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Skywalker: Resurgent Ch.12: We Meet Again, At Last

Years Ago, Tatooine...

"You're not going to move me on this."

Kenobi looked ready to rip out what hair he had left in frustration before regaining control of himself. Instead, he simply pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh.

We were sitting on the couch in the small living room at Kenobi's shack. I'd hoped that we could work on my telekinesis today but hadn't objected when Kenobi had wanted to press me for more details on what I wanted for the future. I'd given him a more detailed rundown on what I hoped for in the next few years, including major milestones such at the Death Star being completed and other important events and people. To keep my hands busy, I was also doing some repairs on spare parts for Kenobi's vaporator. Not being the most mechanically inclined individual, I figured I'd be helpful and probably save him a trip in to town to get replacements if and when his broke down and needed a new part.

Given the current path of this discussion, I kinda wished that I had tried harder to avoid the topic entirely. Though I had to admit, it was probably inevitable anyway that we'd hash it out over this particular sore spot.

"I understand why you'd want to save him, Luke," he tried again. "And your visions have shown you the way to make it happen-"

"To clarify," I interrupted. "They give me insight into how it can be achieved. The exact circumstances I've 'seen' may never be recreated. The information they provide though? That I can use."

"Possible futures," Kenobi stressed slowly. "Insights into the past are one thing but the future is fluid; always moving and changing. You can't count on even the vaguest outlines to come to pass if even the smallest detail is altered. A simple choice of left or right may be enough to alter everything that comes after!"

"But seeing a pattern and analyzing facts can still provide useful information," I returned.

Kenobi now steepled his fingers in front of his face and leaned his forehead into them as he spoke next.

"Luke," he spoke as tones of sadness creeped into his voice. "I know he's your father. I also know what I saw in those recordings of his assault on the temple. And I'll never forget how he acted as we battled on Mustafar. Bringing him back to the Light may be beyond even you."

"And I believe differently," I replied calmly. "I don't just know there's a spark of goodness in him, I've seen it. I've also seen how that poor, damaged boy was never given the help he needed to come to terms with his issues. You're not at fault any more than the dozens of other people in his life are for what happened. The blame can't be placed at your feet any more than it can be attributed to any one individual.

"The fact is; the system failed him.

"What does it say about the future I want to build - the better Jedi Order we want to create - if we don't even try to save one man when we have so many advantages in doing so? When so much good can come from this one act of mercy? He should be the strongest example of why we should do things differently, not just another enemy to slay on the road to victory."

I paused here to let my words sink in before continuing. Kenobi's brow was furrowed in thought as he contemplated what I was saying.

"More than it being the right thing to do, I think it's also necessary. For a better future, a better Jedi Order, a better galaxy, I need to bring him on board with us."

And that wasn't an exaggeration. I don't claim to be some kind of socio-political genius or to have gone to the Light/Zero School for gifted kids or something, but I did have a fairly good grasp of people, events, and of the underlying themes and patterns of this universe.

Reading a lot of source material and debating with diehard geeks certainly helped too.

In any case, hours upon hours of holonet research had helped get me what I felt was a firm grasp of things. Comparing to what I could find with the 'Big Picture' as I saw it, I could only come to one conclusion; turning Vader against his master was one of the most important things I could possibly to for the outcome of this war and to ensure galactic stability.

If I hardened my heart and ended up killing the man (something I was hesitant to contemplate, even in my more ruthless moments of thought), it wouldn't help as much as some might think. For one, the Emperor had any number of servants he could throw at me in retaliation and any number who might make adequate apprentices or even just acolytes until a true apprentice could be found. Force forbid he find and train an actual apprentice instead of an attack dog to send after me. With his repositories of knowledge and storehouses full of artifacts, even a mundane Dark Side user could be considered a real threat to even a trained and prepared Jedi. Never mind what a truly talented individual might be capable of with a certain creepy old bastard feeding them select lessons and getting them high on Dark Side energies.

