Chapter 43
The next day, a news report came in to confirm what Gabrielle and I already knew. The Emperor was dead, Death Star II was destroyed and the Empire was in retreat all over the galaxy. Perhaps a month later a report came that there had been an Imperial and Rebel Alliance team-up at a planet name Bakura. All of us were in a mild kind of shock to hear that. All any of us could say on the subject was that stranger things had happened.
It would be another three years before anything worth mentioning would happen. Ryu turned six and started regular school with the other kids and Dieter turned eighteen. That day was particularly memorable. I had been playing with Ryu after school in a small park we of the colony had made.
A small reflection pool had been installed as well as native trees for shade and a thick carpet of native grasses. Furthermore, since our little town had been built in the temperate zone, we didn't have much of a winter. I had been continuing Ryu's education in the Force in little ways. He was now able to shield his thoughts quite well. Levitation of small objects was getting easier and his own techhead skills were quickly becoming apparent when he tried to build a low-level droid that almost worked. None of the non-humans on our base had elected to stay on but Ryu was almost able to understand the family droids. Warbler, Jeri, and Cori were delighted to have another person to talk to.
While in the park that day, I had been staring into the reflection pool when I heard a sound of wrestling from behind me. I turned to see Ryu rolling around on the ground with one of the less threatening indigenous animals native to our planet. It brought to mind what an Earth badger and a squirrel might look like if one were able to cross the two.
About the size of a full grown badger which by itself was about the size of a small dog, with a bushy tail like that of a squirrel. I didn't know the official name for the creatures so I made a contraction of my own, SQU-irrel and badgers as cr-ITTERS or Squitters. Now this particular squitter was about as tall as my six year old son and ask any parent worthy of the name, and they'll tell you that they would be scared spitless if a creature as big as the one I saw appeared to be mauling their son.
Drawing my lightsaber and igniting it I ran over calling my son's name: "Ryu!" As I got in range and raised my lightsaber to strike the squitter down, Ryu broke off from the wrestling match and stood in my way holding his hands out and saying: "Dad! Stop! She's my friend!"
This stopped me in my tracks as I saw my six year old son standing in the way of my lightsaber protecting a now trembling squitter. Deactivating my saber but still holding it in my hand, I knelt down to see there were no cuts or bruises on my son. I said: "I'm sorry Ryu; I thought that it was hurting you." He said: "That's okay dad but put your lightsaber away please. And she's not an it, she's my friend."
Doing as my son asked I said: "Are you saying you can talk to her," as I pointed at the squitter. He said: "Yes I can. She knows all kinds of things about the forests around here. Her name is Hhhccchhh." Not quite knowing what to do at this point, Ryu took my hand and held it out to the squitter named Hhhccchhh. The squitter had ceased trembling and gingerly sniffed at my hand. A few seconds later, it made a series of grunts, growls and clicks that I could almost understand in the Force but not quite. It sounded like a voice that was walking away while still talking.
I looked at my son who then said: "You can't understand her dad?" I said: "I can hear something but I can't quite make it out. Obviously you can and that's amazing." Ryu blushed and said: "Come on dad. It can't be any more amazing than you're Rising Punch that I've seen you do or the time mom told me you threw that had-hadou," "Hadouken?" I finished for him. He nodded yes and I said: "I can do those because I practice them. You can speak to a squitter and it comes naturally to you like the way I speak to Warbler. It's still something to see. I hope you continue to practice this new skill. We have to go now but we'll be sure to bring you back here again."
Ryu turned to the squitter, Hhhccchhh and spoke to her in its language. Again, I could almost make it out but not quite. I guessed I would have to practice with my son. As we walked away, Ryu took my hand and said: "Dad, will you teach me your Teras Kasi?" I said: "If you really want to Ryu, I will." He said: "I do, I really do." I answered: "Okay we'll start tomorrow if you want." Ryu practically jumped with joy and that was all the answer I needed.
That night after Ryu and Dieter were asleep, I told Gabrielle about what had happened that day in the park. She was just as surprised as I had been. When I said that Ryu wanted to start his Teras Kasi training the next day she said: "Can I learn too?" I said: "The more the merrier. I've already been showing Dieter the basics so he can better defend himself. He's as far as a non-Force sensitive can go."
So began our new training. As my teachers on Earth had told me, you can learn more about your kata and your fighting technique when you teach someone else and get to answer some of the same questions you yourself asked at one time or another. My teachers had been right.
