EPILOGUE

Luke Skywalker woke with a start. His head ached, reminding him of how close their escape had been when the Enterprise had disappeared into the Anomaly. The fire fight had been brief but intense. The Falcon had taken a hard shot on her port side and had sent him head first into the bulkhead.

He looked out the window and frowned at the darkness that hung like a curtain outside his quarters. They were gone, all of them, even the Borg. He knew their faces would haunt him for a long time. He thought of Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise. Now that was how a ship should be ran! He thought of the ships and crews of the alliance. All of them good people, dedicated, but they had been lucky with their rag tag approach with their war with the Empire.

But that was changing. As more and more people joined and better ships equipment and training became available, they could meet the Empire without hesitation. And he knew that would be soon. For the Empire was building a new Death Star. And they would not be so easily fooled this time. He could feel that.

It was then he thought of Vader. The word father was hard for him to accept. But he knew it was true. The feeling he had had when they had joined together on the Borg ship made him uneasy. For he had sensed a different Vader. Not so much of the fear and anger, but something that was not part of that dark path. Would he call it good? He didn't know.

He swung his feet to the floor. The metal deck was cold under them. He was getting tired of this. Tired of the ships, orbiting space stations, cold impersonal Droids. He had grown up on Tatooine. Yes most considered it a desolate waste land but still it was real, like Dagobah had been. He longed to breath real air, watch a sun set on the horizon, feel a cool breeze on his skin.

He had been shown the Holodeck on the Enterprise and thought that was something that could be useful. Maybe it wasn't the real thing. But it sure would ease the longing for something that was missed.

He eased himself off the bed and walked over to a chest that held all the belongings he had in this galaxy. He removed a fresh tunic and pants and put them on. Last he stepped into his boots.

He wondered if they had made it. He hoped so. The frustrating thing is that he would probably never know. He would always think that they did. It could be no other way. A Jedi wasn't trained to dwell on the negative. He pushed a few things into a duffle and tossed them on the bed. Outside his window a few stars blinked and the darkness seemed to close a little.

"Luke? You ready?" A quiet, soothing voice called beyond the door.

"Come in Lando." Luke said.

"Well, you look rested. How do you feel?"

"Well my head throbs a bit, but other than that I'm fine."

"The Falcons prepped and ready to go. Leia and Chewie are waiting."

"Good." Luke reached into the chest and pulled out a lightsaber, one that he had been working on for a while. He had finished it when he had returned from the Enterprise. He hooked it to his belt and smiled at Lando Calrissian. "Ready." He said.

"Good. Lets go get Han."

"What is that, uncle?" Renee pointed at the long slender object Picard held in his hand.

"It's an ancient weapon. The weapon of a Jedi Master."

"Jedi?" Renee plopped down beside his uncle and looked intently at the lightsaber. Picard loved that about his nephew, the endless curiosity pleased him.

Picard wondered how he would explain something to a child that he himself barely understood.

"A Jedi was a warrior, a diplomat, and a spiritual guide. Only a select few were chosen and trained as such."

"Well then what does it do?" Renee asked again pointing at the light saber.

"It's a lightsaber. A very powerful weapon in the right hands. The only way I can describe it so you can understand is that it resembles a sword, except , instead of a metal blade, it uses light or a laser."

"Does it work?"

"No. The energy crystal that powers it is missing. I suppose Geordi could fix it. But I don't think it would be right for me to handle such a weapon."

"Why not? Your a warrior, diplomat and spiritual guide."

"I have fought some battles and tried to make peace if I could but I don't know about spiritual guide."

"Renee! Your Lunch is ready!" A soft female voice carried across the yard to the tree where uncle and nephew sat under a large canopy of thick branches.

"Your mother is calling nephew."

"Will you tell me more later?" Renee asked hopefully.

"Of course, now go! Don't keep your mother waiting."

Picard watched the boy run into the house and set the lightsaber in the grass next to him. A cool breeze pushed the leaves and the shadows began to dance on the ground.

He had been home two weeks and only now were things beginning to settle down. He thought back to the moment the Enterprise, surrounded by Star Destroyers, punched through the anomaly and found themselves drifting in quiet empty space.

The few seconds passed like hours as they all waited for Data's report. Where were they? When were they? "We are at our original coordinates and date, sir" He had said. And it seemed like the first time in days he could relax, and he knew he wasn't the only one. You didn't have to be a Betaziod to since this one.

They had spent a week at starbase for repairs A week he spent giving endless reports and answering it seemed a thousand questions. He was glad that was over. Even now they didn't know exactly what it was that had sent Luke into our time and the Enterprise into theirs.

A whole other galaxy! He still couldn't fathom that. But how else could it be? Lives, cultures, histories. He considered himself an amateur archeologist and historian and he had barely touched their own galaxy. The most gifted minds he knew of were making new and significant discoveries everyday. And there were whole galaxies they would never know of, never discover. Life is to short.

He thought of the people he had met. Luke, Leia, Chewbacca and Lord Vader. He hoped their war would end soon. Continuous conflicts will ultimately destroy everyone involved. He thought of the American civil war. Almost seven hundred thousand lives lost and nearly a century to heal the wounds.

He picked up the Lightsaber and rose to his feet. He had promised Robert he would help today with the harvest. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, he thought. Another life, another time, a long time ago indeed.