Prologue: Rejoining Family
The small freighter gently offered by the Empress flew Jane, Tali and Garrus toward Crete, landing in the pretty big courtyard of a house a km away from the nearest village. This house was modest in size, but it had every comfort a simple man could ask for.
And as they landed in the pretty large courtyard, the three were met by Scott and Sara Shepard. The mother hugged her children, who shared with her the hair color and the blue eyes of their father, Major Wilhelm Klausewitz, who right now was probably in Germany to spend the festivity with his own family and friends.
"I'm not starting to hallucinate, am I?" an old but unmistakable voice spoke up not long after.
Jane raised her gaze and saw him. Wearing a civilian outfit that left his arms bare. Despite the light gray hairs reminding everyone that he was just past his 60s, the man was still quite toned.
"Dad!" she exclaimed, walking with her hands extended.
John laughed as his daughter reached him and held her tightly for a whole ten seconds. He then made a step back, keeping his hands on her shoulders to admire her.
"Just look at my little Spectre." he commented proudly with a teeth-showing smile.
She chuckled, then turned her head around. "I brought you some old friends, by the way."
"Yeah, we're here." Garrus commented ironically. "Nice of you to notice us."
Shepard cackled and went to greet the two aliens as well. "How is my Team Dextro?"
"It's good to see you're still full of energies, Captain." Tali said happily.
"Save that for after the party." Scott intervened, pumping them up a bit for the festivity that was to be held in a few hours.
"I bet five credits he won't reach midnight." Sara joked as well.
"Beware, you younglings," John replied in tone. "I can still throw you through Omega 4, if I want."
"Why don't we get up there?" Garrus suggested. "I think Liara and Javik are already on the Citadel."
Following the suggestion, everyone mounted on the small ship and headed into the orbit, going straight for the Citadel. It took an hour and a half at full speed for the vessel to reach the station and then receive permission to enter the traffic. They could then reach the Silversun Strip, where the apartment of the Shepard family was. After leaving the transport to a dedicated docking bay, they took some automated taxis to reach the apartment. Moving as quickly as they could in order to avoid to be halted by curious, since they heard a couple bystanders murmur incredulous when they saw the two Shepard, the group finally entered the basement.
And after that, started to come over old friends and comrades. The former crew of John, at least those who were still alive: first Liara and Javik, who were the heads of a scientific team tasked with finding more artifacts of the latter's extinct people. Then James Vega and Cortez had been granted shore leave from their duties in the Imperial Guard to join the party. Everyone from Samantha Traynor, now a civilian, to Ashley and Kaidan, they too retired to more quiet lives and enjoying their old age.
Just a big family reunion, where Jane and the kids had the chance to say goodbye before embarking on their journey, and before alcohol started to flow.
But before Jane did that as well, she was approached by three of the guests: Javik, Liara and none other than EDI in her mech body.
"Hey, Jane," Liara started. "We were wondering if you were looking for additional support on this new mission."
The woman was surprised a bit. "You guys want in? We're talking about going into another galaxy."
"Fighting a war in another galaxy." Javik pointed out. "And against strong enemies. I am quite curious to test myself against them."
"I am interested in the history of their psionics." Liara justified her request. "Besides, I'm craving a bit of adventure myself."
"Damn, working with my father really messed you up." Jane joked, making the asari chuckle. "And you, EDI?"
"I just...feel the need to serve on a ship again." her voice sounded neutral, yet Jane knew very well what she meant.
One of the greatest absents at the party was definitely Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, who had sadly passed away just two years before due to complications with the Vrolik syndrome. EDI had been looking for a purpose for quite the time since that sad day. Now she evidently saw that purpose.
"I could really use the best AI in this galaxy to help me, EDI." Jane said in a comprehensive tone. "I would be honored."
The mouth of the mech bent into a smile as well. "Thank you, Jane. It will be an honor to serve with you."
"Great. Then to us, and may our trip to Andromeda be successful." the red-haired woman concluded by raising her glass.
After sharing a toast with the three of them, even though EDI only used a symbolical empty glass, Shepard then moved toward the huge windows of the main floor. Staring out at the neon and the skycars in the street outside of the apartment, a few thoughts started to come into her mind, and they weren't all positive.
She didn't know how long she stood there, point was that John suddenly showed up next to her with a hand over her shoulders.
"Having second thoughts?" he asked gently.
