Rebirth: Prologue
Something was wrong. Luke could feel it. He had just sent Kyp Durron to the blue-leaf temple for his final test. He could feel the disturbance that came from Kyp using the dark side against his own brother. Discouraged, he let his head fall forward into his arms. So much for second chances.
He sighed and started to get up from where he had been meditating on top of the Jedi Temple when he heard the drone of repulsor lifts. *How did he get here so fast?* He ran to the edge of the temple top to see a ship hurriedly headed for the sky. He could sense that Kyp was in the ship - and mad. Luke groaned and sprinted toward the turbolift, hoping that he could get to a ship in time to stop Kyp. *Like that's going to happen..* He could tell that it was useless to try, for even as he ran, he felt Kyp's ship leave the atmosphere. Luke stretched out with the Force to try to tell what Kyp planned to do and immediately ran faster. He couldn't believe it. He thought that Kyp hated the Empire! Why would he want to rebuild it?
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A few hours later, light-years away at Coruscant, the political leaders of Coruscant were having a meeting. Leia Organa Solo was on a vacation and they needed somebody to take over as Chief of State until she got back. Suddenly, gas hissed out of the air vents. Everyone in the room was killed instantly.
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Two days later, Admiral Daala looked up from her desk to see her aide coming in with a familiar-looking young man. She opened her mouth to reprimand her aide for not informing her of a visitor, when she felt invisible fingers close around her throat. She slumped forward onto her desk as she heard the man saying to her aide, "Set a course for Coruscant. I am in command now." She felt the fingers release her throat as blackness bordered her vision and then she remembered nothing at all.
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Luke took a detour to the comm unit to send a message to Coruscant. He had to warn the Senate! But even as he sent the message, he could feel the deaths on Coruscant and knew that he was too late. Kyp had already destroyed the Senate and would now be headed for Admiral Daala's fleet -- or what was left of it. Kyp would probably try to get other warlords to side with him so that he would have more ships. He quickly sent a different message, warning Coruscant that Kyp would be attacking with Daala's fleet.
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Back on Coruscant, all was chaos. Someone had discovered the Senate dead and now news of Luke Skywalker's warning was beginning to leak out. They put together their forces as quickly as possible, but it was too late. The Republic's fleet had been called away to settle an uprising on a Rim world. No one could recall giving the order. The Empire's fleet swept in and, within an hour, Coruscant was once again Imperial Center and Kyp was the Emperor. He issued an order that all rebels be captured or killed. Soon, all rebels were in hiding or dead. Leia and Han had received a warning from Luke that Kyp had taken over and they simply disappeared. Luke took a one-way trip to the Unknown Regions and was not seen for quite some time.
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Five years later
Corran Horn sighed as he watched his son Valin play on the floor. Mirax, Corran, and Valin had smuggled themselves into Corellia shortly before news of Kyp's takeover reached them. Valin had only been a few months old at the time. Corran had changed his name to Tisruc and Mirax had changed her name to Lios. They had pretended to be loyal to the Empire and had moved to a loyal world. They didn't want to be found if they got caught in an uprising on a rebel planet.
Corran glanced out the window and saw a mover's speeder getting unloaded and the repulsor chairs and other furniture carried into the house next door. He had known for some time that they were getting a new neighbor; the old residents had disappeared one night and rumors had been flying that they were Rebels who had been discovered.
Corran frowned. He was feeling something through the Force. Whoever was about to get out of the second speeder was someone he knew. He reached out to the Force, trying to pinpoint the familiar aura.
Suddenly, Corran's eyes flew open, and he sat down quickly on the hovercouch. Mirax, still decidedly paranoid after five years of hiding, was by his side in an instant.
"What's wrong?" She asked, tense.
Corran looked up at her. "It's Wedge." He whispered.
"What's Wedge?" She was now definitely confused.
"Wedge! I.He's next door!"
Mirax laid a hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling alright? I think the stress is finally getting to you. Rogue Squadron's dead, Corran."
Corran groaned. "You don't understand. He's alive! I can feel him."
She gave him another skeptical look.
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, don't believe me. Let's just go see our new neighbor, all right?"
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Wedge looked around his new house and sighed. It was better than nothing, but it wasn't home. His home had always been the Rebellion or the New Republic. He quickly directed the movers where to put his stuff. They kept on dropping things. Movers these days.
Wedge glanced out the window and groaned to himself. His neighbors were coming over to say hi. The last thing he needed was nosy people poking their noses in his business - especially if these neighbors found out too much.
One of the movers glanced over at his irate customer. All the man had done was yell at them the entire time they were trying to carry his stuff in. People these days.
The movers had finished arranging his few possessions in the wrong places, so Wedge paid them and they left. A few seconds later, the doorbell rang. Wedge sighed and opened the door. His new neighbors were standing outside with huge smiles on their faces and some kind of burnt casserole in their arms.
"Hi! You must be our new neighbor!" the man said. "We live right next door and thought we'd bring something over. I'm Tisruc and this is Lios and Valin."
"And I'm Jaraj." Wedge replied. Valin. Hadn't that been Corran Horn's father's name? He couldn't shake the feeling that these two were hiding something. "Come on in."
The family made themselves comfortable on Wedge's misplaced furniture. After a few minutes of polite chatter, the conversation turned to the Rebellion.
"So, did you hear about Rogue Squadron getting destroyed? Isn't that great? Someone finally managed to stop those monsters." Tisruc said, watching him closely.
Wedge felt rage boiling up inside of him. Rogue Squadron hadn't been entirely destroyed in the attack as most people thought that it had, but they had lost a lot of pilots from other squadrons and a few from Rogue.
Wedge got himself under control enough to say, "Yeah. It was just a matter of time, huh?" Suddenly, Tisruc burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Wedge demanded.
"You! You're still so readable, Wedge."
Wedge looked at the man suspiciously. "What makes you think that my name is Wedge?" He asked cautiously.
"I can't believe you don't recognize me, Wedge." Tisruc said reproachfully. "Especially after all that time -- the whole Krytos problem, Lusankya."
"Corran?" Wedge gasped with sudden recognition. "I heard you were dead!"
"Well, I heard the same thing about you, so I guess that makes us even. What really happened to Rogue Squadron?"
Wedge just stared at him.
"Uh, Home Base to Wedge. Anybody home?"
Wedge jerked himself out of his trance. "You're alive!" He said with amazement.
"Last time I checked, yeah. You okay, Wedge?"
"Yeah, sure. Just fine. You're alive!"
"Oookay. I think we've already established that. Now, where's Rogue Squadron? If you're alive, I assume that they are too."
Wedge shook himself. "Right. Well, we were ambushed on our way to Kessel. We were sent to make sure that certain criminals were still residents. As we passed through the Maw, a Star Destroyer came out and launched some TIEs. We'd been flying with Wraith Squadron and Key Squadron. Key Squadron was entirely destroyed. We lost a few of the newer pilots in Wraith and Rogue, but most of us survived. There had been a few assassination attempts on Rogue Squadron pilots, so Key Squadron was flying in Rogue colors. I'm assuming that's why everyone says that all the Rogues were destroyed." He paused, looking at his guests. "I can't believe I didn't know it was you. That burnt casserole should have been a major tipoff. Mirax never could cook casseroles."
"Very funny." Mirax growled. "I don't recall you ever being able to cook very well, either."
