Chapter One

Now

The Massassi Temple on Yavin 4 had once been home to Force-sensitive aliens that had been users of the Force until they had become corrupt and had fallen victim to the Dark Side of the Force. The Rebel Alliance had used this structure as a makeshift docking bay half a year ago for its wings to launch the attack against the Death Star in the Battle of Yavin, but soon after had abandoned the temple and had found another Massassi structure...what appeared to be a former residence, in fact...as their new docking bay. It was also more advantageous to Rebel Command because of the simple fact that it was closer to the other central locations of the Rebel base.

But although the Temple had officially been abandoned, it was still occupied at least once a week...not by any members of Command...but by a young person who had just begun his journey in a universe at war.

Luke Skywalker was his name, and he sat quietly on the rooftop of the temple, only accompanied by his droid, Artoo-Detoo, who sat silently several feet away. The young Jedi apprentice sat in deep thought, pondering the events of the last several months as his eyes remained shut but his mind called out to the Force, seeking guidance from its luminous currents.

After clearing his mind of worldly distractions, he brought himself back to what had possibly been the most pivotal moment of the galaxy...and of his own life. He had been racing down the trench of the Death Star in his X-Wing, having no time to grieve over the loss of his longtime companion Biggs Darklighter. His own life had been in danger at that moment, and as he had been setting up his targeting computer, he heard a voice in his head...not once, not twice, but three separate times.

Luke, use the Force...

He had thought he was hallucinating from grief, and he ignored the voice, continuing his setup.

Luke, let go!

Again...and this time, he could have sworn the voice sounded like that of Obi-Wan Kenobi...his instructor for a short time...too short, Luke sadly reminisced, as he remembered his master being struck down on the Death Star before his very eyes by his ex-pupil, Darth Vader. But Luke still ignored the command. Then the voice persisted one last time, and this convinced Luke that Ben was calling to him from beyond.

Trust me, Luke...

Luke debated for a moment, but only for a moment. He shut down his targeting computer...and the rest was history.

Or was it?

After the happiness and joy of defeating the Empire had died down, the implications of Luke's actions suddenly hit him square in the chest, and the realization that he had murdered millions. What made him any different from Grand Moff Tarkin when he had casually ordered Alderaan to be blown away?

Luke had preferred to not discuss this matter with his friends, and had come here in reflection since then, at least once a week. But there were times when he came to the Temple when he could not think clearly, and instead he decided to learn more about the Force and what he had the ability to do with it. In the six months that had passed, he had been able to find his way around the planet without getting lost using the Force. He also had discovered how to move objects using the Force by focusing all of his concentration towards the object and clearing his mind of extraneous thoughts. However, for the last month, he had not been getting anywhere with his training, and he hoped that he could find a new teacher soon...otherwise, he would be a sad
testament to the Jedi name...especially if he was the last one.

As he opened his eys from his meditation, he noticed Artoo was no longer there.

That surprised him and roused him up immediately. He re-opened his mind to the Force and tried to get a grasp of the situation. But with his weak abilities, he could not sense much beyond what was nearby.

Luke muttered a string of expletives, a very un-Jedi-like thing to do, but he did not care at this particular moment and hopped on his airspeeder.

Then he slapped his head. "The comlink! Of course!"

He turned it on, ruefully recalling the last notable incident he had with the device, aboard the Death Star with the protocol droid See-Threepio, and as he did he heard a screeching and warbling noise that almost deafened him.

He lowered the volume to realize it was Artoo.

"Okay, Artoo, calm down! I'm here, I'm here," he said. Then he got a little upset. "So what possessed you to run off on me like that? I thought we agreed that you were supposed to wait for me until I was done, right?"

The droid whistled back something else, though, that Luke did not believe.

"What? Artoo...are you at the base?" he asked.

The droid whistled an affirmative, nervous-sounding response.

"All right, I'll be there right away," he said, and clicked off the comlink.

As he prepared to start the landspeeder, he suddenly sensed something...but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. It was in times like these, he reflected, that he wished he were more adept in the Force and had more schooling from Obi-Wan--

His thoughts were interrupted as the Force began to give him warning again...and this time, Luke was almost positive he heard a rustling sound with it. As he spun around, for no reason at all, he suddenly decided to leap off the landspeeder.

Just as he had cleared the vehicle, several blaster bolts connected with the engine and the vehicle, which had just been turned on, exploded into fragments. Several of them dug into Luke's arm, and he gritted his teeth in an attempt to avoid the pain.