After quickly glancing at him, she turned her gaze toward the outside again. "No. It's not that. If Beni, needs my help I'll gladly do it. Though so far I only read things about Andromeda. And the task she gave me. How am I supposed to protect the highest enemy ranking officer?"
John fell out of the blue. "Wait, what?"
Jane thus proceeded to quickly explain what the Empress had asked her. "I mean, I think I get what she is saying. We know that the Galactic Empire's politics are extremely factional, so she wants me to play guardian angel from his own rivals. But Grand Admiral Tanis already has an entire fleet to protect him, so what is the Empress expecting from me?"
"His rivals will not expect you to protect him. And if you are going to receive a stealth frigate, you can easily keep an eye on imperial politics and make sure that he escapes any plot to kill him. Or just report it to Her Majesty." John said.
Jane hummed. "I guess so. Still, it's quite an unusual request to, even to a Specter like me."
"Hey, she wouldn't ask you if she didn't think you can pull it off. You'll just have to fly under the radar. I presume officially you will not be in Andromeda for a while."
Jane pursed her lips. It started to make sense, now. "So I'll literally have to be a ghost. Still, somebody has to bring us supplies."
"I'm sure she will explain everything to you when your mission starts."
"Exactly, mom." the voice of Sara said from behind.
The older Shepards turned around to see the twins smiling at them. "Besides, we're going to be there with you." Scott commented as he went to put an arm around her neck in an encouraging gesture. "We'll come out of there like we always do."
"Precisely." John intervened, grabbing Sara in the collective hug that was forming among the Shepard family. "And whatever you do, I know that you'll make the best out of every situation."
"Sure thing, grandpa." Sara said optimistically. "And then we'll come back with enough war stories to be on your level."
John laughed loudly.
January 4.
The situation on the two major fronts was stabilizing. As Iulius hoped and Thrawn predicted, the Coalition had shifted to a defensive approach after the battle of Lantillies. This meant that the imperials had been unable to take Ringo Vinda, but at the very least Krybos had managed to create a beachhead beyond the Roche asteroids by holding the system of Orleon, which might come in handy for a future offensive.
What bothered the Lord-Protector was the sudden rise of the Zann Consortium in the trailing sectors. There were many reports claiming that there had been a surge in pirate raids all along the region.
"I can't believe I forgot about those guys." Iulius cursed under his breath.
"At the time there were much more dangerous threats and this should have been the work of the intelligence agencies." Thrawn calmly talked from his position around the galaxy map in Iulius' office. "You have done everything you had to do, Iulius. There is no need for you to feel remorse."
The Lord-Protector sighed. "I guess I can't stay here and cry over spilled milk." he then focused again on the map. "According to the reports, the criminals have built quite a large fleet, though it's still mainly composed of fast frigates and corvettes, but there's something else entirely that worries me."
"That would be?" the Chiss asked.
"Take a look at their territory." Iulius said, pointing a finger on the southern region of the map. "They're exactly next to the small empire of Jabba the Hutt. In fact, I would say Zann is infringing on his territory, yet there is no sign that Jabba is fighting back."
Thrawn slightly stroke his chin as he hummed in thought. "Interesting. That would bring forward two possibilities. One: that the Hutt and the Consortium have become allies, but that would require for Jabba to forgive Zann."
"And we know that forgiveness is not exactly in the Hutt's nature." Iulius commented.
"Indeed. Therefore, the Hutt have already tried to fight back and has been defeated."
"Yes, that's what I'm inclined to believe. Agent Yagler says that Jabba still retains friendly relations with the Empire, but he hasn't given us any news about his feud with Zann. Yet, he would've gloated quite much and asked us the bounty on Zann's head if he had defeated and captured him."
"That would be the most likely scenario. And now, we have to worry about the Northern Fringe."
"Right. What you told me about the Grysks was not good news, my friend. We're definitely not ready to deal with them, on top of everything else."
"We still need to assess the strength of this new threat." Thrawn pointed out in an attempt to reassure him.
"That's true. Perhaps the Carunoans will be enough to deal with them."
"You sure keep this people in high regard."
"They survived against a brutal enemy who had superior technology for more than a decade, and the Dark Trooper project has so far given very promising results. I'm sure you will impressed as well, once you meet them." Iulius concluded with a friendly tone.
Thrawn gave him a half-smirk. "I guess I can trust your judgment on this."
After saying that, Iulius turned off the hologram and the two headed out toward the bridge, as they should have been just a few minutes away from Carunoia. On the bridge were Pryce, Yagler and Qathora waiting instructions while Ciena was standing in front of the viewport, guiding the ship while the Grand Admiral was away.