Dieter joined in as an extra helper when he could but I began to sense that he needed to move on soon. His studies were as far as he could take them now. Only actual experience could teach more. He was well on his way to becoming the Historian I had foreseen nine years before.
While some of my people had taken to farming and were now harvesting regularly some others began to study the arts and sciences. Between my administrative duties which were light, I had taken to training some of the other children in the basics of Teras Kasi. None of them were Force sensitive but it still gave a kind of self-discipline to them. The next event came upon us as suddenly as Ryu's ability in animal speech had, we received a hailing signal.
The day the signal was received; I was busy instructing Ryu in basic lightsaber skills in my office. Wearing a blindfold over his eyes and using my lightsaber, I used one of my special seekers set to level one difficulty. He was quickly getting the hang of it but I knew it would be a few years yet before he was ready to build his own saber.
When my comlink went off, I called out to the remote: "Command, pause." The globe stopped its movement and floated above Ryu's ability to reach and floated there. I took my comlink off my belt and thumbing it on I said: "This is Ronin, what's up?" The voice on the other end was Ardra's. She was pregnant with her and Malec's first child and so sat the communication watch most days. She said: "Ronin its Ardra. I'm glad I found you. We're receiving a hailing signal on an open channel. Should I answer it?" I said: "See if you can get an IFF signal. I'll be right there." She slipped back into pilot mode briefly and answered: "As ordered Lead." My comlink went silent as I replaced it on my belt and said: "That's all for today Ryu. Go and see if your mom needs any help in the garden and I'll see you both later."
Deactivating my saber and handing my weapon back to me he pulled the blindfold from his eyes and retied it around his head to turn it into a headband as he said: "Okay dad. Love you, bye." I answered: "I love you too son." With that, he left and I went to the communications center. On my way there, I took a moment to reflect on the perspective fatherhood had granted me. In a way, I was already looking forward to the time when I owed no more to the future, when I could be just a man, and hopefully a Grandfather. The Force gave me a hinting that I should hide my weapon so I slid it into a special holster behind my back as I walked.
As I entered the communications room, I heard a voice coming from the main screen in slightly accented Basic say: "Unidentified colony, this is the free trader ship Selkar's Pride. Do you need assistance?" I recognized the face as that of a Gotal. One of the millions of bipedal species in the Galaxy. They have one eye that sees as well as two and a pair of horns that if memory serves can detect the Force as a buzzing sensation that can give them a headache. I turned to Ardra and said: "Any ID yet Ardra?" She turned in her seat and said: "The IFF is coming back with an ID that matches the verbal one given though there are signs it has been modified before, probably a smuggler during the war, but a free trader now."
She continued with: "What few sensors we have left can identify the ship as one of the nearly limitless configurations of Correlian ships. Decent weapon and shield arrays as well. Shall I ignore them?" I said: "Absolutely not Ardra, onscreen please." She pressed a sequence of controls and pointed to me as the image came up. I said: "Greetings Selkar's Pride. My name is Ronin Jayks. I'm the administrator of New Hope colony. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
The Gotal face said: "Greetings Administrator Jayks. I am Captain Selkar. We dropped out of hyperspace for a routine navigation check and found your relay satellite. Tracking its signal, we found you. Do you need assistance of any kind?" I could sense no duplicity on his part but then I hadn't encountered many Gotals either. I said: "Thank you for your concern Captain Selkar but we're all fine here. We're a small colony but pretty much self sufficient but we would appreciate any news of the outside galaxy. Our satellite has been quiet as of late."
At that moment, a thought occurred to me and I said: "Better yet Captain I would like to invite you and your officers to dine with us down here in two days if you can spare the time and then you can share your news with us." Selkar seemed to consider this and then said: "My officers and I accept your gracious invitation Administrator Jayks. Will 1800 hours two days from now be acceptable?" I said: "More than acceptable Captain. We'll look forward to it then, New Hope colony out."
The picture faded as Ardra turned to me again and said: "Is that really wise Ronin?" I said: "Relax Ardra, I couldn't sense any deception. Besides, it's been awhile since we last called everyone together. I would like a full turnout at dinner two nights from now. No uniforms of course. Right now though, call up all of our people with any kind of construction experience. We're going to remodel the old conference room into a banquet room. Bring the old kitchen facilities back online. Also, try and prepare as wide a range of foods as can be provided. Those that have the widest compatibility margins with the greatest number of biochemistries using the native flora and fauna please. Do you know the duties of being a host?" Ardra smiled and said: "I most certainly do."