In addition to not wanting to roll those dice, I was seriously concerned about the psychological burden I'd be taking onto myself by committing patricide. Such an act struck deep, ingrained psychological chords in the human mind. It was bad enough when it occurred in the likes of a no-win scenario or was the result of sound and deliberate reasoning. Doing it when you know, you know, there might have been a better way?

It's enough to push a man over the edge. And for someone like me, in my position? Not going off the deep end was probably the biggest favor I could do for galactic civilization. The last thing I or anyone needed was for me to accumulate mental scars until I drove myself to the breaking point or left myself weak at a critical moment when a calm heart and mind will be needed.

"He doesn't want to be a bad person," I stressed, keeping these dark thoughts to myself. "Few beings wake up in the morning and think of themselves as the villain. He does though. He's been punishing himself every day for the better part of two decades. More than a few times, he's longed for death or arranged circumstances where he might be killed."

I held out a finger while making my next point.

"If I had to speculate, he's either still alive because his innate will to live is simply too strong, or he's convinced himself that continuing to live is his punishment for all he's done. He may have also convinced himself that the Empire is his fault, given his role in its creation, so he'll push forward to ensure it'll stand the test of time. In any of those cases, it's a pretty bleak worldview. He's not just embraced his darker impulses; he's become trapped in them.

"Realizing he has a son is the perfect catalyst he needs to be pulled out of that headspace. It's proof that not only did his bastard of a master lie to him but it's also just the thing to get him thinking of the future beyond his next mission or target. If I can get to him before certain, let's say darker, ideas can take root, then I can get him onto our side. Healing and forgiveness can come later. It'll be like climbing one mountain at a time when dealing with him but sooner or later, we'll climb them all."

Kenobi was quiet for a long moment after I finished speaking. I could tell he was thinking seriously about what to say next so I refrained from speaking again, instead choosing to tinker with the vaporator part while I waited for him to articulate his next point.

"I wonder," Kenobi mused idly. "If you'd extend the same opportunity for redemption to the Emperor, if given the chance."

That suggestion was so far afield of what I expected to hear next, I was genuinely thrown for a second and thus answered immediately and with pure honesty.

"Oh hell no," I disagreed immediately. "That one went off the deep end decades ago and cackled evilly every step along the way. He's totally flown over the cuckoo's nest and needs to be taken down. I'm a fan of decapitation via lightsaber, myself."

"While I have no idea what that last idiom meant," he replied, quirking the corner of his mouth upwards. "I believe I still understood enough based on context. I'll admit that it is quite a relief for me to hear you say that."

"I'm not going to put the galaxy at risk by granting everyone and anyone a chance at redemption," I assured him. "But I will do my damnedest to help those who need it. We can't save everyone but that doesn't mean we don't try to help as many as we can."

The 'old' Luke Skywalker may have had a penchant for giving everyone a second chance but even he had his limits. I like to think I was a little more world-weary and aware of people and systems than the old Luke was at this time and, hopefully, less prone to repeating mistakes. With that, I also hoped to take advantage of certain opportunities. Saving my father from a painful and regret filled death was just one such example.

"But I am willing to meet you part way on this," I continued our conversation. "I promise you that I will not allow myself to be captured by him. Even disregarding the possibility of being hauled in front of the Emperor, going with him is far too risky. And if it comes down to it... I'll do what's necessary to stop him. It'll be my last option, it'll endanger so many future plans, and it'll be years until I'm skilled enough to pull it off but I promise."

~Skywalker: Resurgent~

The Present...

A short while ago, Jabba the Hutt had sent out an order for an envoy to meet with the Empire in an official capacity. According to the intercepted communications and Alliance Intelligence reports, the purpose of the meeting was for the Empire to negotiate for materials and resources that were otherwise inaccessible to them in Hutt territory. Both Jabba and our intelligence experts apparently agreed that this was a bid by the Empire to make up for the sudden and massive loss of men and material brought about by the Death Star's destruction. They needed resources and dealing with the Hutts was an expedient way of getting them without straining their own stockpiles or resources too much.