"So where is everybody?" Corran asked.
"Last I heard, you're dead, Kell, Tyria, Face, and Dia are hiding out on Tatooine, Gavin's on Bothawui with Asyr, Hobbie and Wes are training troops in some Rebel hideout, Tycho's with Booster on the Errant Venture trying to rally more troops, and everyone else is skipping around the galaxy trying not to get caught. Luke, Han, and Leia have disappeared."
"So why haven't you joined Wes and Hobbie? I'm sure they'd be glad to have to famous Wedge Antilles."
Wedge's response was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Well, it certainly isn't for lack of trying. The new Rebels' hideout is so well hidden, I can't find it. I've tried just about every old Rebel base I can think of, but there were so many I don't even remember them all."
"Have you tried leaving messages at cantinas and other places?" Corran asked.
"Yeah, I tried that. After the first few times, I gave up. I got chased off of those worlds as soon as the locals heard I was looking for Rebels. Nobody wants their world to be under Kyp's eye."
"Well--" Corran hesitated. "I might be able to sense them. I mean, I was able to sense you. I just don't know how accurate it will be or how close I'll have to be."
"Can you sense them from here?" Wedge asked excitedly.
Corran frowned. "I don't know. I've never tried." Clearing his mind, he closed his eyes and reached deep within himself. He could feel Mirax, Valin, and Wedge in the room, but he tore himself away from them and concentrated on the aura he knew was Wes. After a few tense minutes, he opened his eyes.
"I feel something. I'm not entirely sure it's them, but it sure feels like it." His eyes seemed to be looking off into the distance - and then he promptly lost his lunch on the floor. Wiping his mouth, he looked up at the other occupants of the room. "Big battle going on around them. Wes just lost a pilot."
"Can you take me to them?" Wedge asked eagerly.
"Yeah. That last emotion helped me pinpoint their location. They're on Borleias."
"Borleias? Why would they go back to Blackmoon? That's too close to Coruscant!" Wedge cried.
"Maybe they're there for the same reason we were - to drive Coreward." Mirax spoke up for the first time.
"Well, whatever they're doing, at least now we know where to find them. We'd better get going before they decide to move."
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Wes Janson stared in disbelief at the scientist in front of him. What in the galaxy was this idiot talking about? Bringing people in from different time lines - it shouldn't be possible. At the moment, Wes couldn't be sure that this wasn't some elaborate joke - and at the moment he didn't really care. All he wanted was a couple days worth of sleep.
"What are you trying to say? In Basic this time, please." Wes asked, still trying to understand what the scientist was saying. This wasn't easy, since this particular man seemed to enjoy using words that no one could understand.
"Because of a flux in the space-time continuum, I have been able to calibrate an old project of mine to accept chanra waves." The scientist said impatiently, still trying to put his thoughts into words that the pilot could understand.
"And chanra waves are.?"
"Time waves. I came up with the name myself. This is a major breakthrough. I have been trying to do this for years!" The scientist practically squealed with delight.
"So basically, what you're saying is that there is a flux in the space-time thingamajig and now we can disrupt time." Janson tried to fit his mind around the idea.
"Not quite. We can't send ourselves into a certain time, but we can bring someone out of another time. Oh, and the flux should last about ten years, so we can do it any time we want."
"Why did you have to tell me - and why now?" Janson groaned.
"But, general, you're in charge here. And General Klivian is unavailable at the moment."
Hobbie's probably just smart enough not to start talking to scientists right after a mission. Janson sighed. "All right, then. Talk to me in the morning. Then we can decide who to pull."
Corran stared out of the viewport at the world of Borleias. It had been years since he'd been back here. It brought back memories of the battles fought - and lost - above the planet.
Shaking away those thoughts, he turned to ask Wedge, "How long until we get there?"
Wedge laughed, in good spirits now that he would be rejoining the Rebellion. "You sound like a kid. I take it that it bothers you as much as it does me not to be flying the ship you're in?"
"Yeah. You sure you won't let me fly?" He pleaded.
"Nope. My ship, my rules." Wedge said with a self-satisfied grin. "Keep your senses open. I'd like to know a general location so we won't have to search the whole planet."
"Got 'em!" Corran cried triumphantly.
"Really?!" Wedge asked.
"Gotcha." Corran replied. Wedge gave him his best 'displeased general' glare and turned back to the controls.
"Alright, this time I really have them. Major life readings coming from Grid 12."
Wedge zoomed in on the spot and set the ship down on a flat area on the rocky tableau. "Well, let's go see if you're right."
The two exited the ship and began looking around for signs of an entrance. Corran reached out to the Force for signs of life - and found some.
"Over here!" He called, and bent down to pull on a cleverly disguised lever. Instantly, a small door popped open and the pair was surrounded by soldiers. Evidently their approach had been closely monitored.
The leader of the soldiers pulled out a comlink and spoke a few words into it. He listened for a few seconds, and then turned back to the group. "All right. Take the prisoners inside. The general wants to take a look at them."
Corran and Wedge were forced at blaster-point to walk into the dimly lit opening and into a huge cave, where mechanics were crawling over ships that no sane person would fly in, and droids were scurrying around, trying to help, but most of the time just getting in the way. Then they were swiftly taken to a smaller cave connected to the larger one. Inside, an extremely tired and disheveled General Wes Janson blinked at his guests through bleary eyes. "Who's this, Lieutenant?"
"Prisoners, sir. We found them snooping outside."
For the first time, Wes really looked at the prisoners. "Wedge?" He asked in amazement, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "How did you.I thought you were.You're dead!" Wes spluttered.
Corran cast a glance at Wedge. "Do we have to go through this again?" He complained.
Janson turned his attention to his other guest. "Corran?!" He demanded. "But.You're dead, too!" He turned to the lieutenant. "Am I hallucinating? 'Cause I think I might be a little more tired than I thought."
"I can't tell you that, sir. You seem to be in perfect health." He replied. "Perhaps you're a little tired, but --"
"Never mind, Lieutenant. It was a rhetorical question." Janson turned his attention back to his guests. "Boy, am I glad you showed up."
"What do you mean?" Wedge asked. "What's happened since I was gone?"
Janson leaned back and pressed the heel of his palm into his eyes. "We've been doing hit-and-runs on the Empire. Hop in, hit cargo ships, and run. Last time, though, they were ready. We came out of hyperspace right on top of a Star Destroyer. My pilots weren't fully trained, and we lost half of our fighting force. And then, when we got back, some kooky scientist tried to tell me about this invention of his that can supposedly pull people from the past. Naturally, he couldn't speak in Basic, but he finally managed to tell me this without using the typical scientific psychobabble. Now, I have to figure out who to pull, whether or not this experiment will blow up in our faces, and oh, did I mention I haven't slept for two days?"
Wedge just stared at him.
Janson sighed. "In other words, would you please accept command? Please, please, please, please, please? I'll try as hard as I can not to make fun of you any more than I used to. Please?"
Wedge couldn't help but laugh. "Wes, it's good to be back. You haven't changed a bit."
Janson forced a puzzled look onto his face. "Is that a compliment, or an insult?" he demanded.
Wedge squinted in the sunlight streaming through his windows and rolled over, trying to get away from the glare. Wait a minute.I don't have any windows. "Janson!!" He yelled.
A strange noise came to his ears - something like a mix between a bantha lowing and a repulsorlift whining. This particular noise was all too familiar to the former general. Wes Janson was trying his hardest not to laugh.