For the record, I have to state that the people who chose to stay behind with me are some of the finest people I have ever worked with. In twenty-four hours, we had the main conference room in the old HQ building reconfigured into a banquet hall of sorts. After the main construction was done, the wives formed another crew on thier own and began to decorate the interior using the native plants.
At the request of Ardra Dreel-Dun, our Chief of Security, the table where we would be seated had little niches installed that could hold either a small blaster or the lightsabers that Gabrielle and I carry. One rather sizable skylight had been installed so the plants being used as décor might get the sunlight they needed.
Our farmers brought in some of their surplus fruits and vegetables as well as a group of the children having gone off and done some fishing. Between all the varied resources, we would have quite the little gathering of foods. We even had our first native wine made from some of the grapes to donate to the event.
As the Selkar's Pride entered high orbit, we were able to get a thorough scan to find it too large a ship to land by itself so when a landing request for a shuttle came in, none of us was surprised. I stood next to our landing platform with my wife and Malec in attendance as well.
I chose to wear a comfortable suit of black tunic, pants, and boots, Gabrielle wore the red dress from our first date. (It had stored well and my wife still filled it perfectly.) Malec wore an adapted version of his old dress uniform. He too had kept in shape after the main body of our base had departed.
The shuttle, a Lambda class, landed at exactly 1800 hours on the agreed upon day. The ramp lowered in a hissing of released gasses as the first visitors to our home arrived. Two Gamorrean bodyguards came down first with their axes held in belt loops at their large waists. After them came Captain Selkar himself, followed by five others, one human, one Quarren, one Ithorian and two Ugnaughts. I found the diversity both impressive and refreshing.
As I stepped forward to greet Captain Selkar and his officers, the Gamorreans stepped forward to block me when in a harsh guttural tone, Selkar spoke to the two and they stopped in their tracks and backed away to their original places by the ramp. As soon as Selkar turned to face me I sketched a short bow of greeting since I was unsure if Gotal shook hands or not. He returned the bow in kind as I said: "Captain Selkar. Please allow me to introduce you to my wife Gabrielle, and my assistant administrator, Malec Dun. Welcome to the colony of New Hope." Both Gabrielle and Malec stepped forward as I introduced them and duplicated my bow of greeting.
Selkar said: "Thank you for your kind welcome Administrator Jayks. These are my officers." He indicated each in turn. His medical officer was the human, his engineers were the Ugnaughts and his navigator was the Quarren. The Ithorian was a highly regarded botanist who had booked passage on the Selkar's Pride and had asked to accompany the Captain when he saw our planet from orbit.
Introductions complete, we started to walk towards the banquet hall. I started to perform a quick Force scan to see if any of the visitors meant trouble but then remembered that a Gotal's horns detected the Force as a "buzzing" sensation that usually gave them headaches. Completing my scan and receiving no warnings; I quickly suppressed my Force presence to prevent the Captain from getting a headache. Selkar said: "I do not mean to sound rude Administrator Jayks, but our scans indicate facilities far more extensive than a group your size requires." I said: "You're not being rude at all Captain Selkar. You see, we started out as the advance party for a larger colony group. When our hyperdrive failed unexpectedly, we came into realspace near this planet. We landed to see about repairs but found them to be too extensive for our group when one of our scouts found this place."
I continued: "There were only twenty-four of us at the time. When we explored the area, we figured it to be an abandoned Rebel Base from the war. The power generator only needed a few parts which our now useless ship could provide and so we were able to bring the power back online. The computer had been wiped clean so we just installed our ship's computer into the mainframe. Some areas had been in need of repair but overall the place was in great shape. Since our hyperdrive was shot, we tore our ship apart for materials and decided to make the best of it and this has been our new home ever since."
Selkar listened without comment. We arrived to the banquet room and took our seats. Selkar sat next to me and Gabrielle while the rest of his officers and his guest interspersed themselves among the rest of my people. Dinner was served in courses and took over an hour to complete. Among the small talk I said: "Other than the navigation check you told me about in our original communication, what brings you out this way?"
Selkar said: "Since the death of the Emperor, trade routes have been reopening all over the galaxy. Business to be done, credits to be made for those of us with the resources to do so. This particular shipment I carry is of repair parts for the shipyards near Bilibringi." As before I could sense no deception on his part so took his story at face value as we had dessert.
