"Joe… is what they said true?"
We relaxed in the cockpit, gazing at the glowing tunnel through which Stardust streaked faster than light.
"I do believe the Sith exist elsewhere, in other galaxies. But remember, where there is darkness, there is light. We are not fighting alone. The Force we know would not allow the Sith to prosper unchecked if they do exist outside known space."
"I see. Even when Jedi seem to disappear from the galaxy, there is always one left to continue the Light Side's work."
"Yes. The Force is the only player I know who can win dejarik with a single pawn."
"Or in your case, two."
We smiled.
"It is good to hear you again."
"How is my temperamental half?"
"Frustrated. Our lives somehow returned to us after being taken away."
"That is my nature. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When you were killed, life blazed forth."
"That is illogical."
"To you, perhaps."
We dipped into known space, and wept tears of joy to see our home intact, whole, and alive.
888
For another nine hundred years we roved the galaxy with only Stardust as our dwelling place. We stopped a Sith uprising here, quelled a rebellion there. We were unofficial Watchman and Watchwoman of the galactic byways. We saw civilizations rise and fall. We explored every inch of known space. Knowledge augmented our wisdom until there was little we did not know. We needed no translating device to speak the six thousand or so languages that erupted from colonies and cities alike. We hunted with the Wookies of Kashyyyk. Knowing the role they would play, we skirted the Outer Rim to teach the Mandalorians the essence of honourable combat so that history would not write them off as total barbarians.
We feasted Nal Hutta style with the Hutts, danced with the Twi'leks and swam with the Nautolans. We averted a fashion disaster by showing the Matukai how to dye their robes in grey stripes rather than the ghastly yellow they originally proposed. Our more amusing pursuits were rebuking the Geonosians for being hive minded, teaching a Barabel how to sing and tricking a Devaronian into selling his horns. There was a time Trandoshans and Aqualish hunted us. We showed them the error of their ways. We turned some vicious Tusken Raiders into moisture farmers by pulling water from the deserts of Tatooine. While haunting ancient cities we made fast friends with inquisitive Jawas by giving them maps to every abandoned moisture farm we found, thus discouraging them from pillaging the precious relics of the past that, like us, would fade with time.
We did learn. An artfully inclined Bith (whose debts we paid off) taught us the musical horn. We learnt the tribal drums from the Ewoks and a surprising number of uses – medical or otherwise – for common plants. The Chandra-Fan taught us to be more observant of our surroundings, using our five senses rather than the Force. We learnt how to really laugh with the Ithorians, how to tweak the stock market by observing the Rodians and engaged in profound meditation within the libraries of Ossus. We did not forget the Council: everywhere we went, when we interacted with another race, we felt the Force grow ever stronger with us. In turn, we sought out the Force sensitive and encouraged them to join the Jedi ranks. For the war to come, many who we converted would not survive, but their lives would help the galaxy survive. Ours was a task born out of necessity. We gazed upon the stars, and the stars blessed us.
888
At last we settled upon Corellia, the home world of humans. Sated from our travels, we gave Stardust a new ID signature and sold it as a freight vessel. Rumour has it that people kept stealing the ship and called it a Hawk of some sort. Now that that chapter of our life was closed, we cleaned our clothes from the dust of a thousand worlds and became hermits. Nestled at the foot of purple mountains, among the windswept plains, we knew serenity from the cozy view of our unassuming huts. At one time, Revan took a break from galactic conquest to visit, expecting to convert us to her cause.
"You have already been touched by the true Sith Empire, I feel their scars upon you. Join me in this effort, Stargazers. The only way to counteract this darkness is to embrace it. I survived because I became like them, and that is how I shall bring war to them."
I replied, "While I agree that betrayal is a powerful thing, this war is not about power, rather, the lack of it. Facing the Light and Dark Side, we realize that we have no power, only choice. You know this, Revan. You made a choice, albeit the wrong one, in order to survive."
"And I will live on!" she shouted, attempting to stare us down, "I will conquer this galaxy in order to save it from the Sith! There must be conversion, because our enemies' darkest powers are too much for those who obey the Light!"
Due to our wisdom and age, we stared the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy down. Jen reasoned with her, "And what will happen when Darkness drives out Darkness? Will not Darkness prevail? Light must drive out Darkness, Revan; else all your struggles shall be in vain."
Truth caused much fury in that tainted woman.
"Henceforth you are my enemies. You, who preach nonsense in the encroaching shadows! The galaxy is not like you, Stargazers. The galaxy does not possess the strength you do!"