Wedge sat up, directing a disapproving glare in the approximate area of the glow lamp aimed at his face - only to find that Janson was on the other side of the room. He quickly turned and opened his mouth, when Janson squealed, "I know who to pull! I know who to pull!"
Wedge groaned and decided to save his speech for later. "Well, who?" He demanded.
"General Kenobi! We'll take him when he's in his prime and sic him on Kyp!" Janson was so excited, he was jumping from foot to foot.
"All right, all right. Does your scientist guy have his time thingy hooked up?"
"Yes, Dr. Bellix has his chanra wave disruptor up and going." Janson teased.
"Whatever. Just give me a minute and I'll be down there. Couldn't you have waited another hour?" Wedge groaned.
"Nope." Janson grinned and bounced out of the room.
*That guy has way too much energy*, Wedge thought as he dragged himself out of bed and grabbed his shirt off a chair.
60 years earlier.
Fourteen-year -old Obi-Wan Kenobi stared uneasily out the viewport at Borleias. The Jedi Council had received a distress call from the Borleian Senator, Lehc Mise, requesting a Jedi bodyguard for his trip back to Coruscant. Mise had been on vacation on his homeworld, and, according to his call, he feared for his life from Borleian radicals. Their leader, Esim Chel, had apparently sent out an order that called for the Senator's head. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan, had been chosen to escort the Senator safely to Coruscant.
Despite the fact that this was a simple escort mission, Obi-Wan couldn't shake his nervousness about the mission ahead. While he very rarely went on a mission without feeling a few butterflies in his stomach, a mission so easy should not have made him this edgy.
The Jedi's descent to the planet was easy-almost too easy. Obi-Wan had halfway expected the radicals to try to shoot them out of the air before they could get to the Senator, but they made it to the surface unchallenged. Once they had landed in a small forest clearing outside the main city, Ropah, Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you all right, Padawan?" He asked, his brows furrowed.
"There's something wrong. I.it's too easy. It just seems like." Obi-Wan struggled to describe his feelings. Something was definitely wrong.
"I feel it, too. If Chel has so much power on this planet, why didn't he try to stop us?" Qui-Gon glanced at the open hatch. "Well, the Senator is waiting. Perhaps he can clear things up."
The Jedi walked down the ramp, stretching their senses for any sign of danger. Standing a few feet from the ship was Lehc Mise, dressed in his Senatorial robes. "Ah, the Jedi." He said, making the title Jedi sound like a curse. "So, your Council received my distress call? They are fools for sending you. Now, I will destroy you the way your kind destroyed my family!"
He raised a clenched fist and instantly, blaster fire began to rain down from the trees and the clearing was filled with soldiers. Behind the Jedi, soldiers stepped in front of the ship's ramp, blocking the only escape route. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan drew their lightsabers and deflected the shots back the way they came. Soldiers, hit by their own fire, toppled from trees and landed on their comrades on the ground.
Despite their skill, it soon became obvious that the Jedi were outnumbered. Back to back in the middle of a circle of soldiers, with more hidden enemies in the trees surrounding them, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were swiftly tiring. Qui-Gon was still sore from a blaster bolt to the leg on his last mission, and the battle was not helping.
Suddenly, Qui-Gon's leg gave way altogether. Distracted for one crucial moment, a blaster bolt struck him in the heart.
Obi-Wan felt his master's death and turned, horror etched on his features. A bolt struck him in the leg, and then one more came through his defenses and buried itself in his chest. The boy collapsed, giving himself to the Force, as blackness filled his vision.
Now.
Wedge stared dubiously at the time machine. It looked more like a mad scientist's refresher than anything else. He resolved to be standing behind Corran, Wes, and Hobbie when the thing was turned on.
Dr. Bellix was busy with last minute preparations, programming the time frame they wanted to pull General Kenobi from, doing systems checks, and who knew what else. He seemed to be off in his own little world, humming to himself, laughing from time to time, and muttering to his machine.
Finally, everything was ready. Nervously, Dr. Bellix flipped the power switch.and all the diagnostic lights turned green. Everyone in the room breathed out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. Much to Wedge's dismay, Dr. Bellix looked more relieved than anyone, as if he had expected his project to blow up in his face. The scientist flipped a few more switches and turned to look at his creation. "Any minute now." He whispered, excitement shining in his face.
The time machine began to glow and shake with the effort.and then a blue lightsaber appeared, jutting out of the side of the machine. It didn't appear entirely real, and the machine seemed to strain.
Dr. Bellix moaned, "My baby!" and promptly fainted as the lights went out. The time machine had pulled power from the glow panels to fuel its mission. The beam of light swept to the side, cutting through the time machine like it was flimsiplast.
Corran stepped forward, igniting his silver lightsaber, and blocked the blue saber. He motioned at Wedge to open the machine's door, and Wedge complied. The door opened to reveal.a fourteen-year-old boy. He glanced around wildly, still holding his lightsaber in a lock with Corran's. One glow panel sent out a faint light - just enough for the boy to see by. He looked at Corran - and instantly backed off and shut down his lightsaber, bowing.
"Master Halcyon! Where did you.? I thought you were. What.?" He pulled himself together. "Master Halcyon, Qui-Gon's.He's d-dead. Mise set a trap. I.I thought I was dead, too. How did you." The backup generator kicked in, and the lights turned back on. The boy stared at Corran.
"You're not Master Halcyon!" He cried. He looked around the room, taking in the military uniforms and equipment. Almost unconsciously, he went into a fighter's crouch.
"Halcyon.You don't mean Nejaa Halcyon, do you?" Corran asked cautiously.
The boy nodded warily. "But Master Halcyon's older than you. Who are you? Where am I? Where's my Master? Why did you kidnap me?" He demanded. He was really getting scared, and it didn't help that the Force was telling him to trust these people, despite what they had done.
"We didn't kidnap you. I.maybe I should let Janson explain." He turned toward the baby-faced man in the corner, who mock-glared at him and walked forward.
"Thanks a lot, Corran." He growled. "But I think first we need an explanation. Who are you, kid, and where's General Kenobi?"
"I-I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padawan to Qui-Gon Jinn." He seemed to wince at his master's name. "He-he's dead now, I think. I-I felt him d-d-die. But then, I thought I died, too. As for General Kenobi, I don't know who you're talking about. He might be a relative of mine, but I don't know my family. The only family I know is dead now." He looked away, tears starting to form in his eyes. He was not going to cry in front of a room full of people he didn't know!
The men turned and directed their attention to the man on the floor, who had just woken up. "Dr. Bellix, why do we have a fourteen year old when we should have a twenty-five year old?" Janson asked, his voice falsely sweet.
Bellix stood up and stalked toward Obi-Wan, his eyes hard. He plainly did not like to have his creations cut in half. "What planet were you on when you were pulled, boy?" He demanded.
"Borleias. We were on a mission to."
"That's it!" Bellix groaned. "There's a default setting where it grabs the closest version of its intended catch if it's unable to get to the original age programmed in. The age you wanted must have been on the other side of the galaxy!"
"That's great." Corran muttered. "Now we're stuck with a fourteen year old boy and a broken time machine." Voices broke out all over the room.
Obi-Wan was rapidly getting annoyed. They were pumping him for information and then ignoring him. "WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHERE AM I? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" He yelled.
