Chapter Thirteen:
When Luke landed, most of the base was in celebration. Mechanics, soldiers, and Rebel leaders alike all surrounded Luke's X-wing, cheering wildly and chanting his name. When he got down, Leia ran to Luke and hugged him tightly, beaming ecstatically.
"You did it!" She said, crying in joy.
"Everyone, everyone. I have something to say about my success. Hear me out please." Luke called to the crowd. They quieted down respectfully.
"I just want to say that if it wasn't for Sami, Wedge, and Riekan, we wouldn't be here." Luke said. "Let's give them a round of applause."
The crowd thundered the hangar with clapping. Sami, Riekan, and Wedge appeared beside Luke. They stood at each other's sides and Leia snapped a holopicture of them. After that, Sami pulled Luke away from the crowd.
"Luke, I am so proud of you. You have saved the Rebellion and our Masters. Thank you." She whispered.
"I want to thank you for saving my life. If I died, the Rebellion would've died with me. I am forever in your debt." Luke whispered in return. Then, he leaned down and kissed Sami on the lips. Sami didn't bother to fight it, as she was enjoying it immensely. They went deeper and more passionate in the kiss, as both Jedi Padawans felt sparks fly. Sami felt herself closing her eyes and her body going limp. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the couple reluctantly broke away. Luke set Sami on the floor. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up.
"That was amazing." Sami murmured.
"Enough to make you swoon." Luke said.
"Who knew you were such an amazing kisser?" Sami quipped. Luke gave a small laugh.
"I'm glad you liked it." He said.
"Me too."
Then, Obi-wan appeared beside the Padawans.
"It's time for the ceremony." He said. He felt his daughter's love for Luke and smiled. He still remembers feeling the same way for his wife now and long ago. The Padawans stood up and followed Obi-wan down the hall, holding hands behind his back.
-o0o-
Trumpets blared as the four Rebel pilots entered the ceremony chambers. Rows upon rows of Alliance soldiers stood at attention. Leia and the rest of the Rebel leaders as well as the Jedi Masters stood at the end of the chamber, smiling gratefully at the heroes. The pilots stopped at Leia's feet. Then, she took a box from one of the leaders and opened it, revealing four polished medals. Leia took each medal one at a time and placed them around each pilots' necks. Artoo was standing next to Threepio, beeping wildly and shaking in joy. The pilots turned around to face the crowd. They turned too and started clapping loudly. A loud roar was heard nearby and Luke turned to see Han and Chewie standing near the droids, clapping too. It was a happy day indeed.
-o0o-
3 months later…
"Move, move, move! We need to get out of here now!" A soldier shouted as several other soldiers were moving crates into the transport. The Alliance was evacuating Yavin Four, with their base now compromised since the Destruction of the Death Star. Several yards away, the Jedi boarded their new ship, Courageous, and prepped for take-off. The ship was a modified G9 Rigger freighter. Ahsoka's Master used to have one just like the Courageous, and that ship triggered horrible memories through her. She stepped in and found Luke at the controls. He sensed his Master's discomfort.
"Master, is there something wrong?" Luke asked.
"This ship looks just like your father's spice freighter he used in the Clone Wars." Ahsoka said.
"My father owned a spice freighter?" Luke asked again.
"Yes. His freighter was call the Twilight. We first got it during a mission to Teth. We needed to escape the Separatists, so we found it on a hidden landing pad and stole it. We used it for a couple of years until Obi-wan got it destroyed on Mandalore." Ahsoka explained. Obi-wan looked away and whistled an innocent tune.
"So where's this new base?" Siri asked.
"I don't know. Leia has that kind of info, but she's going on another transport. Maybe we'll find out once we land." Ahsoka answered. Luke finally got the engines started and the Courageous lifted off and blasted towards space with several other Rebel spacecraft. Ahead, an Imperial Star Destroyer stood in the path of the Rebels.
"Hang on guys. I'm gonna blow that ship away!" Luke said. Obi-wan started clutching his seat again. Luke got closer to the Star Destroyer. The ship started firing on the freighter, but Luke easily dodged it. Then, he pressed a button on the control stick and a torpedo appeared in front of the Courageous. The torpedo flew right into the bridge, blowing it apart. The tower broke off the ship and the Star Destroyer started to drop. The gas giant's gravity pulled the doomed ship towards it. Then, the Star Destroyer slipped underneath Yavin Prime's red clouds, never to be seen again.
"That was fun." Luke said. Sami casually walked next to Luke and stood beside him.
"Nice job. Who knows what will go down next." Sami quipped. Luke laughed and Sami smiled at him, almost seductively. Then, a hologram of Leia appeared on the dashboard.
"Hey, we're going to rendezvous at Utapau. See you in a few days." She said. Then the holo flickered out.
"I guess that's our next destination." Luke said. He punched in the coordinates to Utapau and flipped the switch. Courageous jumped into hyperspace.