Indeed, they arrived just a minute before the Admonitor left hyperspace and reached the planet of Carunoia, probably the only stable territory that the Empire had inside of Wild Space.
While the planet still enjoyed many liberties that the rest of the Empire could only dream of, the most recent reports stated that volunteers for the armed forces didn't lack in the slightest, and now there was a space colony over the planet, together with a shipyard protected by two Star Destroyers and some new carunoan frigates built with the blessing of the Emperor.
The population on the planet amounted around 5.5 million people, and more than a year after the liberation from the Yavzakhs, the humans were experiencing a baby boom, especially thanks to the technologies imported from the rest of the Empire that were quickly bringing up the standards of living.
What mattered the most, however, was that the planet and the many secret projects being developed there were still unreachable for the rebels, and the populace was still devoted to the Empire that saved them from extinction.
The Admonitor was allowed to dock at the space station. Iulius granted the crew a few hours of shore leave as he and his small group of collaborators took a shuttle headed for the planetary capital, situated at the center of fertile plains and not too far from the major mineral riches regions and where most of the Carunoans had settled after the unification of their planet.
Iulius sighed with a bit of frustration. "Ladies and Gentlemen...welcome to Tora Iulia." he unenthusiastically announced as the shuttle passed over the urban sprawl.
The officers all looked at him with surprise, with Yagler even letting out an amused huff. "They actually named it after you?"
Iulius shrugged that off.
"Just wait until we get on the ground." Qathora said with a smirk.
The shuttle reached Titan Base, the main military complex that the Empire had on the surface of the planet and landed in front of two small platoons that had come to greet him. One was made of stormtroopers, while on the other side stood the new soldiers of the Carunoan Defense Force, wearing new armors built by their own design. It did had the same colors of the stormtroopers, but it had a few differences, such as a helmet with a large visor that granted the soldiers much more visibility. The design was clearly something that represented the transitioning phase that their civilization was undergoing from an industrial era to one of space-faring.
And at the end of the parading units, who saluted Iulius once him and his group walked out of the ramp, was Admiral Daala, Doctor Kimovir and General Kimby, who had now become the Chief of Staff of the CDF.
Daala and the two men made a small bow.
"Welcome back, Lord-Protector." the Admiral said with a formal tone. It was evident that she bowed because Iulius was now more than a simple military officer and she owed him deference, but Kimovir and Kimby bowed much more sincerely.
"Thank you, Admiral." he replied in kind. "Doctor. General. I hope the officers of the Empire have treated your people fairly."
"We don't have any major issue. They haven't tried to meddle in our affairs, so far." Kimby replied.
"Good. Allow me to present you Governor Ahrinda Pryce." Iulius said, waving an arm to show Pryce, who made a nod with her head. Then proceeded to present the others. "Agent Yagler of the ISB. And finally, Grand Admiral Thrawn. My mentor and now my advisor per order of the Emperor."
After a quick round of presentations, the Lord-Protector turned toward Daala. "Admiral, I understand you wanted to show me something."
"Yes, Lord Tanis." the red-haired woman replied and reached for one of her belt pockets, taking out a small device very similar to a data disc, handing it to Iulius.
Seeing that shape, Iulius had an idea of what that could be and after finding what seemed to be a switch, he turned it on.
From one of the disc's faces a red light rose and soon a red hologram in the shape of a quite anonymous small cube appeared.
"Greetings, Grand Admiral Tanis." a male robotic voice came from the disc.
"An AI." he said in admiration. "What is your designation?"
"ST-1V1." the machine replied.
"It is the first functioning prototype we reverse-engineered from the federal AIs, my Lord." Daala explained. Its programming has been rewired so that it will obey orders without question, but it retains the ability to learn from experience."
"How long before I can interface it with the Admonitor?" Iulius asked as he kept looking at the hologram, dreaming of how much this was going to change the face of imperial warfare.
"If you give us a few hours, I can bring a team on the ship and install the necessary equipment.
Iulius nodded, turned off the AI and handed the device back to Daala. "Proceed. Also, there is no rush, since I will need to spend a few rotations on this planet. Focus on doing the job well, not quickly."
"Yes, sir."
Daala walked away, so Iulius turned toward the two Carunoans. "Doctor, General. I come here with bad news, I'm afraid. There is a new threat coming from this region of the galaxy, and I need the help of the Carunoan people."