All conversation stopped. Janson stepped forward. "I'll answer your last question first. I'm General Wes Janson, and these are General Derek "Hobbie" Klivian, General Wedge Antilles, Colonel Corran Horn, and Dr. Roph Bellix. Okay, you're on Borleias, and I'm going to let Colonel Horn here explain the first question."
Corran glared daggers at Janson. "Thanks a lot, Wes."
Janson shrugged. "It's only fair. One Jedi to another."
Obi-Wan looked at the Colonel with new interest. What was a Jedi doing with a rank of Colonel? Jedi were forbidden to be part of the military! "You're a Jedi?" He demanded incredulously.
"Yep. So, you knew Nejaa Halcyon?"
"Knew?" Obi-Wan asked, confused. "He's still alive."
Corran scratched his head. "Well, I hate to break it to you, kid, but my grandfather died a long time ago. Before I was born."
"Nejaa Halcyon's your grandfather? His son was just born! Besides, he's not dead. I just saw him yesterday."
Corran looked to his friends for support. " Sorry, kid, but your yesterday was about sixty years ago. That thing you gutted was a time machine."
Bellix spoke up. "It is not a time machine! It's a chanra wave disruptor. How many times do I have to tell you that?!"
Hobbie spoke up for the first time. "Don't worry about it. We'll probably be dead by tomorrow anyway, and then you won't care."
Janson rolled his eyes. "That's Hobbie. Always optimistic."
"WOULD YOU STOP GETTING SIDETRACKED?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Obi- Wan yelled. These men were extremely annoying. None of them could stay on one subject for more than three seconds. And what was all this about a time machine, anyway? The boy was steadily becoming more and more perplexed, and Obi-Wan Kenobi did not like being confused.
"Whoa. I thought Jedi couldn't lose their tempers." Wedge muttered, glancing at Corran.
"They aren't supposed to, but hey, no one's perfect." He replied, turning back to Obi-Wan. "Okay, kid. Let's see here. I'm not entirely sure what I can and can't tell you, since even what you've learned this far could change the past enough to kill everyone in this room, but here goes. Kyp Durron is the Emperor. He took over five years ago after turning to the Dark side. Um, we're rebelling against him, and I'll let Wedge tell you the rest." He turned to his companion.
Obi-Wan glared at the men. "How about if I ask questions, and you answer them? This is getting nowhere."
Hobbie shrugged mournfully. "Sure. It'll be just as bad."
Sighing, Obi-Wan began to pace. "First of all, what's this Durron guy's history? And how did he turn to the Dark side? Did any of you know him?"
Corran looked up. "Actually, I knew him. After all, he knocked me out once when I made him really mad. His history? Well, he worked in the spice mines on Kessel until he was about sixteen, and then Han Solo broke him out and sent him to Luke's Jedi Temple on Yavin 4. He met this spirit of a dead Sith, who turned him to the Dark side in an effort to kill Luke. Nasty guy, that Sith. He came to me with the same offer and tried to kill me later on. Anyway, Kyp stole the Sun Crusher, a superweapon that could blow up whole star systems, and tried to use it to avenge his supposedly dead brother. So, he goes to Carida, and blows it up, only to find that his brother was on the planet. To make a long story short, Han and Luke managed to get Kyp back to the light side, since Kyp still thought of Han as his 'big brother', and then Kyp piloted the Sun Crusher into a black hole. He got back, Luke sent him to some weird temple on Yavin 4 to face his dead brother, and Kyp snapped. He turned back to the Dark side, stole a ship, killed the Senate, and captured Coruscant with an Imperial fleet. He's been the Emperor ever since."
Obi-Wan blew out a breath. "All right, who's Han Solo, and who's this Luke? You say he has a Jedi Temple set up? What's it doing on Yavin 4 instead of Coruscant?"
Corran winced. "Can't you ever ask just one question at a time? Han Solo's a smuggler who joined the original rebellion, and I'm not entirely sure if I should tell you about Luke."
Obi-Wan massaged his forehead. "Why can't you tell me about Luke? Why are you people holding so much back? Why can't I get an honest answer around here?"
"Why can't you ask one question at a time instead of always asking three in a row?" Corran shot back.
"All right, then. If you're getting so annoyed, why don't you just give me a computer with the latest news on it and let me learn?"
Wedge spoke up, trying to reason with the kid. "Look, if we do that and then send you back, you could really mess things up. I don't know about you, but I would rather not be responsible for messing with time so badly that I cause someone even worse than Kyp to take control. We're trying to filter out information about people you meet when you grow up."
"So, you're saying that I'm going to meet this Luke when I grow up?" Obi- Wan asked, grasping at straws.
Wedge froze, eyes wide. "Blast. I shouldn't have told you that."
Obi-Wan grinned. "General, that's all the confirmation I need."
Hours later, Obi-Wan collapsed onto his bed in his quarters and thought back over the past events. All he had really learned from the men was that he was going to meet someone named Luke when he was older, what happened in Kyp Durron's past, and that they had not meant to call a fourteen-year-old from the past. According to Corran, there weren't many Jedi around these days, but the older man had refused to say why.
Now, Obi-Wan was faced with a real dilemma. His master was dead, he had no clue where he was, and a bunch of battle-hardened war veterans were asking for his help. He also had Corran Horn to consider. He was Nejaa Halcyon's grandson, and that alone was difficult to digest. He claimed to be a Jedi, and while he did carry a light saber and apparently knew how to use it, he didn't dress like a Jedi. Or act like any Jedi Obi-Wan had ever met. Except for Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan was finally able to let his emotions loose. Lowering his mental shields in a way that Qui-Gon had taught him to ease grief, he sent his emotions pouring through the compound, making anyone slightly Force- sensitive lift their heads and listen to the rush of raw pain flowing from him. Obi-Wan sat there for a few minutes until his grief was fully expressed, and then he quietly raised shields again, mindful of the tears running down his face, not realizing that every Force-sensitive in the base was crying with him.
Hearing the door hiss open, the boy turned and saw Corran Horn leaning on the doorway. The older Jedi's eyes were overly bright as he pulled a chair from the corner and sat on it.
"I never realized that you were hurting so badly." Corran whispered. "You should have told us."
"Why?" Obi-Wan asked bitterly. "You already think that I'm an unruly child that you have to deal with because a computer made a mistake."
"You really think that?" Corran asked, surprised. "I know Wedge. He would never have asked you for help if he didn't think that you could do it."
"How can you be so sure?" Obi-Wan demanded. "Maybe he's just desperate."
Corran sighed. "Look, I've flown with Wedge for years in Starfighter Command. He never sent a pilot into battle that he didn't already trust not to send a torpedo into his engines."
"That's certainly a relief." Obi-Wan growled sarcastically. He frowned. "You were a fighter pilot?"
"Yep. Before I became a Jedi. I was with CorSec before I joined the Rebellion."
"But.Jedi aren't allowed to be in the military. And you can't be older than five when you come to the Temple."
Corran winced. "Things have changed a lot since your day. The Jedi had to except all ages, or they would have been wiped out. Besides, I didn't know I was Jedi material when I was a pilot. I thought hunches were normal."
Obi-Wan laughed. "Force visions? Normal? That's a first."
"Hey, I didn't exactly grow up around Jedi." Corran said defensively. He opened his mouth to say more, and then shut it again.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Yeah, I know. Another thing you can't tell me about."
