Star Wars Infinities: The Warrior

By Christopher W. Blaine (darth_yoshi@yahoo.com)

DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by George Lucas and are used herein without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.

EPILOGUE 1

"What have you observed today my padawan learner?" Quinlan Vos asked, his eyes closed. A few meters away a sweating Corran Horn looked into the small campsite where a woman sat looking into a fire.

He wanted to tell his master that he had discovered that redemption required a heavy payment and it was usually traded in pieces of one's soul. Padme Amidala had said nothing since she had been brought here, yet her sad eyes told a story that tore at Corran's heartstrings.

A little further away, Leia sat alone as well in deep meditation and it wouldn't surprise Corran if she and Quinlan Vos were not communicating through the Force. The exact situation surrounding the destruction of what had been Darth Deceptra had not been revealed to Corran, but he did understand that Kyp had something to do with it. For days after they had returned to Dagobah, Kyp had been put through the mental wringer by Quinlan and Ferrin and in the end, it was decided that the title of Jedi Knight was to be conferred upon him.

There was little ceremony, but Corran could not help but feel slighted that the teenager was now a rank above him. In theory, Quinlan could assign Corran, or worse, Leia, as Kyp's padawan. Luckily, that had not happened. Instead, Ferrin and Kyp had left, saying that they needed to join up with the Rebel Alliance. There was also some talk about returning to Tatooine.

"I've learned that it seems like in the old days, the padawans did all of the work and the masters sat around and got fat," Corran said. Quinlan's eyes opened slowly and he gave his student a wry look. Corran shrugged. "I mean I'm the one who is sweating."

"A true Jedi does not sweat," Quinlan said. He then noted Corran's gaze. "You wonder about the former senator from Naboo?"

Corran shrugged again and sat down on a rock. "I don't even know where Naboo is at. It's just that…she doesn't seem very evil to me."

"The Dark Side can taint in many ways," Quinlan said. His own experiences several decades before had taught him that lesson the hard way. Even today, so many years later, he could feel the slight tug of the darkness calling to him, promising him power beyond his wildest dreams. "It is most difficult when one crosses over not out of personal desire for power, but out of love. Her great love was a complex man; a man that life had treated very unfair. That we treated unfairly."

"Have you tried to talk to her?" Corran asked.

"There is nothing to say; the time for words is over and done with. Now is the time for action. In centuries past, different philosophies dictated a variety of ways of atonement for a fallen Jedi." He sighed and stood up, tightening the sash on his robes. "The problem is that Padme Amidala was never a Jedi. She has very little Force-ability, but with the sliver of the Kaiburr Crystal she had great power. She is naked now and it is not a comfortable feeling I am sure."

Together, padawan and master walked over to the campfire. Padme sat there, her features as youthful as Quinlan remembered them. The extensive operations she had undergone during her service to the Empire had kept her young. In fact, she and Leia looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.

"I bid you good morning, senator," Quinlan said with a bow. Corran tried to do the same, but his looked forced. "Contemplating the future?"

"Dissecting the past, Master Vos," Padme said quietly. Corran noted that she was holding the hilt of a lightsaber as she stared into the flames. "I feel as if I am still falling into a hole."

Leia exited her tent, clad in her athletic uniform, once again ready to start her morning run. She stepped up to Corran and kissed him on the cheek. In the old days, Quinlan remembered, such a thing would have been forbidden. Both Ferrin and he had decided to try a more liberal approach to Jedi training. "Good morning, mother," Leia said.

Her attitude towards Padme had been so very strange, Corran thought, but nobody was explaining anything to him. All he understood was that Kyp Durron had suddenly opened up to the Force and everyone who had been there was changed.

Padme returned the greeting, but didn't look up. The shame that she felt for trying to turn her own daughter to the Dark Side was only overshadowed by the loss she currently felt for losing her son. She had been forced to abandon Luke by an act of conscience and now she wanted to figure out a way to save him.

In her dreams, Anakin called out to her, begging her to go after Luke and save him from a new threat. Lord Ravage was that threat, but then Luke warned of another, something more dangerous. Because her link to the Force was so weak that she could not maintain the contact with her dead husband. She was thankful for what she had now, though; her return from the Dark Side had opened this new form of communication up to her. In the Force, she was rediscovering the things that had once brought her true pleasure.