-o0o-
The freighter jumped out of hyperspace at the Hoth's Brand system. The Jedi's ship approached Ruusan, one of the planets in the system. Ahsoka gave another wince at the sight of Ruusan's orange moon.
"I remember rescuing Artoo from that orange moon during the war." She told Luke. He nodded and landed in one of the spaceports. A droid appeared and attached a pipe to the Courageous and started refueling it. Riekan looked at Luke.
"Why are we here?" He asked.
"We're just stopping to refuel and rest. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong." Luke replied.
"Are you sure?" Riekan said nervously.
"Ruusan is a neutral planet. We should be able to avoid trouble." Luke replied. Just then, Sami ran out of the ship.
"Luke! Luke! We received a weak signal from a Rebel ship that has crash-landed on Circarpous IV. We don't know who it is, but they can't find a way off the planet." Sami said.
"We must talk to our Masters about that." Luke said. The droid signaled Luke that refueling was done and the Padawans stepped back inside the ship. Then, they walked up to their Masters.
"Master, Sami told me that an Alliance ship has crash-landed on Circarpous IV. She says that we need to help them, and I agree. Could we?" Luke told Ahsoka. Ahsoka turned to Obi-wan and Siri. They both nodded.
"Go ahead, Little Skyguy. No one should be left behind. I know from experience." Ahsoka said. Luke smiled and started the ship. The freighter lifted off and blasted into space. Once safely out of the atmosphere, the Courageous jumped into hyperspace once again.
-o0o-
The freighter arrived at Circarpous IV in very little time. As the ship entered the planet's atmosphere, Riekan sat in the copilot's chair, scanning for signs of any wreckage across the planet's surface. When he found one, Luke landed right next to it. The ship that crashed looked skeletal, with wings similar to a TIE Fighter's. But the body was like a knife, with two pointed tips at the front. Luke opened the Courageous's door and all six Jedi stepped out.
"Hello? Is anyone out there?" Sami called out. Luke felt a powerful Force signature unfamiliar to him. It seemed to come out of the hull. He cautiously walked to the hull. When he reached what seemed to be the cockpit, Luke peered inside. At the chairs were two men and a woman, slumped forward on the control panel. A humanoid-looking droid was waving at the Jedi. Luke took out his lightsaber and cut a hole in the cockpit window. He jumped in and started surveying the area. Then, he turned to the droid.
"Let's go. The Alliance is rendezvousing at Utapau." Luke told the droid. The droid simply nodded and climbed out of the wreck. Riekan and Obi-wan climbed inside the destroyed ship and picked up the older man by the arms. Luke went and picked up the woman. Then, Obi-wan and Riekan went back and picked up the younger man. They set the three on the grass nearby.
"They have been knocked out. Bruising on the forehead indicates that all of them hit their heads on the controls." Sami said, examining the Rebels. Then, the younger man came to. He sat up and looked around.
"Who are you guys?" He asked. His voice was gruff and he sported a buzz cut.
"Hello. I'm Luke Skywalker. This is my master Ahsoka Tano and my friends Riekan, Sami, Siri, and Obi-wan Kenobi." Luke answered. The man looked at Luke with great interest. Obi-wan noticed the man had two lightsabers hanging on his belt.
"Excuse me, but are you a Jedi?" Riekan asked. The man smiled weakly.
"I don't know. I can use Dark powers like Lightning and Repulse, but I have fought against Vader." The man replied.
"What is your name?" Siri asked.
"I am Starkiller. I am the clone of Galen Marek, who was one of the founders of the Rebel Alliance and Vader's former Sith apprentice. The woman is Juno Eclipse, my pilot and girlfriend. And finally, my droid, PROXY." Starkiller said.
"Interesting. Your Force signature is very powerful, but there are little signs of darkness in it. By the way, is Galen in anyway related to Kento Marek? He was an old friend of mine during the Clone Wars." Siri said. PROXY approached Siri.
"Master Tachi, Kento was Galen's father. After Vader killed him years ago, he took his son and trained him in the Dark Side." PROXY informed. Obi-wan then turned to the older man, who was still out cold. Then, he widened his eyes in surprise.
"Is this Master Kota?" Obi-wan asked Starkiller.
"Yes. He helped turn my original self to the Light Side. He was also my unofficial Jedi Master." Starkiller said.
"Let's get on board. The rest of the Alliance won't wait forever." Siri said. Starkiller tried to stand up, but he shouted in pain and fell down again.
"Your leg has been fractured. We'll get you on a stretcher." Sami said, examining the broken leg. Obi-wan and Luke picked up General Kota while Ahsoka and Sami lifted Juno up. They carried the unconscious Rebels into the Courageous and Siri levitated Starkiller onto the stretcher. Once she placed the stretcher in the medical room, Luke took the controls again and blasted off into space. Then, the freighter jumped into hyperspace.