"It will be our honor to help you, Lixoriom." Kimby affirmed with no hesitation. "I will arrange a meeting with the President right away."
"Thank you."
January 5.
The Silver Bullet and Luke's X-Wing finally came out of hyperspace, right in front of the light orange and blue colors of Lothal. A warm sensation washed Ezra's heart and a moved smile appeared on his face.
"Home sweet home." Sabine commented for him from the co-pilot seat.
Ezra smiled and then took a look at the orbit. In the far distance, at the edge of the system, he could spot the beating blue light of the new mass relay that had been built while he was away. The fleet surrounding the planet was entirely made of Systems Alliance warships, and there was a long queue of freighters and civilian vessels coming and going from the main cities on the ground. The Jedi then hailed the traffic controller and requested permission to land, which was quickly granted.
"I'll go call Master Yoda…" Ezra started, standing up from his seat and turning around just to find the old Master already in the cockpit.
"Your happiness a good indicator was, that we were arriving." Yoda said with a smile, implying that Ezra didn't try that hard to hide his emotions knowing that they were closing on Lothal.
Ezra chuckled and returned to his seat. Both ships flew inside the atmosphere with the necessary caution and then finally entered in sight of Capitol City. Ezra could barely recognize it even from last year. The city had significantly expanded and there were skyscrapers in the center as tall as those he saw on Lianna. The residential districts were made of shining new buildings and there were speeders and skycars moving on the ground and in the air like a swarm of insects.
But he cared the most right now was his home. The Tower Complex was still out of that urban jungle, and since it had been recognized as a Jedi Academy both by the Federation and the Republic, it would probably stay that way for a long time.
He also spotted a Z-95 flying cautiously over the complex.
"They are really being trained for everything." Sabine commented as she also saw the firing range, the training grounds and the other infrastructures next to the houses.
"The path of a Jedi, full of unforeseen danger is." Yoda calmly stated.
"If we're to be the guardians of the galaxy, we need to be ready to face every problem on our own." Ezra added. "After all, I had to learn many skills along the way."
"That's true." the woman replied, then tried to peek over the viewport and smiled. "And I think someone down there can't wait to see you."
Ezra smiled again. Indeed, the bond with his sister was almost overwhelming him with happiness. After a year away from her, he had forgotten how strong it could be and how deep it could go. As the Gauntlet and the X-Wing touched ground and turned off the engines, Ezra walked with a quick pace toward the ramp and opened it. In front of him appeared the complex and quite the crowd of people, but at first he had eyes only for the person in front of said crowd.
Jaral was there, looking his way and smiling widely. Ezra registered her grown belly, which made her appear even more graceful and mature than she already was.
Ezra almost ran down the ramp and made large steps toward her until they could finally hug each other with all the strength they could put in their arms.
They chuckled a bit, but the conversation between them was already going into the bond. Their minds linked again to express just how grateful and happy they were to finally see each other again after what turned out to be the longest time they never met in person.
After staying that way for a few moments, with Ezra's head resting on that of his sister, until they separated and looked at each other, laughing from happiness.
Ezra then looked downward.
"May I?" he kindly asked.
Jaral nodded without delay and the brother gently posed a hand on the swollen belly. Just by touching it he could feel the life growing into his future niece, and he also received a little bump from inside.
After chuckling one last time, Ezra decided that it was time to let the others in and stepped aside, allowing Sabine to go greet Jaral.
"Welcome home, guys." the voice of Hera came through.
The Twi'lek moved forward together with Zeb and Chopper, who was also holding Jacen on his armlets.
After reuniting briefly, the Jedi Knight turned toward his back and waved an arm to present his guest.
"Guys, I would like for you to meet Master Yoda of the old Jedi Order."
Those who hadn't seen him yet had to lower their gazes before seeing the small green alien, leaning on his cane with Luke next to him. Yoda smiled and said "Greetings."
Most of them were taken a bit by surprise.
"Wait...this is a Jedi Master?" Zeb asked in confusion.
"Judge me by my size, do you?" Yoda asked ironically.
"Don't let his age and appearance fool you, Zeb." Ezra admonished. "His ability with the Force is unlike anything I've ever seen."
Yoda stepped then to look at Jaral, who made a respectful bow with her head.
"It is an honor to meet you, Master Yoda."
"For me, a pleasure. Young Knight." the alien replied in tone. "Strong as in your brother, the Force I can feel."
Jaral chuckled and shook his head. "No. Not like him, that's impossible." she quipped.