Later, as I walked with him back to his shuttle, he said: "I would like to stay in orbit for a few more days to finish some small repairs that have waited too long. If you are interested, I have cargo space for some produce if you have any extra you would like to sell. I myself would like to purchase some of your native wine. I know of some circles where it would sell very well. I will of course bring your percentage to you on my next passage through. Now that I know your colony is here, I think we could do good business together."
I said: "Thank you for your generous offer Captain Selkar. I will forward it to my people. I don't have much need of large sums of money but I think the colony could surely use it for its needs far better than I. You're welcome to stay in orbit as long as you need." Selkar waited until his officers and his guest had boarded the shuttle before he said: "As I thought when we first met Jedi. In spite of the horrendous headache you have caused me this night; your secret is safe with me. Have no fear." He turned away and boarded his shuttle before I could say anything more.
The next morning found me in my office. I had forwarded Selkar's offer to my people and they were collecting their goods for transport on the next shuttle up. Dieter knocked at my door and came in. The first thing that caught my eye was the blaster on his hip, a DL-44 if my guess was right. He had also taken to wearing a mustache/goatee like mine.
He said: "Dad, I want to thank you for all you and mom have done for me since my other mom died. I want to ship out with the shuttle that's coming in. I need to travel if I'm going to find the histories I need." I said: "Dieter, all we have done for you was done for love. You've been a good son to Gabrielle and me and an even better big brother to Ryu, that, and your nineteen now. You don't need my permission or anything. I'll put in a call to Selkar for you to see if he needs or wants anymore crew." Dieter said: "That'd be great dad. I think I'll starhop for a time and look for information while I'm at it."
I said: "I am curious to know where you got the piece though." He said: "One of the guys here made it using some spare parts. He even taught me how to use it." With that, he drew his blaster incredibly fast but I was just a hair faster as I drew my saber but didn't activate it. I knew my son wouldn't try to hurt me just as he knew I wouldn't hurt him. I noticed that he had filed off the front sight blade for a faster draw and it seemed a good thing he did.
I put my saber back on its belt ring as he holstered his blaster. I said: "Pretty fast son, can you shoot as well as draw?" Dieter smiled and said: "Yea dad, I can. I've found I'm pretty good with it too." I came out from behind my desk and gave him a hug. At six foot tall, he was just a little taller than me. Gabrielle had said more than once that he was as handsome as his father Dolan, had been. He left my office as I went to the communications center and put in a call to Selkar.
When I got home that night, Gabrielle was packing a bag of clothes for Dieter. The emotion was visible as I sat next to her and embraced her from behind. She said: "He's out with Ryu right now trying to explain why he's leaving. Do you think he'll be all right?" I said: "I spoke with Selkar and he said he'd be happy to take Dieter on as crew. He said he would look out for Dieter and I believe him. Besides, I think that between his mind and his blaster, Dieter will do fine." She said: "All the same though Ronin, we're losing one of our children." I said: "I know Gabrielle. But he needs to get out on his own now. We've done all we can for him."
The next morning came too soon it seemed. The shuttle landed on time and was loaded with some of our native produce in a stasis box that Selkar had provided and also six bottles of our native wine. Selkar came down himself. Since he had figured out that Gabrielle and I were Jedi, we didn't bother hiding our lightsabers anymore.
Gabrielle, Ryu and I walked with Dieter to the shuttle pad. Selkar came down the ramp and welcomed Dieter to the crew of his ship. We had one last hug with Dieter before he went up the ramp to embark on his own. Cori, his mother's R2 unit followed him up the ramp. She had been adamant that she go with him. Selkar gave us the signed forms to mark the beginning of a business relationship with the colony as he asked: "Is there anything else I might be able to do for you Jedi Jayks?"
I said: "Spread the word if you will Captain. We're looking for anyone, any species who wants a start on a new world. Artisans, crafts beings, traders, farmers." Selkar said: "I understand Jedi Jayks. The Ithorian wants to come back here someday and study the various plant and animal species anyway. Ithorians are nature lovers at hearts and I think he'll be delighted. I will also spread rumors of an ancient and potentially deadly power that resides here. It won't stop the criminal element from coming here but it will slow it down. Hopefully you will have a law enforcement branch of your own by then."
He gave me a short bow which I returned as he got aboard his shuttle. It promptly powered up its repulsors and took off. Soon it vanished in the distance.
