Last time: Viran found a way to fix the galaxy and managed to get away from Dracul.

Now: Viran continues his quest to save his loved ones and the galaxy.

Chapter 3- Fixing the Past, Saving the Future

Viran had lost all track of time once he woke up. It felt like mere minutes since he arrived, but there was no way to tell what time it was. His body was still bleeding and bruised from Dracul and he had a hard time moving for a while. He had used pieces of his cloak to provide himself some basic first aid and apply pressure to his injuries. But the longer he was there, the more he realized that time flowed differently here then it did in the real world. Keeping track of the days based off when he rested for long periods of time and when he would explore the void, he was able to keep track of time in his own way. He did this for days and days on end according to his record keeping on a small notepad he had in his pocket. He had been in this void for about 5,504 days which calculated to be around fifteen years and maybe a month. And at no point during his time there did he feel hunger or thirst. He did feel weary and tired as he grew older in the void. His body moved slower than it used to due to the injuries that did not heal properly long ago. And now his searching had finally come to an end.

Viran learned relatively early on that the strange gates that were strewn about the world between worlds were portals to different points in time. It took him a long time to find the right portal. Fifteen years to be exact. The one where Oppie was still alive. The one where Sasha was still alive. He constantly thought of her during his time in the void and dreamed of the life he could have had with her and his child. But when he found the portal he was looking for, Viran stood before the gate, watching the scene play out before.

This was the day Oppie died. This was the day their lives were flipped upside down for good. This was the day Sasha was referring to. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out a data card. When they were planning their break in of the Jedi Temple, they had discovered that Dracul had first been spotted on the planet of Chikara shortly after Palpatine was killed. That was where his Sith Empire had risen from. That was where he made his raid toward Coruscant to tell the whole galaxy who was in charge now. That is where the past versions of himself, of Sasha, and of Oppie needed to go in order to save the future. So they put the coordinates on a data card and now Viran stood before the gate he needed to rewrite history. And that all had to start by making his presence known to the Empire at the Imperial Academy on a small planet in the midrim. A system that was near enough to Vestora that he could steal a ship and get there in a day. And a point in time that was fifteen years and a couple of months after Order 66. Taking a deep breath, Viran pulled up his hood and marched through the portal.

He had fifteen years to plan how he was going to get their attention. How he was going to save Oppie. And how he was going to start the domino effect into saving the galaxy. Clenching his fist around the data card, Viran took a step forward into the gate and through the portal. When he came out on the other side, he stood in the middle of a hangar of the Academy, as the portal closed behind him. There were stormtroopers, cadets, and crew walking around the hanger. A smile appeared on his face as he strangely missed the look of the stormtroopers. Well, he missed the shiny white armor and the finely pressed uniforms of the Empire. He had gotten used to seeing the dirty, war torn, re-painted, and partially put together trooper armor from his time. Taking a deep breath and shaking out his nerves, Viran prepared himself to put his plan into action. Choosing the nearest unoccupied TIE fighter as his get away vehicle, Viran moved over to it and stood at the loading ladder for the small cockpit. Raising his blaster to the sky, Viran fired off two shots into the ceiling above. That caught everyone's attention.

"Hey Imperial dogs," Viran shouted at the top of his lungs. His years of thirst was now showing itself. "Long live the Jedi!"

And that caused the troopers to charge toward him. Scrambling up the ladder, Viran climbed into the cockpit and immediately started getting to work on starting up the fighter. Even after all of his time in void, he still remembered how to fly. A smirk came to his face as he peeled out of the hanger, the loud whining of the engines behind him.

"I just have to get to Vestora," He muttered under his breath as he became a fugitive Jedi of the Empire and flew to Vestora.

After being chased away from the academy, Viran managed to escape the system and set his travel to Vestora. When he had been in the void, he calculated over and over again on exactly what time he would need to arrive to Vestora in order to change the events that occurred. And even with this dinky little ship, he wasn't going to make it. So summoning the Force, Viran created a fold before him in space. A fold that should place him in the Vestora system. Pushing the throttle forward as series of fighters were still chasing him, Viran launched forward into the fold and disappeared before the Empire's very eyes. Well maybe not fully disappeared, he did keep his transponder on as he still needed the Empire to come and get him on Vestora. But he wasn't in the system with the Academy anymore.