Something was wrong. Luke could feel it. He had just sent Kyp Durron to the blue-leaf temple for his final test. He could feel the disturbance that came from Kyp using the dark side against his own brother. Discouraged, he let his head fall forward into his arms. So much for second chances.
He sighed and started to get up from where he had been meditating on top of the Jedi Temple when he heard the drone of repulsor lifts. *How did he get here so fast?* He ran to the edge of the temple top to see a ship hurriedly headed for the sky. He could sense that Kyp was in the ship - and mad. Luke groaned and sprinted toward the turbolift, hoping that he could get to a ship in time to stop Kyp. *Like that's going to happen..* He could tell that it was useless to try, for even as he ran, he felt Kyp's ship leave the atmosphere. Luke stretched out with the Force to try to tell what Kyp planned to do and immediately ran faster. He couldn't believe it. He thought that Kyp hated the Empire! Why would he want to rebuild it?
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A few hours later, light-years away at Coruscant, the political leaders of Coruscant were having a meeting. Leia Organa Solo was on a vacation and they needed somebody to take over as Chief of State until she got back. Suddenly, gas hissed out of the air vents. Everyone in the room was killed instantly.
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Two days later, Admiral Daala looked up from her desk to see her aide coming in with a familiar-looking young man. She opened her mouth to reprimand her aide for not informing her of a visitor, when she felt invisible fingers close around her throat. She slumped forward onto her desk as she heard the man saying to her aide, "Set a course for Coruscant. I am in command now." She felt the fingers release her throat as blackness bordered her vision and then she remembered nothing at all.
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Luke took a detour to the comm unit to send a message to Coruscant. He had to warn the Senate! But even as he sent the message, he could feel the deaths on Coruscant and knew that he was too late. Kyp had already destroyed the Senate and would now be headed for Admiral Daala's fleet -- or what was left of it. Kyp would probably try to get other warlords to side with him so that he would have more ships. He quickly sent a different message, warning Coruscant that Kyp would be attacking with Daala's fleet.
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Back on Coruscant, all was chaos. Someone had discovered the Senate dead and now news of Luke Skywalker's warning was beginning to leak out. They put together their forces as quickly as possible, but it was too late. The Republic's fleet had been called away to settle an uprising on a Rim world. No one could recall giving the order. The Empire's fleet swept in and, within an hour, Coruscant was once again Imperial Center and Kyp was the Emperor. He issued an order that all rebels be captured or killed. Soon, all rebels were in hiding or dead. Leia and Han had received a warning from Luke that Kyp had taken over and they simply disappeared. Luke took a one-way trip to the Unknown Regions and was not seen for quite some time.
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Five years later
Corran Horn sighed as he watched his son Valin play on the floor. Mirax, Corran, and Valin had smuggled themselves into Corellia shortly before news of Kyp's takeover reached them. Valin had only been a few months old at the time. Corran had changed his name to Tisruc and Mirax had changed her name to Lios. They had pretended to be loyal to the Empire and had moved to a loyal world. They didn't want to be found if they got caught in an uprising on a rebel planet.
Corran glanced out the window and saw a mover's speeder getting unloaded and the repulsor chairs and other furniture carried into the house next door. He had known for some time that they were getting a new neighbor; the old residents had disappeared one night and rumors had been flying that they were Rebels who had been discovered.
Corran frowned. He was feeling something through the Force. Whoever was about to get out of the second speeder was someone he knew. He reached out to the Force, trying to pinpoint the familiar aura.
Suddenly, Corran's eyes flew open, and he sat down quickly on the hovercouch. Mirax, still decidedly paranoid after five years of hiding, was by his side in an instant.
"What's wrong?" She asked, tense.
Corran looked up at her. "It's Wedge." He whispered.
"What's Wedge?" She was now definitely confused.
"Wedge! I.He's next door!"
Mirax laid a hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling alright? I think the stress is finally getting to you. Rogue Squadron's dead, Corran."
Corran groaned. "You don't understand. He's alive! I can feel him."
She gave him another skeptical look.
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, don't believe me. Let's just go see our new neighbor, all right?"
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Wedge looked around his new house and sighed. It was better than nothing, but it wasn't home. His home had always been the Rebellion or the New Republic. He quickly directed the movers where to put his stuff. They kept on dropping things. Movers these days.
Wedge glanced out the window and groaned to himself. His neighbors were coming over to say hi. The last thing he needed was nosy people poking their noses in his business - especially if these neighbors found out too much.
One of the movers glanced over at his irate customer. All the man had done was yell at them the entire time they were trying to carry his stuff in. People these days.
The movers had finished arranging his few possessions in the wrong places, so Wedge paid them and they left. A few seconds later, the doorbell rang. Wedge sighed and opened the door. His new neighbors were standing outside with huge smiles on their faces and some kind of burnt casserole in their arms.
"Hi! You must be our new neighbor!" the man said. "We live right next door and thought we'd bring something over. I'm Tisruc and this is Lios and Valin."
"And I'm Jaraj." Wedge replied. Valin. Hadn't that been Corran Horn's father's name? He couldn't shake the feeling that these two were hiding something. "Come on in."
The family made themselves comfortable on Wedge's misplaced furniture. After a few minutes of polite chatter, the conversation turned to the Rebellion.
"So, did you hear about Rogue Squadron getting destroyed? Isn't that great? Someone finally managed to stop those monsters." Tisruc said, watching him closely.
Wedge felt rage boiling up inside of him. Rogue Squadron hadn't been entirely destroyed in the attack as most people thought that it had, but they had lost a lot of pilots from other squadrons and a few from Rogue.
Wedge got himself under control enough to say, "Yeah. It was just a matter of time, huh?" Suddenly, Tisruc burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Wedge demanded.
"You! You're still so readable, Wedge."
Wedge looked at the man suspiciously. "What makes you think that my name is Wedge?" He asked cautiously.
"I can't believe you don't recognize me, Wedge." Tisruc said reproachfully. "Especially after all that time -- the whole Krytos problem, Lusankya."
"Corran?" Wedge gasped with sudden recognition. "I heard you were dead!"
"Well, I heard the same thing about you, so I guess that makes us even. What really happened to Rogue Squadron?"
Wedge just stared at him.
"Uh, Home Base to Wedge. Anybody home?"
Wedge jerked himself out of his trance. "You're alive!" He said with amazement.
"Last time I checked, yeah. You okay, Wedge?"
"Yeah, sure. Just fine. You're alive!"
"Oookay. I think we've already established that. Now, where's Rogue Squadron? If you're alive, I assume that they are too."
Wedge shook himself. "Right. Well, we were ambushed on our way to Kessel. We were sent to make sure that certain criminals were still residents. As we passed through the Maw, a Star Destroyer came out and launched some TIEs. We'd been flying with Wraith Squadron and Key Squadron. Key Squadron was entirely destroyed. We lost a few of the newer pilots in Wraith and Rogue, but most of us survived. There had been a few assassination attempts on Rogue Squadron pilots, so Key Squadron was flying in Rogue colors. I'm assuming that's why everyone says that all the Rogues were destroyed." He paused, looking at his guests. "I can't believe I didn't know it was you. That burnt casserole should have been a major tipoff. Mirax never could cook casseroles."
"Very funny." Mirax growled. "I don't recall you ever being able to cook very well, either."
"So where is everybody?" Corran asked.