Luke looked up and pulled out his blaster. He was in no mood to try and wield the lightsaber yet, as he wasn't even sure what he was up against. He quickly hid himself in the woods, away from the clearing in front of the temple, and he crouched down underneath foliage that grew at the front of the beginning of the woods.

As Luke waited, he sensed two presences...and then he was shocked to see two Imperial Stormtroopers make their way to the spot where Luke had been moments ago. The two began conversing, and through the Force, Luke could pick up their conversation.

"Yeah, he's done for. You should have seen it...the explosion threw the poor kid off the thing," said the taller one, kicking one of the landspeeder's fragments.

"All right, well, I'm not going to worry about checking to see whether he's alive or not. I mean, in just a little bit, it's not as if one Rebel is going to matter. Right?" asked the other, shorter one. "If he's dead, he's dead. If he's alive, he'll be treated to a pretty sight when he comes back to his base."

The big one laughed evilly and then the two turned around and left the scene.

It was at that moment that Luke decided to make his grand entrance. He hopped out of the bushes and shot down the two troopers behind their back, and then he desperately opened his mind to the Force to make sure that no one else was around. When he was sure, he quickly dragged the body of one of the troopers into the temple and took the armor off the other. He quickly threw the Imperial outfit on over his own clothes, and then when he was satisfied that he was properly "decorated," he began to search for their means of transportation.

After looking for nearly two minutes, he found it: an Imperial swoop bike. He quickly hopped on and turned on the comlink that was attached to it as the bike turned on and he took off.

A voice came from the comlink. "Well? Did you find anything?"

Luke decided to play along and see if he could learn anything from this conversation. "Oh yeah! We found one of them by the temple and nailed him pretty good." He let his voice sober for a moment, and then continued. "But it's just me now."

The voice paused for a minute, and then whispered, "I'll be damned...he got Commander Wainwright, the best Stormtrooper I've ever known to serve the Emperor...damn...I heard he was getting promoted to take over this jury rig. All right. When you get back to base...stay there, and we'll be arriving shortly. We'll teach those Rebel scum not to ever interfere with us ever again."

As Luke sensed the conversation was ending, he knew that he was missing something. Then it hit him--the coordinates of the base itself! First, he bought himself several seconds of thinking time.

"Wait," he said.

"Yeah, what is it?" came the response on the other end.

Think, Luke, think...

After a good two seconds, it came to him. He would reach out to the Force and as he had seen Ben do in Mos Eisley with the stormtroopers, he would trick this person...whoever he was...into giving up the coordinates of this rendezvous point.

"You have to give me the coordinates of the rendezvous point," he said, hoping that this little variation wouldn't be a problem as he desperately stretched out to the Force and just above the atmosphere of Yavin 4, as he sensed many life-forms...

"What? Are you stupid or something?" growled the man.

Luke did not let him pause long enough to realize that this was a trick, and now he knew himself that he was not strong enough in the Force to pull the stunt off.

"Hey, cool it, brother," said Luke, popping open a nice accessory he had taken with him in case of emergencies such as these ones. A map of the Yavin 4 terrain, expanding a little past the Massassi temple, stretching just past the location of the main base, and including other areas that were unmarked. "I got lost, okay? I've never been out here this far, and the swoop got shot up a bit."

The man on the other end paused now, definitely having second thoughts. "Hmmm...we'll see about that. Give me your authorization."

Luke froze. His cover was blown. He quickly blasted the comlink to pieces, and then he tossed the helmet off and sped towards the base. At least he had managed to learn something, despite how bad the news actually was. The Imperials had definitely not made their move yet...but now, without a doubt, they would be coming down on the Rebels like a Tatooine sandstorm.

After several minutes, Luke arrived back at base and ignored the comments at his outfit as he hopped off the swoop.

The residence that comprised the Rebel Base was actually a combination of many former Massassi homes. Man-made was probably the best word to describe the location. The entire place was made of bricks, but the substance that the Massassi had used as an adhesive forced it to stay in one piece. It had done so for longer than Luke had been alive. The brick residences were each within three feet of each other, and formed a huge oval when looked at from the sky. But there was an adequate break in the middle that had been the addition by the Rebellion. When the scout teams had first arrived to check the area out, they had thought the place perfect for the new base...but had decided that if the area was to serve their needs at all, they would need to
remove a home to create an opening. This was no problem, especially since no one lived there anymore. A short construction job had been required to make all the residences interconnected, but after a month, a Rebel Base with a three-mile radius and a one-mile front-to-bottom measurement was complete.

As Luke strolled into the base, he found it nearly impossible to believe that this base was about to be destroyed. But it was true.