Yoda smiled back, then took a glimpse at the people waiting behind the group. And of course, his gaze was drawn to two familiar faces, who stepped forward on their own.
"Master." Cere said incredulous. "I struggled to believe that you were still alive."
"The time had come, for me to repair to my failings, Cere Junda." he replied, then turned his head toward Kota. "Time hasn't been kind to us, old friend."
The blind Jedi chuckled. "Indeed. Luckily for us, we got a lot of young blood to pick up the torch of the Jedi."
Ezra then walked forward to go present himself. "You must be Master Junda and Master Kota, right?" he asked politely.
"He is a Master," Cere said, pointing at the old human. "I'm just Cere, kid. Nice to meet you." and they shook hands.
"Your sister has talked highly of you, young Knight." Kota said during their introduction. "I look forward to see if she was correct."
"Maybe she was a little biased, but I'll do my best, Master Kota." he quipped. "Starting from all this very long round of presentations in front of me." he said, turning toward the pack of Jedi younglings, plus Cal and Ahsoka.
The Togruta smiled and went to greet him. "At least for me, you need no introduction."
"Good to see you, Ahsoka...and you must be Cal Kestis. Jaral told me about you."
"And I heard much about you from the HoloNet." the ginger Jedi said as they shook hands. "It's an honor to finally work with you."
Hours later, after being introduced to all the Padawans and giving them a quick glimpse of his ability with the Force and of his lightsaber, Ezra was finally free to breathe. He, Sabine and Jaral went into the latter's house and a few hours later Mira also came home from her shift at the hospital, and was filled with joy to find her son being back safe and sound.
"I really needed someone else to help me with your sister." she joked. "She just won't catch a breath."
"The Padawans won't learn by themselves, mom." Jaral replied.
"Yes, but now you have three Masters and Ezra is back. You're due in four months, honey, it's the period where you should be more careful than ever not to strain yourself too much."
"I know, mum. You already told me five times. I promise that I'll stop leading the physical exercises, at the very least."
Mira sighed. "That's a start, I guess." said before she sat on the couch with a cup of tea.
"How's the training going?" Ezra asked.
"Quite well, actually." Jaral replied. "The kids are very motivated. The teens especially can't wait to set out and protect the people in need. They learn quickly. Speaking of which, Sabine, I intend to bring them to visit the mandalorian colony next week. I already got Tristan's permission, but I would like for you to come as well."
"Are you kidding? I'll be more than happy to help." the woman replied cheerfully. "Also, how's my brother? I haven't had the chance to communicate with the colony for a while."
"Tristan turned out to be a capable guide. He has convinced clan Eldar, Wolffe and a few others to come here and their settlement is by now a small town. I think they called it 'Atin'."
"Uh. 'Stubborn'. Quite the clear message."
"Yeah. I hope that we can set friendly relationship between mandos and Jedi, this time. Who knows, they may become our allies in the task of keeping the peace in the nations of the UACT."
"Mandos as peacekeepers? You serious?" Sabine said skeptically.
"She means that, no matter how much we try, there will always be violent groups who will refuse to negotiate and will attack innocents or threaten war." Ezra explained. "Against those people, the mandos could use their bellicose culture in a way that will benefit the galaxy. After all, isn't that what you did when you joined the Ghost?"
Sabine hummed in thought. "I guess it's worth the shot. In fact, I would be pleased if we can finally find a way to co-exist with everyone else."
"If you actually manage to do that," Mira commented. "it would be a huge achievement in itself. Ending a feud as old as the galaxy would be the proof that you are ready to be peacekeepers."
"That's what I hope." Jaral said, then turned toward Ezra. "Also, Ezra. Since you are here, I need your help for one thing."
"Anything."
"The miners of Jhotal have recently discovered a cave that turned out to be a deposit of kyber crystals. They assured me it's safe, so I was planning to bring the teens there so they can make the Gathering."
"And you want me to make sure they don't get lost?"
"You, Ahsoka and Cal. If they find their crystals, it will be time to assign them to one of us. I understand that Luke is being tutored mostly by Master Yoda, anyway."
"He is. Yoda will be able to bring out the best from him. I think I can handle a new youngling."
"Splendid." the pregnant woman concluded from her seat on the couch, then raised her glass with a light beverage in. "Then welcome back, guys. And to the future of the Jedi."
The other two raised their glasses as well, and spent a couple of hours telling stories and relaxing before it was finally time for Ezra and Sabine to get into their home and sleep in their own bed after a long time.