"Last I heard, you're dead, Kell, Tyria, Face, and Dia are hiding out on Tatooine, Gavin's on Bothawui with Asyr, Hobbie and Wes are training troops in some Rebel hideout, Tycho's with Booster on the Errant Venture trying to rally more troops, and everyone else is skipping around the galaxy trying not to get caught. Luke, Han, and Leia have disappeared."
"So why haven't you joined Wes and Hobbie? I'm sure they'd be glad to have to famous Wedge Antilles."
Wedge's response was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Well, it certainly isn't for lack of trying. The new Rebels' hideout is so well hidden, I can't find it. I've tried just about every old Rebel base I can think of, but there were so many I don't even remember them all."
"Have you tried leaving messages at cantinas and other places?" Corran asked.
"Yeah, I tried that. After the first few times, I gave up. I got chased off of those worlds as soon as the locals heard I was looking for Rebels. Nobody wants their world to be under Kyp's eye."
"Well--" Corran hesitated. "I might be able to sense them. I mean, I was able to sense you. I just don't know how accurate it will be or how close I'll have to be."
"Can you sense them from here?" Wedge asked excitedly.
Corran frowned. "I don't know. I've never tried." Clearing his mind, he closed his eyes and reached deep within himself. He could feel Mirax, Valin, and Wedge in the room, but he tore himself away from them and concentrated on the aura he knew was Wes. After a few tense minutes, he opened his eyes.
"I feel something. I'm not entirely sure it's them, but it sure feels like it." His eyes seemed to be looking off into the distance - and then he promptly lost his lunch on the floor. Wiping his mouth, he looked up at the other occupants of the room. "Big battle going on around them. Wes just lost a pilot."
"Can you take me to them?" Wedge asked eagerly.
"Yeah. That last emotion helped me pinpoint their location. They're on Borleias."
"Borleias? Why would they go back to Blackmoon? That's too close to Coruscant!" Wedge cried.
"Maybe they're there for the same reason we were - to drive Coreward." Mirax spoke up for the first time.
"Well, whatever they're doing, at least now we know where to find them. We'd better get going before they decide to move."
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Wes Janson stared in disbelief at the scientist in front of him. What in the galaxy was this idiot talking about? Bringing people in from different time lines - it shouldn't be possible. At the moment, Wes couldn't be sure that this wasn't some elaborate joke - and at the moment he didn't really care. All he wanted was a couple days worth of sleep.
"What are you trying to say? In Basic this time, please." Wes asked, still trying to understand what the scientist was saying. This wasn't easy, since this particular man seemed to enjoy using words that no one could understand.
"Because of a flux in the space-time continuum, I have been able to calibrate an old project of mine to accept chanra waves." The scientist said impatiently, still trying to put his thoughts into words that the pilot could understand.
"And chanra waves are.?"
"Time waves. I came up with the name myself. This is a major breakthrough. I have been trying to do this for years!" The scientist practically squealed with delight.
"So basically, what you're saying is that there is a flux in the space-time thingamajig and now we can disrupt time." Janson tried to fit his mind around the idea.
"Not quite. We can't send ourselves into a certain time, but we can bring someone out of another time. Oh, and the flux should last about ten years, so we can do it any time we want."
"Why did you have to tell me - and why now?" Janson groaned.
"But, general, you're in charge here. And General Klivian is unavailable at the moment."
Hobbie's probably just smart enough not to start talking to scientists right after a mission. Janson sighed. "All right, then. Talk to me in the morning. Then we can decide who to pull."
Corran stared out of the viewport at the world of Borleias. It had been years since he'd been back here. It brought back memories of the battles fought - and lost - above the planet.
Shaking away those thoughts, he turned to ask Wedge, "How long until we get there?"
Wedge laughed, in good spirits now that he would be rejoining the Rebellion. "You sound like a kid. I take it that it bothers you as much as it does me not to be flying the ship you're in?"
"Yeah. You sure you won't let me fly?" He pleaded.
"Nope. My ship, my rules." Wedge said with a self-satisfied grin. "Keep your senses open. I'd like to know a general location so we won't have to search the whole planet."
"Got 'em!" Corran cried triumphantly.
"Really?!" Wedge asked.
"Gotcha." Corran replied. Wedge gave him his best 'displeased general' glare and turned back to the controls.
"Alright, this time I really have them. Major life readings coming from Grid 12."
Wedge zoomed in on the spot and set the ship down on a flat area on the rocky tableau. "Well, let's go see if you're right."
The two exited the ship and began looking around for signs of an entrance. Corran reached out to the Force for signs of life - and found some.
"Over here!" He called, and bent down to pull on a cleverly disguised lever. Instantly, a small door popped open and the pair was surrounded by soldiers. Evidently their approach had been closely monitored.
The leader of the soldiers pulled out a comlink and spoke a few words into it. He listened for a few seconds, and then turned back to the group. "All right. Take the prisoners inside. The general wants to take a look at them."
Corran and Wedge were forced at blaster-point to walk into the dimly lit opening and into a huge cave, where mechanics were crawling over ships that no sane person would fly in, and droids were scurrying around, trying to help, but most of the time just getting in the way. Then they were swiftly taken to a smaller cave connected to the larger one. Inside, an extremely tired and disheveled General Wes Janson blinked at his guests through bleary eyes. "Who's this, Lieutenant?"
"Prisoners, sir. We found them snooping outside."
For the first time, Wes really looked at the prisoners. "Wedge?" He asked in amazement, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "How did you.I thought you were.You're dead!" Wes spluttered.
Corran cast a glance at Wedge. "Do we have to go through this again?" He complained.
Janson turned his attention to his other guest. "Corran?!" He demanded. "But.You're dead, too!" He turned to the lieutenant. "Am I hallucinating? 'Cause I think I might be a little more tired than I thought."
"I can't tell you that, sir. You seem to be in perfect health." He replied. "Perhaps you're a little tired, but --"
"Never mind, Lieutenant. It was a rhetorical question." Janson turned his attention back to his guests. "Boy, am I glad you showed up."
"What do you mean?" Wedge asked. "What's happened since I was gone?"
Janson leaned back and pressed the heel of his palm into his eyes. "We've been doing hit-and-runs on the Empire. Hop in, hit cargo ships, and run. Last time, though, they were ready. We came out of hyperspace right on top of a Star Destroyer. My pilots weren't fully trained, and we lost half of our fighting force. And then, when we got back, some kooky scientist tried to tell me about this invention of his that can supposedly pull people from the past. Naturally, he couldn't speak in Basic, but he finally managed to tell me this without using the typical scientific psychobabble. Now, I have to figure out who to pull, whether or not this experiment will blow up in our faces, and oh, did I mention I haven't slept for two days?"
Wedge just stared at him.
Janson sighed. "In other words, would you please accept command? Please, please, please, please, please? I'll try as hard as I can not to make fun of you any more than I used to. Please?"
Wedge couldn't help but laugh. "Wes, it's good to be back. You haven't changed a bit."
Janson forced a puzzled look onto his face. "Is that a compliment, or an insult?" he demanded.
Wedge squinted in the sunlight streaming through his windows and rolled over, trying to get away from the glare. Wait a minute.I don't have any windows. "Janson!!" He yelled.
A strange noise came to his ears - something like a mix between a bantha lowing and a repulsorlift whining. This particular noise was all too familiar to the former general. Wes Janson was trying his hardest not to laugh.