"Have you decided your future yet?" Quinlan asked. Leia put her arm through Corran's, gaining support from his powerful arms. He had put on several kilos of muscle mass in his time on Dagobah, eating the strange meats Quinlan liked to prepare.

Padme looked into the sky and then looked at her daughter. "Tatooine has changed and it needs real leadership. I was thinking about returning there, continuing the work Anakin started. He had a real love for that world." She looked at Leia. "Will you be coming?"

Leia didn't know how to answer. "What about my brother?"

"Your brother will eventually come to us," she said and Corran felt his lover shiver. Padme continued. "Right now, he's figuring out what he's going to do. Luke is very driven and he wants nothing more than to impress a father figure. I had secretly hoped that Baron Fel…" Her voice trailed off as the guilt she felt for having arranged the murder of Fel's wife threatened to send her spiraling down into the emotional depression she had been in for weeks. Would she ever be able to face him?

When she did, would he kill her? "I can't stay here."

Quinlan nodded. "The fires of democracy are being lit in the galaxy. The Force is in turmoil and this is a good thing. Perhaps the former desert world is where the revolution will truly start."

"I was once sworn to uphold the ideals of the Republic. I want to do it again," she said.

"Pardon me, senator," Corran said, giving Leia's hand a squeeze, "but what makes you think that the people of Tatooine will accept you as their leader?'

"Because my mother is technically the queen of the planet. My father was ruler; the title was never taken away," Leia responded. "I'd like to go with you, but I want to continue my Jedi training."

Quinlan shrugged. "We could all go." Corran's face lit up and the Jedi master chuckled under his breath. "I think it would be a good place to start a new Jedi academy. Master Durron and perhaps young Kyp will be able to find other students."

"And my personal fleet can help protect the planet," Padme said. The Death's Head Squadron had remained loyal to the commander that had protected it during the many purges instituted by the Emperor. "They are willing to join the Rebellion, so long as they can retain their rank. But, that is something for me to discuss with Garm Bel Iblis."

"Which brings us to a problem," Quinlan started. "If we do start an academy, we'll need some more instructors." He looked at Padme. "I will require your aid."

"I'm no Jedi," she said.

"Ah, but you are an expert on the Dark Side. The new Jedi Order will need to be made aware of the dangers that my peers chose to ignore." Quinlan stepped over to a cooking pot and looked inside, grimacing. He was tired of jungle food.

"Aren't we jumping ahead of ourselves?" Leia asked. "You have two students, a former Dark Lord and a Jedi master with a penchant for bad food…"

"And passing wind," Corran added with a smile.

"Ah, a padawan with a sense of humor. You remind of young Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was a serious student who had a tendency to make a joke at the most inopportune times." Quinlan sighed. "These are all things we will discuss on our way I suppose."

Corran was visibly relieved. He knew that Leia desired to get close to her mother, telling him in whispered conversation that Darth Deceptra was not the same person as Padme Amidala. She wanted to know about her heritage, though her heart ached for the loss of Bail Organna.

And Alderaan.

Tarkin's forces had assumed control of the planet and its wealth, chasing off the token Imperial garrison. Alderaan was lost for now, but only for the moment. Leia swore that she would return and for a brief instant, she had reminded Corran of Garm Bel Iblis.

"Good," Quinlan said when nobody objected. "We must break camp and get up to the fleet."

Hours later, Leia stood at a large viewing window on the medical deck of the frigate Merciless. The fleet had yet to be renamed to something less sinister, but she was sure that by the time they reached Tatooine, it would be done.

Tatooine was now a paradise, but a secret one. From there they hoped to from one pincer of the two-pronged advance to push Tarkin and the Empire out of the galaxy. Then the Republic could be reformed and Bail Organna's dream would come true.

There was resentment in her heart towards both her mother and her adopted father. Then there was sadness about Mara and Mon Mothma, two people she should have been close to, but ironically barely knew. Mara was with the Rebels, going who knew where and Chandrilla was gone.

Corran stepped up behind her and put his arms around her waist. He was a sweet man, though she wished he were just a little more…roguish perhaps? While Corran was a good man, sometimes a girl wanted a bad boy. Somebody like Dash…

She sighed and fell back against Corran's chest. She was lucky that the former CorSec officer cared for and she knew it. She was a princess from an occupied world, the daughter of two of the most evil people ever to be born. Yet, they were also two of the most tragic.

Then there was her brother.

"Luke," she whispered.

In her mind, through the Force, she could have sworn she heard laughing.