Knight-Errantly Chapter One
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- Houkago Destruction by Etsuko Yakushimaru
Brendol has braced himself for the oncoming storm of castigation and self-righteousness for the past twenty minutes. He knows that even with Armitage as his innocent champion; there's no way Rama's son can assuage the former Rebel Princess like he does with her son. And if he wasn't currently bedridden with a new hip, he would be flying away in his brother's ship and avoiding another migraine.
She appears, not in a Force-generated flurry, but with loud tip-toes. There's a hardness in her brown eyes that reminds him of Sloane's, but he knows that Sloane would never ever come before him in her sleeping attire. Sloane loathed even having her hands naked.
"Senator, to what do I owe this visit?" He recites like Tarkin did for the politicians he didn't like during the Clone Wars and beyond.
"Your son is your slave." She gets right to the point just like Sloane.
"No, he isn't. Legally, he's my property." She narrows her eyes, while Brendol remains firmly upright.
"How is that any different from being a slave?" Like you know anything about being a slave for more than a day. He would've plainly retorted if he were her age again.
"For one, I don't abuse him. For two, he's mostly human, so he's not allowed to be a slave in the First Order. Finally, he's in the Academy, not in the Stormtrooper corps."
"The Stormtroopers are slaves then?"
"No, most of the children are wards of the First Order and have citizenship, while some will receive citizenship upon completing the program. Just like Armitage will be once he graduates from the Academy." Her pink lips pull into a tight frown.
"Taken from their families just like the Jedi of old did?" Force, I wish it was Sloane, at least then I could just be silent because most of her accusations were true.
"No, most were unwanted orphans and the rest came from families that couldn't provide for them and wanted the best for them." He gives her credit for not going white or red with rage.
"I will concede you have the moral high ground, but being lawfully good does not eliminate consequences. And those consequences were confused, vengeful humans exiled to the Unknown Regions because they refused to submit to the New Republic." Her lips open slightly, but he closes them. "And almost all refused to submit because it would be dishonoring the memories of their loved ones."
"…..Now, they're using their children for their vengeance."
"I would agree most of the highborn Old Imperials are, but the common folk just want their children to survive."
"They would survive and thrive in the New Republic." He shakes head to prevent himself from scoffing at her.
"If they had Rebel sympathies, then that would be the case because I'd imagine the New Republic would welcome them with open arms. However, most couldn't even fathom the Empire losing to you. Yet, it happened, and they lost everything."
"But they wouldn't have if they swore their–"
"Considering how most estates came from confiscated lands of traitors, they would not have kept those lands even if they took the oath." Her silence confirms the truth.
"So with no land, no civilization, all they had left was their hatred. And with hatred, the First Order was guaranteed their eternal loyalty."
"How would you have remedied that?" She expects no answer, but Brendol surprises her and himself.
"I would've killed them all." Her brown eyes brighten with horror. "They are determined to bring down the New Republic. Be it through the spineless Centrists or cold war. They have taught their younglings to hate you without question, and those children will offer your children no mercy."
"Then, why is Armitage so different?"
"Because he's the child of the Unknown."
If there's one constant that Kanan Jarrus, formerly known as Caleb Dume, grew weary of in the afterlife, it was never defeating Mace Windu in his Vaapad form. He can count on one hand how many times he was able to beat his Grandmaster in other forms, but he couldn't count how many times he lost to Vaapad. His Master teased that it will prevent him from being living-obsessed like Skywalker.
However, a quake tears through the salle and causes Mace to lose his concentration for a split second, allowing Kanan to knock the training saber out of his hand.
"What in the Force caused that, Grandmaster?"
"That would be Skywalker finally losing it."
"What would make him lose it now?" He shockingly didn't go nuts when his daughter married the smuggler. Or at least that's what Depa told me.
"Probably something to do with the Armitage youngling."
"….Should we do something for him?"
"If Yoda needs us, he'll let us know." Translation: Kriff Skywalker and his mother-kriffing problems.
Kanan shrugs and accepts his Grandmaster's wisdom.
Ben Solo Organa squeezes his right fist to dust the desert-colored Franjo Pancakes in powder sugar. He then garnishes with candied nikkle nuts, making an outline of a cartoonish dragon.