Wedge sat up, directing a disapproving glare in the approximate area of the glow lamp aimed at his face - only to find that Janson was on the other side of the room. He quickly turned and opened his mouth, when Janson squealed, "I know who to pull! I know who to pull!"
Wedge groaned and decided to save his speech for later. "Well, who?" He demanded.
"General Kenobi! We'll take him when he's in his prime and sic him on Kyp!" Janson was so excited, he was jumping from foot to foot.
"All right, all right. Does your scientist guy have his time thingy hooked up?"
"Yes, Dr. Bellix has his chanra wave disruptor up and going." Janson teased.
"Whatever. Just give me a minute and I'll be down there. Couldn't you have waited another hour?" Wedge groaned.
"Nope." Janson grinned and bounced out of the room.
*That guy has way too much energy*, Wedge thought as he dragged himself out of bed and grabbed his shirt off a chair.
60 years earlier.
Fourteen-year -old Obi-Wan Kenobi stared uneasily out the viewport at Borleias. The Jedi Council had received a distress call from the Borleian Senator, Lehc Mise, requesting a Jedi bodyguard for his trip back to Coruscant. Mise had been on vacation on his homeworld, and, according to his call, he feared for his life from Borleian radicals. Their leader, Esim Chel, had apparently sent out an order that called for the Senator's head. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan, had been chosen to escort the Senator safely to Coruscant.
Despite the fact that this was a simple escort mission, Obi-Wan couldn't shake his nervousness about the mission ahead. While he very rarely went on a mission without feeling a few butterflies in his stomach, a mission so easy should not have made him this edgy.
The Jedi's descent to the planet was easy-almost too easy. Obi-Wan had halfway expected the radicals to try to shoot them out of the air before they could get to the Senator, but they made it to the surface unchallenged. Once they had landed in a small forest clearing outside the main city, Ropah, Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you all right, Padawan?" He asked, his brows furrowed.
"There's something wrong. I.it's too easy. It just seems like." Obi-Wan struggled to describe his feelings. Something was definitely wrong.
"I feel it, too. If Chel has so much power on this planet, why didn't he try to stop us?" Qui-Gon glanced at the open hatch. "Well, the Senator is waiting. Perhaps he can clear things up."
The Jedi walked down the ramp, stretching their senses for any sign of danger. Standing a few feet from the ship was Lehc Mise, dressed in his Senatorial robes. "Ah, the Jedi." He said, making the title Jedi sound like a curse. "So, your Council received my distress call? They are fools for sending you. Now, I will destroy you the way your kind destroyed my family!"
He raised a clenched fist and instantly, blaster fire began to rain down from the trees and the clearing was filled with soldiers. Behind the Jedi, soldiers stepped in front of the ship's ramp, blocking the only escape route. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan drew their lightsabers and deflected the shots back the way they came. Soldiers, hit by their own fire, toppled from trees and landed on their comrades on the ground.
Despite their skill, it soon became obvious that the Jedi were outnumbered. Back to back in the middle of a circle of soldiers, with more hidden enemies in the trees surrounding them, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were swiftly tiring. Qui-Gon was still sore from a blaster bolt to the leg on his last mission, and the battle was not helping.
Suddenly, Qui-Gon's leg gave way altogether. Distracted for one crucial moment, a blaster bolt struck him in the heart.
Obi-Wan felt his master's death and turned, horror etched on his features. A bolt struck him in the leg, and then one more came through his defenses and buried itself in his chest. The boy collapsed, giving himself to the Force, as blackness filled his vision.
Now.
Wedge stared dubiously at the time machine. It looked more like a mad scientist's refresher than anything else. He resolved to be standing behind Corran, Wes, and Hobbie when the thing was turned on.
Dr. Bellix was busy with last minute preparations, programming the time frame they wanted to pull General Kenobi from, doing systems checks, and who knew what else. He seemed to be off in his own little world, humming to himself, laughing from time to time, and muttering to his machine.
Finally, everything was ready. Nervously, Dr. Bellix flipped the power switch.and all the diagnostic lights turned green. Everyone in the room breathed out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. Much to Wedge's dismay, Dr. Bellix looked more relieved than anyone, as if he had expected his project to blow up in his face. The scientist flipped a few more switches and turned to look at his creation. "Any minute now." He whispered, excitement shining in his face.
The time machine began to glow and shake with the effort.and then a blue lightsaber appeared, jutting out of the side of the machine. It didn't appear entirely real, and the machine seemed to strain.
Dr. Bellix moaned, "My baby!" and promptly fainted as the lights went out. The time machine had pulled power from the glow panels to fuel its mission. The beam of light swept to the side, cutting through the time machine like it was flimsiplast.
Corran stepped forward, igniting his silver lightsaber, and blocked the blue saber. He motioned at Wedge to open the machine's door, and Wedge complied. The door opened to reveal.a fourteen-year-old boy. He glanced around wildly, still holding his lightsaber in a lock with Corran's. One glow panel sent out a faint light - just enough for the boy to see by. He looked at Corran - and instantly backed off and shut down his lightsaber, bowing.
"Master Halcyon! Where did you.? I thought you were. What.?" He pulled himself together. "Master Halcyon, Qui-Gon's.He's d-dead. Mise set a trap. I.I thought I was dead, too. How did you." The backup generator kicked in, and the lights turned back on. The boy stared at Corran.
"You're not Master Halcyon!" He cried. He looked around the room, taking in the military uniforms and equipment. Almost unconsciously, he went into a fighter's crouch.
"Halcyon.You don't mean Nejaa Halcyon, do you?" Corran asked cautiously.
The boy nodded warily. "But Master Halcyon's older than you. Who are you? Where am I? Where's my Master? Why did you kidnap me?" He demanded. He was really getting scared, and it didn't help that the Force was telling him to trust these people, despite what they had done.
"We didn't kidnap you. I.maybe I should let Janson explain." He turned toward the baby-faced man in the corner, who mock-glared at him and walked forward.
"Thanks a lot, Corran." He growled. "But I think first we need an explanation. Who are you, kid, and where's General Kenobi?"
"I-I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padawan to Qui-Gon Jinn." He seemed to wince at his master's name. "He-he's dead now, I think. I-I felt him d-d-die. But then, I thought I died, too. As for General Kenobi, I don't know who you're talking about. He might be a relative of mine, but I don't know my family. The only family I know is dead now." He looked away, tears starting to form in his eyes. He was not going to cry in front of a room full of people he didn't know!
The men turned and directed their attention to the man on the floor, who had just woken up. "Dr. Bellix, why do we have a fourteen year old when we should have a twenty-five year old?" Janson asked, his voice falsely sweet.
Bellix stood up and stalked toward Obi-Wan, his eyes hard. He plainly did not like to have his creations cut in half. "What planet were you on when you were pulled, boy?" He demanded.
"Borleias. We were on a mission to."
"That's it!" Bellix groaned. "There's a default setting where it grabs the closest version of its intended catch if it's unable to get to the original age programmed in. The age you wanted must have been on the other side of the galaxy!"
"That's great." Corran muttered. "Now we're stuck with a fourteen year old boy and a broken time machine." Voices broke out all over the room.
Obi-Wan was rapidly getting annoyed. They were pumping him for information and then ignoring him. "WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHERE AM I? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" He yelled.