"How little faith you place in the galaxy," I murmured, "How shortsighted is your vision. Do you truly believe that the galaxy will be saved by your actions, and the Sith annihilated by your hands? No, little Jedi, it is not you alone, but the sacrifice of many that shall be the galaxy's salvation."
In retrospect, my words were harsh in their stark precision and caused Revan to leave before we could counsel her further. Then again, everything happens for a reason.
In response to Revan's fall, in response to the disheartening visions we saw, Jen and I decided to have children. Our time was nearing its end, anyway, and it was better that someone younger watch over the galaxy. Moreover, children are the purest life-forms, holding limitless potential, probability, and the perpetual rebirth of redemption. My musings aside, people often wonder what happens when Jedi mate. For the sake of my children, I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say, the earth did move. Jen and I spent the next week nudging Corellia back into proper orbit while Corellians wondered why their sun suddenly rose in the northeast.
Bob and Alice have our eyes, except that Bob has his mother's strong sense of justice and Alice has my mild disposition. While we raised our children from birth to infancy, the galaxy changed. That damned jawless Malak, whose ambition was a poor match for his inferiority complex, went around bombarding planets with all the subtlety of a brat throwing tantrums. He earned my further wrath by destroying the Jedi Temple on Corellia. I saw the place of my childhood go up in smoke. I raised my hand to obliterate that fleet of his, to show Malak the wage of his sins, but the Force bent its brow and wagged its finger, reminding me that vengeance was not mine. Revan literally crushed the Mandalorians on Malachor V. Worse than this continuous genocide was that her Exile General tasted life without the Force, becoming a threat to the Force itself! However, I converted Sar-Salan, which is another story. That led to the Exile's trial and subsequent choices, which averted the death of the Force.
888
Well, you can stop reading now. Switch off that datapad and tell someone near to you that you need them in your life. People enjoy being needed. If you have a few minutes to spare, or want a topic of discussion for your sojourn to the local cantina, read an old man's rants. There is no pride, no arrogance left in me to say that Jen and I have caused everything to happen so far. It was all the Force's doing, and to this day I know not what it purports for this galaxy. While I type on this datapad I see the future. Our children shall make their choices, helping the galaxy survive for good or for ill until the Chosen One is born (so much for my ego). From there he shall bring about a New Republic to replace the ailing one we currently live with. Though beleaguered by Sith threats and inner turmoil, the galaxy shall be the stronger for it, wiser and more sober when it comes to dealing with cosmic evils.
I do not know why the Force takes such a long time to balance out, and it probably never will, but I do know one thing. There is redemption. There is a reason for living. If you do not feel the Force, do not despair. The majority of the galaxy lives without it and does just fine. Your personal happiness and fulfillment will in no way be lessened or increased by knowing the Force. If the Force has you, then do not follow the Jedi Code or the Sith Code. Each Code consists of flawed perceptions written by old men who lived in total isolation from what is useful and seemly to this galaxy. Jedi arrogance and Sith corruption begin when Jedi believe that what they are doing is more important than what everyone else is doing. What nonsense! If the Jedi seek to move the galaxy to their whim, they are welcome to try. If the Sith seek to destroy the Jedi, they are welcome to try. In this life there is no such thing as victory. There is only consequence, one action leading to another. Those who ignore the instincts and emotions they are born with are not truly alive. It is life that gives meaning, not the lack of it! Those who believe in a Code that brings about victory while ignoring consequence fall far, far short of what life is all about.
My advice to you is to be an eminently practical person, for there is a deep, core satisfaction derived from being useful to others. I tell you religionists, one may forsake the inadequacy and disorganization of everyday life to pray atop the mountains, but all that returns shall be an echo of you, and there is something frighteningly alone about that. I tell you scholars, the more you know, the less you will know, but never let doubt stop you from searching, because you will find it. I tell you all, when faced with a galaxy desperately in need of redemptive joy, yearning for the touch of another that can only be found in your fellow life form, you must let go of your pride. It is not such a terrible thing.
Though the Force binds all life, your life is not predetermined, because life is sometimes coherent as dejarik, sometimes disordered as pazaak – in the final analysis, things occur far too randomly for there to be any 'plan' other than your own. On that note, while increasing your own strengths, dear reader, choose what is edifying and what is uplifting. This universe has too much chaos and too much uncertainty, and I believe we are here to defy them with common sense and good judgment. All knowledge necessary for living is already given to you. Nobody ever begins as a blank slate – we all know how to love, how to trust, how to obey. All darkness cannot snuff a single ray of light, so I say to you, whatever you do, do it boldly, and you shall be set free from whatever would deny you the redemption that is… and always will be… rightfully yours.
An open door is set before you, and none may shut it. You need only realize that the door is there.