That's not what I looked like! My eyes weren't so huge and my body wasn't that puny! And why am I silver?!
I used the last of the chooca nuts for Chewie's Ewoks. And I'm not a professional food designer.
You're able to make an exact likeness of a starbird.
That's because I have years of experience in doing that design. And you don't even know what a starbird looks like.
You were picturing; ergo, I saw it.
You only know "ergo" because of me.
Kark you. I learned that from Armitage.
Ben rolls his eyes and then sets the last plate of Franjo Pancakes on the repulsor trolley. He pushes it lightly past the vine-carved archway; he sees his family in their usual sitting arrangements. Mom and dad right next to each other with an empty seat on mom's side. Uncle Luke sits across mom, while Uncle Chewie sits across dad. He's not worried that his Wistie will sit next to Luke because there were at least a hundred unfilled seats and tables in the Praxeum Refectory. And his Wistie still loathes Luke with a passion that burned brighter than his hair.
Before he can deliver the customized pancakes, his Wistie enters with his cape thrashing against him like he's comprised of furious wind elementals. His cowl is pulled over half his face, but he see those lips stretched into a thin line, teetering on a sneer.
His Wistie flashes his eyes right as Leia looks up from her datapad; briefly, her brown eyes widen with surprise. His Wistie turns his face away and sharply rounds the rectangular table's corner. He takes a seat away from her.
Why is he angry at her?
How do you know he's angry at her? Maybe he's taking his anger out on mom because of something the Commandant said.
That's not what my gut is telling me.
My gut.
Synonyms–
Semantics.
Shut the kark up and listen! He purposely looked in her direction, so she would see his anger.
Hmm, if that were the case, then why?
For dominance.
And how would you know what "dominance" is?
Because your grandfather crushed my chest in to show his.
…We'll ask him about his motives later.
Fine.
Ben lays his Wistie's plate before him. His Wistie reaches for his cowl and pulls it back to reveal the short glory of his red hair and green eyes. His Wistie smiles up at him.
"Thank you, it looks delicious as always, Prince!" He's happy now. He's too forgiving.
"You're welcome, my W–Armitage." Great, now Skywalker is looking at us. Jedi aren't supposed to be possessive. Nor are they supposed to have attachments. You paid attention to the Sith Spirit's lecture? Exar Kun knew the weaknesses of Jedi, and that happened to be useful. Also, Skywalker is almost as annoying as Kun.
"And it's the Great Dragon!" His Wistie practically squeals like a newborn gualama, causing Han to give him a sideway look.
Ben hustles and gives his hungry family their breakfast in a span of twenty seconds, not wanting to miss the drama about to ensue.
"The what?"
"The Great Dragon. He breathed life into the galaxy, which I think would be impossible since he was also a creation of the Lost Tribe of Sith." Now, Luke pays their Wistie with his horrified attention.
"There's a Lost Tribe of Sith!" There's a Lost Tribe of Sith?
"There was a Lost Tribe of Sith, so you won't need to wage a war to kill them." Their Wistie flashes his slightly crooked teeth like a predatory tusk-cat laying a trap.
"It's the Sith that wage war, Jedi defend the innocent caught up in the crossfire." Their Wistie's lips twitch with either disguised delight or an annoyed sneer.
"That all depends on point of view." Their Wistie's eyes lighten to a watery blue. "The Commandant told me that the Lost Tribe of Sith made dragons because they could. And these dragons were revered and loved by them."
"What happened to them?" Leia piped up, and their Wistie deigns her with a glance.
"They fought a foe they could not beat, and only the Great Dragon was left."
"So it's only great by default." Shut it, Han!
"He's great because–" While their Wistie and Han argue, Dead-Star decides to make a proposal to Ben.
I have come up with a brilliant solution for our prediction!
Predicament.
When we make it to Nagi, we steal your dad's ship and look for the Great Dragon!
Why?
Remember how you took over that half-dragon?
The Battle-Hydra?
Yes, that yellow monstrosity! You took it over, so Armitage could kill it and be a hero.
That was my intention, but my Wistie is very skilled with the electric guitar. Did you come through my memories for that?