All conversation stopped. Janson stepped forward. "I'll answer your last question first. I'm General Wes Janson, and these are General Derek "Hobbie" Klivian, General Wedge Antilles, Colonel Corran Horn, and Dr. Roph Bellix. Okay, you're on Borleias, and I'm going to let Colonel Horn here explain the first question."
Corran glared daggers at Janson. "Thanks a lot, Wes."
Janson shrugged. "It's only fair. One Jedi to another."
Obi-Wan looked at the Colonel with new interest. What was a Jedi doing with a rank of Colonel? Jedi were forbidden to be part of the military! "You're a Jedi?" He demanded incredulously.
"Yep. So, you knew Nejaa Halcyon?"
"Knew?" Obi-Wan asked, confused. "He's still alive."
Corran scratched his head. "Well, I hate to break it to you, kid, but my grandfather died a long time ago. Before I was born."
"Nejaa Halcyon's your grandfather? His son was just born! Besides, he's not dead. I just saw him yesterday."
Corran looked to his friends for support. " Sorry, kid, but your yesterday was about sixty years ago. That thing you gutted was a time machine."
Bellix spoke up. "It is not a time machine! It's a chanra wave disruptor. How many times do I have to tell you that?!"
Hobbie spoke up for the first time. "Don't worry about it. We'll probably be dead by tomorrow anyway, and then you won't care."
Janson rolled his eyes. "That's Hobbie. Always optimistic."
"WOULD YOU STOP GETTING SIDETRACKED?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Obi- Wan yelled. These men were extremely annoying. None of them could stay on one subject for more than three seconds. And what was all this about a time machine, anyway? The boy was steadily becoming more and more perplexed, and Obi-Wan Kenobi did not like being confused.
"Whoa. I thought Jedi couldn't lose their tempers." Wedge muttered, glancing at Corran.
"They aren't supposed to, but hey, no one's perfect." He replied, turning back to Obi-Wan. "Okay, kid. Let's see here. I'm not entirely sure what I can and can't tell you, since even what you've learned this far could change the past enough to kill everyone in this room, but here goes. Kyp Durron is the Emperor. He took over five years ago after turning to the Dark side. Um, we're rebelling against him, and I'll let Wedge tell you the rest." He turned to his companion.
Obi-Wan glared at the men. "How about if I ask questions, and you answer them? This is getting nowhere."
Hobbie shrugged mournfully. "Sure. It'll be just as bad."
Sighing, Obi-Wan began to pace. "First of all, what's this Durron guy's history? And how did he turn to the Dark side? Did any of you know him?"
Corran looked up. "Actually, I knew him. After all, he knocked me out once when I made him really mad. His history? Well, he worked in the spice mines on Kessel until he was about sixteen, and then Han Solo broke him out and sent him to Luke's Jedi Temple on Yavin 4. He met this spirit of a dead Sith, who turned him to the Dark side in an effort to kill Luke. Nasty guy, that Sith. He came to me with the same offer and tried to kill me later on. Anyway, Kyp stole the Sun Crusher, a superweapon that could blow up whole star systems, and tried to use it to avenge his supposedly dead brother. So, he goes to Carida, and blows it up, only to find that his brother was on the planet. To make a long story short, Han and Luke managed to get Kyp back to the light side, since Kyp still thought of Han as his 'big brother', and then Kyp piloted the Sun Crusher into a black hole. He got back, Luke sent him to some weird temple on Yavin 4 to face his dead brother, and Kyp snapped. He turned back to the Dark side, stole a ship, killed the Senate, and captured Coruscant with an Imperial fleet. He's been the Emperor ever since."
Obi-Wan blew out a breath. "All right, who's Han Solo, and who's this Luke? You say he has a Jedi Temple set up? What's it doing on Yavin 4 instead of Coruscant?"
Corran winced. "Can't you ever ask just one question at a time? Han Solo's a smuggler who joined the original rebellion, and I'm not entirely sure if I should tell you about Luke."
Obi-Wan massaged his forehead. "Why can't you tell me about Luke? Why are you people holding so much back? Why can't I get an honest answer around here?"
"Why can't you ask one question at a time instead of always asking three in a row?" Corran shot back.
"All right, then. If you're getting so annoyed, why don't you just give me a computer with the latest news on it and let me learn?"
Wedge spoke up, trying to reason with the kid. "Look, if we do that and then send you back, you could really mess things up. I don't know about you, but I would rather not be responsible for messing with time so badly that I cause someone even worse than Kyp to take control. We're trying to filter out information about people you meet when you grow up."
"So, you're saying that I'm going to meet this Luke when I grow up?" Obi- Wan asked, grasping at straws.
Wedge froze, eyes wide. "Blast. I shouldn't have told you that."
Obi-Wan grinned. "General, that's all the confirmation I need."
Hours later, Obi-Wan collapsed onto his bed in his quarters and thought back over the past events. All he had really learned from the men was that he was going to meet someone named Luke when he was older, what happened in Kyp Durron's past, and that they had not meant to call a fourteen-year-old from the past. According to Corran, there weren't many Jedi around these days, but the older man had refused to say why.
Now, Obi-Wan was faced with a real dilemma. His master was dead, he had no clue where he was, and a bunch of battle-hardened war veterans were asking for his help. He also had Corran Horn to consider. He was Nejaa Halcyon's grandson, and that alone was difficult to digest. He claimed to be a Jedi, and while he did carry a light saber and apparently knew how to use it, he didn't dress like a Jedi. Or act like any Jedi Obi-Wan had ever met. Except for Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan was finally able to let his emotions loose. Lowering his mental shields in a way that Qui-Gon had taught him to ease grief, he sent his emotions pouring through the compound, making anyone slightly Force- sensitive lift their heads and listen to the rush of raw pain flowing from him. Obi-Wan sat there for a few minutes until his grief was fully expressed, and then he quietly raised shields again, mindful of the tears running down his face, not realizing that every Force-sensitive in the base was crying with him.
Hearing the door hiss open, the boy turned and saw Corran Horn leaning on the doorway. The older Jedi's eyes were overly bright as he pulled a chair from the corner and sat on it.
"I never realized that you were hurting so badly." Corran whispered. "You should have told us."
"Why?" Obi-Wan asked bitterly. "You already think that I'm an unruly child that you have to deal with because a computer made a mistake."
"You really think that?" Corran asked, surprised. "I know Wedge. He would never have asked you for help if he didn't think that you could do it."
"How can you be so sure?" Obi-Wan demanded. "Maybe he's just desperate."
Corran sighed. "Look, I've flown with Wedge for years in Starfighter Command. He never sent a pilot into battle that he didn't already trust not to send a torpedo into his engines."
"That's certainly a relief." Obi-Wan growled sarcastically. He frowned. "You were a fighter pilot?"
"Yep. Before I became a Jedi. I was with CorSec before I joined the Rebellion."
"But.Jedi aren't allowed to be in the military. And you can't be older than five when you come to the Temple."
Corran winced. "Things have changed a lot since your day. The Jedi had to except all ages, or they would have been wiped out. Besides, I didn't know I was Jedi material when I was a pilot. I thought hunches were normal."
Obi-Wan laughed. "Force visions? Normal? That's a first."
"Hey, I didn't exactly grow up around Jedi." Corran said defensively. He opened his mouth to say more, and then shut it again.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Yeah, I know. Another thing you can't tell me about."