Chapter 44
In the two years that followed, some things changed, some stayed the same. Selkar made regular stops every six months and took on more of our produce and wine. His ship was one of the few we started to see regularly. It soon became a tradition to invite the Captain and the officers of all in orbit ships to dinner and exchange news and general information. As Selkar had predicted, the wine found a home in the higher social circles and was beginning to generate a demand. Our produce being a little more common was in less demand but was picking up a following; money was coming in the form of our percentage from our produce and wine sales as well as a flat tax fee for utilities.
His first visit back, Selkar brought twenty people with him who wanted to settle there. In the order I met them they were a multi-armed tailor with materials for its own shop, a school teacher with the latest educational materials in their own computer modules which were then downloaded to our computer for access by all, three Ithorian ecologists including the one who had visited two years before, five married couples with a total of five children, three there and two on the way, a tavern owner with material to expand to an Inn and one older carpenter with an apprentice of his own.
Our base was about to expand into a village and from that moment on, we called it such. Since only the people who wanted to come here did, we were able to create a truly representative form of government. Everyone had a vote in their district and then their representative on the council was required to go with the majority.
As soon as the formation of the Council was complete, I began to quietly withdraw myself from the proceedings but didn't get very far when the council made up of some of my people and some of the new arrivals asked me to take on the duties of Constable. Ardra and Malec had two kids now and wanted to spend more time with them so I agreed to the new job so that Ardra could step down and be a fulltime mom.
I had to open another office in one of the few remaining buildings from our original prefab base units. It was big enough for five holding cells to be built into it in case they should be needed. What little crime there was, was petty and easily figured out between the Force and my image as a Jedi. When on the job, I wore my black pants, tunic and boots. This choice in attire proclaimed my intent louder than any badge could. There was no way to hide that my family and I were Jedi so we just rolled with the change in status and continued our lives.
Gabrielle and I had also continued Ryu's training in the Force and he was now able to handle a lightsaber quite well for someone his age. Soon enough he would begin construction of his own. By this time, our colony was getting a string of relay satellites that would tie us in to the galactic holonet in real-time with no lag as well as an upgraded sensor suite for scanning incoming vessels. Also, Selkar had come to me and asked me to represent him in the Council for a proposition that would benefit the entire colony.
Selkar and some fellow traders wanted to tow into orbit a large asteroid that would then be converted into an orbiting space station, complete with its own fighter squadron for security purposes. I did as he asked and the proposition was approved unanimously.
The station was completed in record time and acted as a command and control point for incoming vessels. The station began sending regular shuttles down and back for commerce and visitors thus keeping air traffic over the town quite minimal. I had already sent a message to General Naz telling him what I had chosen to do with the base. I used my old encryption codes to prove its veracity. The codes could be broken quite easily but I hoped the communication tech that got it would route it to the correct place.
My plan paid off but not quite how I expected it to. At first, I expected a call on the holonet but was quite surprised when a New Republic Cruiser entered orbit and sent a shuttle down to see me. The Council asked me to meet with the New Republic envoy first before escorting him/her/it to the Council itself. I waited at the shuttle pad in my black constabulary uniform. I felt a familiar life signature coming from the shuttle and was delighted to see that the envoy from the New Republic diplomatic corps was accompanied by none other than my old friend and former squadron leader Wedge Antilles. After exchanging information with the envoy, I escorted him to the council chamber and left him there to speak.
The envoy was authorized to offer us admission to the New Republic but the Council shot it down after a short debate. Those on the council who had been in the Rebellion with me, wanted to join, but too many people in their districts wanted no part of the new government. Too many of them remembered the collapse of the old Republic.
I escorted the envoy back to his shuttle while inviting Wedge to dine with me and my family that night. The envoy went back to the cruiser with his answer of membership and the standard invitation to dinner for the ship's captain and officers. I wasn't there that night but I heard about a rather lively, though still polite discussion between the ship's officers and the council.
When Wedge and I finally had a moment to speak he said: "It's good to see you again Ronin. I can see you've done well for yourself. It was quite some time before anyone gave me the code phrase that unlocked my memories of you and Gabrielle. After the main body from here joined us at Sullust, the word spread that there was a Jedi here but no one believed it except my buddy Luke. He's been way too busy though to check up on the story about you though. How have you been overall?"