Yes. And when we find the Great Dragon, I want you to take over its mind and kill it like you did with the bird.
Ah, I see where you're going. When I kill it mentally, then you'll take over its mind.
YES! I'LL BE A DRAGON AGAIN!
But you'll come to our aid when we need you?
Wait, who's the other person in this?
Our Wistie.
Of course, I'll give him all the rides he wants and I'll burn all the people you want me to burn.
And the Academy.
Starting with the Academy!
Desolous knew that the quake was caused by Anakin in reaction to Armitage's status in the First Order and to what Armitage must be to Brendol. The latter was wrong, but he knows that Anakin couldn't possibly figure that out on his own. Which is why he immediately goes to Anakin's room. He sees Bruck Chun and Xanatos, covered in head-to-toe in duracrete dust, guarding the door.
"Did he destroy his room?"
"Trying to!" Bruck snorts.
"Is the door locked?"
"Of course not! It never is here….." Bruck lightly complains, "We're just waiting out here to see which poor soul will come to investigate first. I was betting on Yoda."
"Mine was Qui-Gon. Frankly, I'm disappointed in him."
"You're both wrong." Desolous intones. "Move aside."
Bruck looks up at his former Dark Jedi Master for direction; Xanatos nods at the order. They both move away and walk down the hall, conversing in low tones.
"I bet Anakin's going to toss him around like a rag doll."
"Oh, Bruck, I'm more concerned about getting the dust out of my hair than that ghoul."
Desolous wills himself not to roll his silver eyes at the Telosians. He goes through the door and stops right at the threshold.
Inside, red and gold lava fill a sea and roils against the centuries-old harden magma. He walks across the blacken ground; his boots leave cracks for a splash of red and gold to seep in and preserve his steps.
Thousands of red, gold, and black steps later, he finds Anakin. However, this isn't Anakin with his shaggy hair and youthful arrogance.
The man before him is hunched over a pool, separate from the sea. He has a brown coat slung over his broad shoulders that Jedi Masters like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan would wear in the field. Thick, silver eclipses the formerly golden locks, and the ends bristle like the mane of an old lion.
"Who are you?" The words slip through Desolous's sharp teeth.
"I am what I could've been if I stayed a Jedi."
"Jedi Master Skywalker."
Skywalker cranes his head back. The lines on his face knit handsomely together with his bold smile. Combined with the beard on his face, Desolous is certain that Skywalker would have been a king in another life.
"Yes, this face seems right for that."
"But do you have the wisdom of one?"
"Ask me another question, and we shall see."
"Do you hate Brendol Hux?"
The smile sours and curdles into a silent snarl.
"Will you listen to my defense of him?"
Skywalker inhales through his nose and then exhales dramatically through his redden lips.
"I will."
"Armitage has two parents. The sire is Brendol, while the father is the spawn of Chaos."
"Figuratively, I presume."
"The father is an Umbaran/Human hybrid, but also a mutant."
"…..A mutant? Naturally or manufactured?
"Naturally. His mother overestimated her prowess in DNA manipulation."
"Wait, wouldn't that make him more manufactured then?"
"We can argue about semantics later. One of the spawn's mutation allowed for him to become pregnant and carry Brendol's child to full term. Unfortunately, he lacked the necessary parts to birth Armitage, so a C-section was the only way for Armitage to come into the world. Thankfully, it appears that he could only be pregnant once. Odds are this unique trait carried over to Armitage."
"…That will be interesting to see if my future descendants have that ability!"
"Focus." Desolous narrows his silver eyes for good measure. "Brendol got a meddroid and had it perform the operation in his old cabin that became his hunting shed when he married Maratelle. Now, why do you think he would go this route instead of going to a hospital?"
"…..Because he was ashamed of them?"
"Never." He gnashes on the growl that threatened to rip out of his throat. "Especially not the spawn of Chaos!"
"Does the spawn have a name?"
"It's Triclops, but spawn is far more accurate."
"Who in the Netherworld would name their child that?"
"Chaos." Desolous dryly answers and moves on. "Since the spawn was a mutant, it means that Armitage is also, albeit less severely. But still a mutant. Refresh my memory, M'Lord, what happens to mutants in the Empire?"