After a quick stride down the corridor, he reached his destination and keyed in his authorization. As he walked into one of the residences, he noted who he had barged in on, and he had to grit his teeth a little. General Jan Dodonna, General Carlist Rieekan, General Vanden Willard, the three men who had been vital to the survival of the base, all sat in deep discussion with Princess Leia Organa, the headstrong woman that Luke had come to know and admire over the last six months. When Luke walked in, all four looked at him expectantly.

Luke shook his head, not sitting down to emphasize how dire their situation had become. "It's not good. On my way back from the temple, I was ambushed by two stormtroopers. I had to take them out, and then I thought I might be able to infiltrate their base, but that backfired...and now they seem to have figured out what's going on and should be arriving at the surface any minute."

Willard glowered at Luke. Although Dodonna and Rieekan had grown to like Luke, especially Rieekan, Willard had been cold to the idea of this new young recruit who had no official military training and had just waltzed in and thought he was a big deal because he had hit one lucky shot.

Luke had smiled then, upon receiving this lecture, but now Willard looked serious.

"You idiot. Thanks to you, the Empire now knows where we are. I should have you written up for subordination and treason if the situation wasn't so dire."

Leia sighed, despite the moment. "General...what could Luke have possibly done? He was attacked, and if he would have let the troopers go, we would have lost this precious time that we now have. I suggest instead of wasting it, we evacuate."

Before Willard could argue the point, Leia swiveled her chair over to a computer behind her desk, keyed in an authorization code, and then a monotonous alarm began to blare across the entire base.

Leia stood up, taking Luke by the arm. "Gentlemen, I suggest you pack your bags," she said, looking coldly at Willard. "Departure time in half an hour." She then turned around and left the room with Luke.

As the doors closed behind them, Leia touched Luke's hand. "Look Luke, here's what I suggest. Get your things together, and then round up the boys and deploy just outside the entrance. Somehow I don't think we're getting away in time, but hopefully the best favor you could give us is to guard the transports until everyone is away, and then get out on your fighters. As soon as I'm ready to leave, I'll let the generals know. They should be accompanying you by the time you arrive outside."

She then surprised Luke with a quick kiss to the cheek that made him turn red. "Good luck, flyboy." She grinned at him, and then dashed off down the corridor, no doubt towards her quarters.

Luke looked at her for a moment, his world in a daze, and then he was brought back to reality as someone bumped into him. He almost fell on the floor, but a hand grabbed him.

"Hey, kid, what're you doing? The place is about to blow and you're..." Han Solo trailed off as he looked closer at Luke. The smuggler that had befriended Luke and Leia six months ago and had been vital to the Alliance's victory against the Death Star grinned. "Ah, I see. I believe our young hero has been stricken."

Luke shook his head and clapped Han on the back, and then he dashed down the hallway. At least, he tried to. He felt the same hand hold him back. Luke looked back at Han in exasperation, but the pirate and captain of the YT-1300 freighter, the Millennium Falcon, nodded at Luke patiently. "I got everything from our room, Luke. I'd say you're about ready to go. Come on, let's get to the Falcon, huh? You can strap your little ship to mine and we can take off that way."

Luke looked at Han for a minute, and then he shook his head. "Sorry Han...I wish I could join you, but the princess just gave me a little job." He smiled, appearing proud to any observer. "I'm running the defense operation as we evacuate."

Han raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Nice...I didn't think the title 'Commander' would come in so handy so quickly." He then turned around. "All right, buddy. Chewie's out there doing Force-knows-what with my sweetheart, and I've got to make sure that he really did prep her for takeoff and not screw it up again. So I'll see you around."

He went in the direction Leia had gone as Luke went the opposite direction, shaking his head. Han Solo. Now that was someone that he would have never thought he could have befriended when he had signed on with the Rebellion.

As he stepped outside, he saw about thirty to fourty men awaiting his arrival, some dressed in flight suits and others in standard Rebel trooper gear. They all snapped to attention as Luke arrived.

"At ease, everyone," he said, looking in particular at the men in the flight suits. These men had come together over the past six months, some being smuggled into the Rebel base, others having survived the Battle of Yavin, and others having changed their line of work from ground to air. But these men were special...they had come under Luke to form the new group of pilots known as Rogue Squadron, and Luke was proud of them.

Before Luke could say a word, though, General Dodonna, General Willard, and General Rieekan all came behind him and took over. Luke's heart sank, but he chided himself and reminded himself that this was not the time.

They quickly organized the group into defense positions, scattering them across the area as transports began to take off as soon as possible.