I smiled and said: "It's good to see you too Wedge. Things have been going well. In fact, please allow me to show you just how well." His curious glance was enough to tell me I had his undivided attention. We walked into my home and I called out: "Gabrielle, guess who's coming to dinner?" She came out of the kitchen area and exclaimed: "Wedge! Good to see you again!"
Before Wedge had left originally, he and Gabrielle had made their peace with each other and become friends. Wedge gently shook her hand and said: "You're still a fine looking woman Gabrielle." She blushed as I took her hand from his and said: "You've gotten smoother Wedge. I want you to meet two others." Dieter had come in with Selkar for a few days while Selkar himself came in to take the post of station manager of the asteroid-station in orbit which also bore his name. I said: "Ryu, Dieter, come out and meet on old friend of your dad's."
The look on Wedge's face was classic! He said: "You're a father now? Way to go Ronin!" Ryu came out following Dieter. I said: "These are my sons Ryu and Dieter. Ryu, Dieter, this is Wedge Antilles. I used to fly with him." Wedge shook Dieter's hand and said: "I remember a Dieter Bree, any relation to Dolan and Teeyara Bree?"
Dieter was twenty-one now and fully grown. His voice, a little deeper than mine said: "They were my birth parents yes. Ronin and Gabrielle took me in after my mom died on a mission." Wedge said: "You've grown up I see. I remember them both Dieter. It was a pleasure to fly with them." Dieter said: "Thank you Wedge. It means a lot to hear that." Wedge knelt down to be at eye level with Ryu. I said: "This is Ryu. He was born after you left for Yavin 4." Wedge took Ryu's smaller hand in his own, gave it a light shake and said: "I'm glad I got to meet you Ryu." Ryu said: "Nice to meet you too Wedge. My dad has told me about you." Wedge stood up and joined us for dinner.
Afterwards, I walked with Wedge back to the shuttle as we made small talk. As we got to the shuttle, I said: "Your friend Luke Skywalker is welcome to come here if he wants but I don't think he'll be able to for quite some time yet. The Force has told me much has yet to happen. Take care my friend." He said: "Thanks Ronin, you too." Wedge left then and I never saw him again. I was able to keep tabs on his progress in the years to come but that was the last time we ever spoke face to face.
Dieter left two days later on a different ship headed towards the Corporate Sector. Just as Selkar had predicted, the true criminal element did come. The first major criminal was named Brachter. From the moment I read his name on the incoming list, the Force warned me he would cause trouble. I went to the Council with my suspicions and they told me to proceed how I thought best. I decided to wait until he made a mistake.
Brachter was a human criminal of the basest type. Whatever paid, he did. Narcotics, slavery, fencing of stolen goods. You name it, he did it. Not much was known about his past. What little was known was that he had been a Stormtrooper during the civil war. He had lost an arm sometime during his service. After being discharged for reasons unknown, he went into crime. As with so many things, it was known that he was a criminal but none of it could be proven. Since he wasn't big enough to warrant a bounty, he had been left largely alone.
Two weeks after Brachter's arrival, some shop owners came to me to lodge a complaint that Brachter was attempting to set up an extortion scam. This was all I needed to stop him. He had made his mistake. Two days later, I confronted Brachter as he walked out of the Tavern with his first 'payoff'. He saw me waiting for him and wasted no words as he drew his blaster and started firing at me. I ignited my saber and deflected the shots and closed in on him. As soon as I was close enough, I cut his blaster in two.
He yelled at me: "That blade! You cost me everything! I-will-kill-you!" I was too close now to really use my lightsaber so I went straight to melee as he threw a kick at my head. I blocked the attack and did a right hook punch followed by a left spinning back knuckle. The two hits connected and sent him to the ground as I said: "What are you talking about? I've never met you before today!"
He looked up at me from the ground and wiped the blood from his split lip. The hate was flowing from his eyes as he said: "You took my arm with that damnable weapon of yours! I was a stormtrooper aboard the Star Destroyer 'Conquest' when you were captured. I had only to complete that tour of duty before I could enter the training program for the Emperor's own Royal Guardsmen. You took my arm and my life that day. The Emperor's Royal Guard is culled from the best of the best stormtroopers in the Empire. Because you took my arm, I was rejected for consideration. Only perfect humans are allowed to join. Alien-loving scum like you never understood the Emperor's New Order. With a prosthetic arm, I was no longer looked on as pure human."