-o0o-
The Courageous jumped out of hyperspace near Utapau. The G9 made its way into the sinkhole world's atmosphere and headed for the capital. Luke sensed discomfort coming from Obi-wan and Siri.
"You were here, weren't you Obi-wan? You too, Siri?" Luke asked. Obi-wan gave a sigh.
"We were here. This is where I fought my last battle. This is where Siri and I could have died if our mount hadn't jumped away from the cannon blast." Obi-wan said.
"That was during Order 66, wasn't it?" A feminine voice had replied. Juno Eclipse was standing in the cockpit, her abdomen and head bandaged.
"Yes. My clone commander ordered an AT-TE to fire on me and my wife when we were climbing up a cliff to the Separatist command center. In fact, it was there." Obi-wan continued, and pointed to the Cliffside where he and Siri fallen off years before. The Courageous landed in one of the platforms and there, the Rebel leaders greeted the Jedi and their new-found passengers. They were led away to the city hall. More memories flooded Obi-wan and Siri's mind.
"Mom, is this where you fought General Grievous here?" Sami asked. Siri turned to her daughter.
"Yes. Me and Obi-wan fought Grievous here. And ended him." Siri answered.
"Wait? Who's General Grievous?" Luke asked.
"General Grievous was the cyborg general of the CIS. He was also a famous Jedi hunter. Many Jedi have tried fighting him. But many died. After he kills his opponents, Grievous takes their lightsabers as trophies." Ahsoka answered. "We all fought him."
"In fact, after Grievous's death, I took two of his lightsabers to give to Sami and Riekan." Siri pointed out. The Kenobi children looked at their lightsabers hanging from their belts, horrified. Then, Mon Mothma interrupted the Jedi's conversation.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you guys have a new mission." She said. Obi-wan turned to her.
"Yes, what is it?" He asked.
"I am certain that there are more Jedi out there in hiding with no hope of return. Your job is to search for the Jedi and ask for them to join our Alliance." Mothma briefed.
"We will get started at once." Obi-wan replied.
"Good, because we have picked up several of your old friends." She continued, smiling. Then, 4 men and a woman appeared beside the Rebel leader. Siri widened her eyes.
"Ferus!" She screamed, running to him and hugging him as tightly as she could. "It's good to see you again, my old Padawan." She released him and then hugged another man.
"Garen! It's good to see you too." Siri continued. She stepped back and joined her son's side. Garen and Ferus smiled, pleased to see Siri as well.
"Hi Siri. It's good to see you as well. I thought you died in the purges." Ferus said. Siri frowned.
"So you didn't bother to contact me through our bond because of that assumption, didn't you?" She said. Ferus looked embarrassed while Obi-wan looked like he was about to burst into laughter.
"Why don't we get back to the mission at hand? So anyway, I've brought other survivor's with me. This young man is Lune Divinian, a mercenary and smuggler who we picked up with Ry-Gaul and Solace." The young man called Lune waved, while the older man now recognized as Ry-Gaul and Solace, the woman, bowed.
"Hello Master Kenobi. I've haven't seen you since the Battle of Fondor." Ry-Gaul said. Obi-wan looked at the Jedi Master.
"Ah yes. Anakin had to save you from that nest of gundarks on the patrol, right?" Obi-wan said. Ry-Gaul chuckled.
"Solace, how did Ferus find you?" Siri asked.
"Well, I am actually Fy-Tor-Ana, the Temple instructor. Garen found me on Ilum and Ferus then found us." Solace said. Obi-wan raised his eyebrows again. Then, after his initial shock, he composed himself.
"We are finding more Jedi across the galaxy that the Emperor doesn't know. I think it's time to form the Jedi Order once again." He said thoughtfully. The other Jedi looked at each other in surprise.
"Are you sure? There are only ten of us." Ferus said.
"I'm sure. We must find more Jedi to rejoin and younglings to train. They are the future. And there will be changes." Obi-wan said.
"Well, okay… I guess we should do it." Ferus said nervously.
"As do I." Ry-Gaul said.
"I do."
"I do."
"I do."
All of the Jedi voted to reform the Jedi Order.
"Now that it's official, we are all Council members, for there are only ten of us. But our Padawans will still be considered Padawans until knighthood, which then they will be Masters." Obi-wan said. The Padawans looked excited.
"Now this is the first time a Padawan served the Council." Siri said. "Since Obi-wan has the most experience with the old Council, I vote him to be the Grand Master." The other Jedi Masters looked among each other.
"I agree." Ahsoka said.
"All of us do." Solace said.
"Then it is official. As my first act, attachment is permitted." Obi-wan said. "Now, we have a mission to do. Ry-Gaul, stay here and continue training Lune. Now, let's go."
The newly-appointed Council members dispersed, heading for their ships.
TBC…