Luke thought about the situation quickly, trying to calculate. There were ten transports-worth of people not including them. It would take almost the full half hour for these to launch, and by the time the Imperials were supposed to arrive, if Luke's calculations were correct, it would only be them against the Imperials.

As he engaged the half hour thinking these thoughts, he began to sense the disturbance in the Force and got Rogue Squadron ready on their positions. Soon, as he began to sense the trouble, he could hear it as well and that was when the rest of the defense force took their positions.

As the last transport pulled away, Luke began to see the attacker. It was a huge dinosaur-like machine...and then he balefully realized that this was the infamous scout walker that had been so dreaded by Rebel Command. As everyone began to fire on the numerous AT-STs, Luke hoped their shielding wouldn't be a problem.

But it was, as after almost fifteen minutes the Rebels had given up a lot of ground and their opponents had pushed them into the oval.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an AT-ST's head blew up and the walker quickly toppled to the floor and exploded again. After several seconds, everyone realized that it had been fired on... by the Millennium Falcon!

Luke was gleeful as he sensed Solo, Chewbacca, and...Leia? Well...she was there too... so it appeared that Han had conned her out of her leadership duties to give him a hand with the battle. Luke shook his head and then went back to the battle. His smile vanished as he saw TIEs dropping in, and now, he realized that it was going to become suicidal if they stayed any longer.

"Get to your ships!" he barked, as he fled.

The Rebel defenses began to disperse, as most of the troopers began to rush for the last transport that was just for them, while the Rogues headed for their X-Wings. As Luke ran, he suddenly noticed that Dodonna was standing alone.

"General Dodonna?" he asked. "What are you--"

"My boy, you were made for great things. Go out and make us proud," said Dodonna, not looking at Luke as he held something in his hand and he handed the other to General Willard.

Willard looked at the thing for a second, which was too far away for Luke to make out, but he then nodded and clapped his colleague on the shoulder.

"May the Force be with you, Jan," he muttered.

"Likewise," replied Dodonna. He peered to see that Rieekan had already entered the transport.

As Willard turned away, Dodonna stayed...until a laser blast from an AT-ST turned him into dust.

"No!" yelled Luke, running back. But he felt an arm holding him. He turned around to see Willard.

"Luke...he died thinking that he would complete his mission. Now it will never happen..." he said, trailing off. "Unless...someone else completes it."

Then, with a resolve that Willard had never shown, he took the item that Dodonna had given him moments ago and he swallowed it. Luke was shocked, but then Willard clapped him on the shoulder. "Skywalker...make all of us proud. You'll be a great man. May the Force be with you." He then turned and raised his hands in surrender, urging Luke to run off.

Luke stopped for a moment...and then dashed for his X-Wing. He did not want to see what would happen next. As he ignored Artoo for the moment, the ship quickly took off and Luke noticed that the transport had left. But he watched Willard closely. Stormtroopers came up to him and cuffed him, taking him back to their shuttle.

As Luke pulled into the atmosphere of Yavin 4 and eventually into space, he saw one ship left, trying desperately to clear the path for the last transport. He was not surprised to see that it was the Millennium Falcon. Luke soared into the fray and began helping the Falcon take out the TIEs, as he locked his S-foils in attack position.

A couple proton torpedoes here and there, and TIEs began to blip away. But the menacing Star Destroyer loomed before them, and TIEs and shuttles came from the surface.

As Luke continued to fight off the TIEs, he noted that the transport had made it away safely, and now the Rogues were leaving as well. When they had all left, Luke contacted the Falcon and received a text message from Han stating their rendezvous point, near Ord Trasi. It was a little far for Luke's taste, but it would do.

As he shot at the last TIE that came from the surface, he began to prepare the ship to jump to lightspeed...and then, something happened that he was not prepared for.

Without warning, the lone Star Destroyer ripped apart with explosions and was literally torn down the middle. Luke was shocked, but did not argue and used the chance to go to lightspeed.

As the starlines stretched though, it hit him.

Willard had eaten a bomb before his capture...and although it was small in size, its impact was tremendous. No doubt he had been near a corridor of the ship somewhere and it had been a critical system.

The man wasn't too bad after all, Luke thought regretfully. But that was the way of the Force... if only he would have known the honor behind Willard earlier...that he would give up his life for the Rebellion. Luke regretted that he had not seen this earlier and had only seen the grumpy old man who criticized him.

But although it was unfortunate, Luke realized he would have to move on, as he had done with Obi-Wan. Yet somehow Luke felt this would be one of many grievings he would have to face in this path that he had decided upon taking in his life.

And he hoped he would be more prepared to face them when the time came.