Once on the other side of the fold, the TIE fighter did in fact emerge into the Vestora system. Checking the time on the chrono, Viran noticed he still had plenty of time to enact his plan. Now all he had to do was land this ship on Vestora, break into the cantina, and wait. But in the meantime as the ship flew towards the planet, Viran tore through the small space to find any sign of water or food or even medicine as he could feel the last fifteen years catch up with him. There were a few ration packs and a bag of credits, but no water. There was also a basic first aid kit with some bacta patches and painkillers. Scarfing down the rations, Viran could feel his stomach grumble for more and at the slight satisfaction of having any sustenance at all. He then applied the bacta under his clothing to his injuries to provide some relief and took a couple of painkillers without water to help too. Once the rations were gone and basic first aid finished, Viran guided the ship down to the surface of Vestora once he was within range.

Entering into the atmosphere, Viran noticed that it was still the middle of the night. Passing over the town and the old apartments they used to live in, Viran guided the fighter over to the forest nearby the space port. Landing the ship, Viran shut it down, pocketed the credits, and climbed out of the small cockpit. Once outside, he took a second to breath in the fresh air of Vestora, something he hadn't done in so long. Then he started for town. As he walked, he could feel how tired his body was and how hungry and thirsty he still was. Viran pulled his hood up a little lower around his face as he staggered into town.

As he walked, he strangely found himself walking the same path he always had when they used to live there. The path he always took from the spaceport to the cantina to see Sasha everyday. A smile grew on his face as he realized that he would be seeing her again. Even if it wasn't his wife, it was still the woman he fell in love with. Once he reached the bar, Viran knew he had maybe another hour or two before the sun would rise and Sasha would arrive to open the bar. So he decided to wait nearby.

When the sun did rise, Viran awoke from the brief snooze he had taken to see twenty-five year old Sasha Monroe standing at the front door of the bar, opening up for the day. His heart skipped a beat as he stared at her from across the way. Her long brown hair, her stunning smile, her endless beauty. He couldn't help but feel joy as well as sadness as he looked upon the younger version of his wife.

After giving her some time to open up, Viran pulled himself to his feet from where he sat across the way and entered into the bar. He wanted so desperately to sit at the bar and talk with Sasha as he noticed her already hard at work. She seemed to notice him enter and flashed him a smile.

"Good morning," she said sweetly. "What can I get ya?"

Viran cleared his throat as he seemed to forget his voice for a moment and responded in a low tone. "I'll just take some water and a hot meal for now."

"Alright, if you want to grab a seat anywhere in the bar, I can get that started for you," Sasha said as she gestured to the empty bar scene.

"Thanks," he said as he made his way over to one of the many booths that lined the walls.

Sinking down into the cushions, Viran sat there the whole day. Eating until his stomach couldn't anymore. Drinking until his throat no longer felt dry and dehydrated. And resting until he felt his strength come back. He did that all day, keeping an eye on the time. But then the time came, the time when he hoped the Empire would show up. The time he hoped his plan would work. And then he heard someone enter the bar.

"Who the hell is that guy?" A very familiar voice asked in a low and confused tone.

Turning his head just slightly to see who it was, he felt his eyes widen as he stared upon his younger self from under his hood. He had to admit it was weird staring at the younger version of both himself and Sasha, but he felt tears rise as he watched the scene play out. As he remembered this day. He knew soon the bar would close and soon Sasha would have to kick him out. And hopefully soon, the Empire would make their move.

Sure enough, just like clockwork, Sasha marched over and asked him to leave like she would any other patron who was still there at closing time. She even dragged him from the booth with fierce strength. Strength he missed having in his life. Then the sound of TIE fighters came. It worked. It really had worked! The Empire had showed up. Now he just needed to be their distraction so his younger self, Sasha, and hopefully Oppie could escape… alive. Handing over the data card, Viran took off through the back door and into the alley way. Rounding the corner into the open street, Viran saw a squad of stormtroopers marching his way. Raising his hands, Viran surrendered to them.

While he was being arrested by them, Viran risked a glance over towards the bar to see if Sasha and his younger self managed to escape. Instead he found them at the back of the crowd that had formed. Sasha was trying to get to him and his younger self was holding her back. He frowned as remembered how much she cared for so many people, and how she used to blame herself for not being able to save any of the Jedi that died on the holonet. But even if it did break his heart to hurt her like this, he knew she needed to survive. Then he saw him.

Feeling his eyes widen slightly, Viran spotted Oppie appear behind Sasha and younger Viran. He was alive. He didn't die at the hands of Dracul's minion. Viran had done it. Feeling a smile appear on his face, he made eye contact with Oppie and gave a simple nod of his head. Shortly after that, he watched the three of them run away as he was dragged away by the Empire. His mission was a complete success. Now he just had to return to the world between worlds before he became a casualty of the Empire.

End of part 3.

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