Brachter got up and threw an impressive attack combination that I barely avoided thanks to the Force. Even as I dodged, he threw a vicious side kick that caught me in the midsection. I absorbed the blow but was still forced to bend down at the waist in order to do so. Brachter followed up with a powerful elbow smash to the back of my head which sent me to one knee. With the blow still ringing in my head, I saw him take a couple of steps back and jump up to try and drive his cybernetic arm through my body.
His jump took him higher than it should have when I remembered from what little information I could find on him that he was originally from a heavy gravity world. I looked up to see him descending from his jump as I cocked my right arm back and focusing the Force and my intent I jumped into the air myself: "Shoooorrryyyuuken!" My Rising Punch met him in the air. My attack caught him square in the gut and proceeded to carve a bloody straight line in his chest to connect with his chin.
I continued up into my spiral and landed from where I had launched. Brachter had recoiled from my attack and landed flat on his back a few feet away. I winced at the burn that now ran the length of my arm. Brachter slowly got to his feet. He ran at me roaring like a wounded animal. I drew my lightsaber and side-stepped at the last moment to swing my blade and hamstring him with its tip. He fell to the ground this time and lay still. He rolled over and said: "Finish me! You can't leave it like this. Finish me now or I'll come again for you someday! I swear it!"
I said: "Swear all you want Brachter but nothing will change the fact that I defeated you fairly in hand-to-hand combat. Leave this colony and never return!" Motioning to the deputies I had appointed for this sort of thing, I said: "Keep him under guard and take him to medical to get patched up. From there put him on the next shuttle to Selkar's station." My deputies acknowledged their orders but had to stun Brachter before they could put the binders on him. Before the day was out, Brachter was gone and I went home to give the Force the time it needed to heal my injuries.
In the time since Selkar had become the station manager and representative to the Council, trade and population increased for a time and then leveled off. The next three years were quiet for us there on the colony. The year after the station came online, for a total of five years after the Battle of Endor, the last of the Imperial Grand Admirals resurfaced and very nearly defeated the New Republic.
Sometime after the last minute defeat of the Grand Admiral, the Emperor himself came back but was defeated by Jedi Skywalker. For the most part events left us alone. Trade would ebb or flow in time with events elsewhere but there was always something coming or going. The serious criminal element tried to move in a few more times but with the help of my deputies, we were able to drive them off with only minor injuries against us. That or mention of Brachter would get them moving.
When Dieter was twenty-four he came back for another visit where we met his new wife, a woman named Shulla. Together they had continued undaunted with the search for old Jedi history. They told me they had both met with Luke Skywalker and said that they had been amazed by the quiet, unassuming demeanor of the almost reluctant Jedi Master. After giving him what information they had, Luke asked them to continue with the search.
Dieter and Shulla stayed long enough for their first child to be born. They named her Teeyara in honor of his birth mother and returned to the Corporate Sector where they had made their home. Evidently, in his travels, Dieter had met up with the remaining family of Jex Torrel, the one time clone trooper. Dieter had proven to have a very good business sense and met Shulla in the course of his work. Using the money he made there he had turned it around and invested wisely and was now a rich man. As it turned out, Shulla was a granddaughter that had been born sometime after Jex's imprisonment. He told me that Jex had indeed taken my advice and reunited with his daughter and grandchildren after the civil war had ended at the Battle of Endor.
After he and Shulla married, they created an organization of Watchers to look after Jedi history, past, present and future. It had been great seeing Dieter again and meeting my daughter-in-law and holding my first grandchild. All of us, Gabrielle, Ryu and I were sorry to see them leave but it was nice to know that everything was going so well for them.
On the local scene, the Council remained an effective form of loose government and still, every week, the captains of all in-port vessels would come down to dine with us. What had started as a spur of the moment idea now had become an institution. The dinner inspired an air of informality between the colony and the ship or ships in-port.
As the population grew on the colony, so too did our database. Because of it, I had some advance warning of the next serious criminal to try and get a foothold on New Hope, a person known only by the alias of Gai-jin. The information I had was sketchy at best. Unknown species, unknown gender but a well known reputation. Like Brachter, Gai-jin did whatever paid. Up to and including murder for hire.
I saw the name on the incoming list and the Force gave me a very strong premonition of danger. Whoever Gai-jin was, they were secure in their belief that the law couldn't touch them. I went to the Council and advised them of Gai-jin. With what information I had, the Council authorized me to use any means necessary, up to and including deadly force. As I left, I fervently hoped I wouldn't need it.