another person who knew his father. He had gone years without knowing anything concrete about him and now he stood in front of someone who would've known Anakin Skywalker far better than anyone alive. "What, really?" he asked.
Rex didn't quite see the significance of meeting the young man in front of him, but he went along with it, knowing Kal probably had a good reason. "Yes. General Skywalker was one of the finest Jedi I had ever met. He cared about us clones in a way most of the Republic didn't. I trusted him with my life on more than one occasion. What's your name, kid?"
Kal was practically bursting with giddiness and excitement. "I feel like a child opening a present." She gestured to Luke while looking at Rex. "Rex, meet Luke Skywalker."
"Come again?" Rex blurted. He stared at Luke for a few moments. Kal's devious expression that had initially made him skeptical made more sense. He snapped his head back to Kal, another epiphany coming to light. "The senator! I knew they were close. Fives thought I was making things up, but I'm right, aren't I?"
Chuckling and knowing what Rex meant, Kal replied, "Yes, Rex."
"Haha!" Rex clapped Luke on the shoulder. "It was an honor to serve under your father. From what I've heard, you're taking after him in many ways. We couldn't have been led by a better Jedi. . . Well, except perhaps General Kenobi."
Kal scoffed and shook her head. "Don't butter me up, Rex. We both know you preferred Anakin's love for breaking the rules."
Rex laughed loudly and looked back at Luke. "Kid, there are so many stories I need to tell you about him." Luke couldn't wait to hear every single one.
But there were other things they had to attend to first. "That can wait," Kal cut in. "We better get on board. You ready to bust some bucketheads?"
"As long as the plan doesn't involve any falling." Kal and Luke looked at the clone strangely. Rex tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders. "It's just. . . a lot of General Skywalker's plans involved falling. I can tell you all about it later."
Kal and Luke were the first in the cockpit of the stolen shuttle. Before moving to start the ship up, Luke wrapped his arms around Kal, holding her close, and whispered, "Thank you. Everyone is telling me I need to defeat him, and I know I can't do it. But you introduced me to someone who knew him, actually knew him. Thank you. I know there's good in him. I know it."
"I believe you," Kal responded, setting her head on his shoulder. "You'll find a way to prove it. We should probably start up the ship before Han comes in and gives us grief." She felt the grumbling in his chest as he chuckled.
Luke pulled away and set a kiss on her temple. "Wouldn't want that." He sat down in the seat behind the pilot seat and Kal sat behind him, both getting to work on the control panel to start the ship.
Chewie trudged in, bending awkwardly down to not hit his head on anything. He was followed by Artoo and Threepio who were bickering, as per usual. The Wookiee sat in the copilot seat, staring at the Imperial controls and trying to make sense of them.
Less than a minute later, Han walked in. "You got her warmed?" Han asked as he took his seat.
"Yeah, she's comin' up," Luke replied.
Chewie growled which Kal smiled at. "No," Han said. "I don't think the Empire had Wookiees in mind when they designed her, Chewie."
Leia then entered. She noticed Han looking out the window at the Millennium Falcon sadly, so she nudged him gently with a playful smile. "Hey, are you awake?" Leia teased.
"Yeah, I just got a funny feeling, like I'm never gonna see her again." Chewie stopped what he was doing and looked at the Falcon with longing.
Leia put a hand on Han's shoulder. "Come on, General, let's move," she said softly.
Han snapped out of his stupor, remembering the mission they had to pull off. "Right. Chewie, let's see what this piece of junk can do. Ready, everybody?"
"All set," Luke said.
"Here we go again," Threepio muttered in his seat next to Kal's with Artoo sitting in the aisle.
"All right, hang on," Han warned. The ship lifted off and left the main docking bay of the Headquarters Frigate and zoomed into the darkness of space. The stars streamed together as the stolen Imperial shuttle entered hyperspace.
When we finally dropped out of hyperspace, the new Death Star was in plain sight and filled everyone with a sense of dread and anxiety. A command ship was the sole defense with the under-construction battle station.
"If they don't go for this, we're going to have to get out of here pretty quick, Chewie," Han said. Chewie gave him a small growl in agreement.
A voice echoed through the comm device, "We have you on our screen now. Please identify."
Han pressed the button on the dash and replied, "Shuttle Tydirium, requesting deactivation of the deflector shield." At least Han sort of knew what he was doing because of his time as an Imperial. While he hadn't quite been good at it then, he still remembered some useful things like protocol.
"Shuttle Tydirium, transmit the clearance code for shield passage," the Imp ordered.
"Transmission commencing." Han transmitted the code for the shuttle.
"Now we find out if that code is worth the price we paid," Leia told the group, not helping anyone's fears. While she had a point, she didn't need to say it out loud.
"It'll work," Han reassured, glancing back at her with a grin. "It'll work."
Meanwhile, Luke and Kal were still as stone, staring at the command ship. "Kal, do you feel that?" he asked.
"Yes, I do," she answered. They could feel the eery cold and anger radiating from the destroyer. It could only be one person's Force-signature: Vader's.
"What are you two blabbering about?" Han asked, turning to look at them.
"Vader's on that ship," Luke explained.
Han shook his head and turned back around. "Now, don't get jittery. There are a lot of command ships." Kal wondered, with everything Han had seen, if the former smuggler would ever come to terms with the fact that the Force was real and a gateway to many incredible things. Chewie huffed. "Keep your distance though, Chewie, but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance." Chewie then gave him a growl with attitude. "I don't know, fly casual." Kal rolled her eyes at his behavior and wording.
"Shuttle Tydirium, what is your cargo and destination?" an Imp asked through the comm. The voice was different than the one who had initially greeted them. Kal sensed something was wrong.
"Parts and technical crew; forest moon," Han answered, lying his ass off.
"I'm endangering the mission," Luke muttered, his eyes wide. "I shouldn't have come."
Kal leaned forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Luke, calm your mind. If he can sense you, it's because you're anxious. You need to relax."
"Come on, let's keep a little optimism here," Han added. When they continued to get no Imperial response, it only worsened their fears. "They're not going for it, Chewie."
Just when Han was about to begin changing their course, they got a response. "Shuttle Tydirium, deactivation of the shield will commence immediately. Follow your present course." Everyone couldn't help but let out varying sighs of relief, but something still didn't sit right in the minds of Luke and Kal. They knew Vader had sensed them, or at least had sensed Luke. But the Sith Lord hadn't done anything. Why?
Han donned his signature smug grin. "I told you it was gonna work," he gloated. "No problem." Neither Kal nor Luke were buying it.
But the shuttle continued forward, flying down to the forest moon of Endor.