"I don't know. I presume the ones who followed the law and remained unseen were left alone. I heard some mutants were able to kill Decoy Squad Five during Order 66, but I think it was Yoda and Obi-Wan who really did it…"
"They were taken away to be experimented on and to see if they had any Force-sensitivity; most were killed in the experiments and nearly all tested negative for Force-sensitivity. And do you think an Imperial doctor wouldn't have immediately reported a half-mutant born to a mutant? Brendol would've lost them and shortly would've lost his life in trying to take them back."
"….Okay, I understand with the Empire, but what about under the First Order?"
"Hardly any different from the Empire. Even if Brendol had a fake birth certificate for Armitage, the boy would've been tested at some point and his mutant heritage would've been made public. Even Sloane wouldn't have been able to hide it. Then, Armitage would've been placed in the Stormtrooper program, never allowed to be anything more than fodder."
"….But what about Triclops? What did he do during all this?"
"He abandoned them both and became a prince in the shadows."
Han Solo has no idea what his son sees in Armitage. The ginger-haired boy refused to admit that the Great Dragon was just a fantasy that some drunk, probably Brendol, made up to make the Unknown Regions seem magical. While Ben just sat there, completely enraptured by the bantha poodoo that was coming out of this delusional kid's mouth.
But at least Ben wants to be around someone.
Even before they sent him packing to Luke's Jedi Academy, Ben was aloof like a finicky Loth-cat that deigned a select few worthy of his time.
And most of the time, Han wasn't worthy.
It wouldn't be a stretch to think that his constant absences due to his life as a smuggler contributed to the distance. It also didn't help that they had very little in common; Ben likes piloting, the tooka doll, and Chewie, but that was about it. Ben was more Leia's son, particularly enjoying the pomp that politics required.
After being sent to the Academy, Ben began to distance himself from her and typically regarded her with suspicion like she was going to betray him.
Whenever he looked at her like that, his heart would ache for her and then for himself. Because Ben reminded him of Qi'ra in those moments. Qi'ra who he left behind and got brought down to the Underworld. Qi'ra who held enough affection for him to spare him the descent. Qi'ra who he hasn't seen in nearly twenty-five years.
And Ben believes in Armitage like Qi'ra once did for him. A small smile and eyes brimming with affection; the same look that Qi'ra gave him when he promised that they would escape Corellia and its poverty.
Now, the pair are standing before the Millennium Falcon holding each other's hands, while the adults finish loading the last of the supplies onboard.
"I wonder what kind of adventures will get into!"
"Hopefully, none."
But Ben's small smile indicates otherwise.
"Mother isn't satisfied with you bringing one bag of clothes for a month-long trip."
"It's not like I could wear my Academy uniform over there, so she'll just have to put up with it."
Armitage grins crookedly.
"I'll buy you some clothes when we get there."
"I don't want to waste all your credits."
"Don't worry, mother gives me a weekly allowance of–"
Ben whispers the amount into Armitage's ear, and those green eyes grow comically wide.
"WHAT THE F–"
And Han swears his eardrum bursts from that pre-pubescent screech.
Author's Comments- Here is the link:
Here is a link to an image of my imagined middle-aged Anakin; he's the one on the left. I chose Robert Shaw's Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons. While I was watching A Man for All Seasons, I thought his Henry VIII could've easily been what Anakin could've become in middle-age. So Robert Shaw gets to be middle-aged Ani, while Sebastian Shaw is old Ani: a href=" . ?w=1000"Link/a
The mutants killing Decoy Squad Five is actually a reference to what happens in Matthew Strover's novelization of RoTS, except the mutants were actually Yoda and Obi-Wan in disguise and they did kill Decoy Squad Five.
One of my goals in this series that I set for myself was to write about Han more. Originally, I didn't have that goal but after watching Solo, I found a way I could write about him. His relationship with Qi'ra, Emilia Clarke's character and the Mother of Dragons, fascinated me and I wanted to do something with that. Does that mean Qi'ra will show up in this series? Well, you'll have to wait and read.
Next chapter should finally be about the trip to Chandrila, meeting up with retired Mothma, and Armitage getting a make-over.