Unfortunately for them, the Alliance was on top of the situation. The courier had been intercepted almost as quickly as he'd been given his orders by Jabba and had had his ship and crew seized. Rather than simply delay the negotiations by making the envoy disappear, Leia had been the one to come up with another idea. We'd take the envoy's ship and make the rendezvous ourselves. Once we got access to the Imperial factory where the negotiations were supposed to take place, we'd spring the surprise and trash the factory ourselves from the inside.

Thus, the Alliance began its plan to take down Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon I.

Already rather familiar with the plan, as well as Cymoon I, I praised Leia for the idea as well as its ambition. Success in this operation wouldn't just make the Empire wary of any other deals with the Hutts in the future but cripple military production in this sector of space as its largest production center was destroyed.

Since I was not only aware of how this operation was supposed to go in its original timeline, but also a ranking officer in the Alliance forces myself, I decided to add my own two decicreds to the operation plan and make a few adjustments. Thusly, we were a bit better prepared for the operation as Chewie departed with Threepio for their own role in the Falcon a day before we did.

It was good to be doing missions with the 'old gang' again. Kenobi was off doing his own thing and Chewie was on his own with Threepio but Han, Leia, Artoo, and I were making this journey together. From my own perspective, these guys were all icons in their own way and heroes a dozen times over. More than that, they were my friends now too. Every one of them filled a niche in our little group and I appreciated every one of them in their own way. Even Threepio, who really was a chatterbox whenever he was around, was balanced out by Artoo who did a good job of distracting him. Those two were always bickering about anything and everything but also provided us with invaluable support when we needed them.

Han was our daring pilot with Chewbacca as the mechanic/muscle. Both were crack shots and had a natural level of talent for the seedier side of life that the rest of us simply lacked. Han was a bit much to work with sometimes, given his streak of independence and mistrust of authority, but he was also reliable and steady in the midst of the most dangerous situations. His brash, often headstrong personality was tempered by Chewbacca's quiet wisdom and loyal nature. His dedication to Han, and by extension us, was plain to see and brought us all a degree of reassurance. In a suicide charge, I'd count on Han to be first, Chewie watching our backs, and for them to figure out a way to survive against all the odds.

Leia was more or less the one in charge outside of a combat situation. Royal and Alliance rank aside, she had a natural air of leadership around her that made everyone, even me, more ready to listen to her when she spoke. She wasn't a particularly strong military leader like Dodonna or Ackbar, not being a soldier by nature, but she could still give intelligent orders and have people want to follow them. It was her ability to read others and resolve conflict that was truly exceptional and let her stand out amongst us.

I might be able to lead men into battle and inspire fighting spirit but Leia was the kind of leader who excelled in making someone believe in what they were doing. While swapping stories whenever we traveled together, I found out that Leia had done an exceptional job in regards to building the Alliance's support base. I wasn't sure if it was an aspect of her own latent Force potential or not but it was a rare and remarkable talent nonetheless.

Speaking of latent Force talent, that was an overdue conversation she and I needed to have. Perhaps after the mission, I would have to make sure we had the time to sit down and discuss it. I didn't expect Leia to jump into Force training like I had but I fully intended to make her aware of her abilities as well as our blood relation. There were a few useful tricks I could impart that I was sure she'd be happy to learn. Bizarre circumstances aside, it'd be nice to have a cool sister to share these things with.

And speaking of sharing; teaching useful tricks was exactly what I intended to do with Han now that we had some spare time together. Unfortunately, Han was a... reluctant learner.

"I'm not looking to become a part of your secret cult, Luke," Han sighed, exasperated.

"First off," I began, also getting a bit exasperated. "It's not a 'secret cult.' If you've been paying the slightest bit of attention, then you already know that term is completely against what I'm about. Second, I'm not saying I want to turn you into a lightsaber wielding badass. Frankly speaking, you don't have the right temperament or skill set for it. What I'm saying is that there are some useful skills I can teach you that may seriously help you one day."

Han and I were hanging out in the envoy ship's small lounge. The ship was on autopilot and set for our trip through hyperspace. Leia was going over something with Mon Mothma over the hypercomm while we were still far enough away from any Imperials who might try to listen in, special envoy or not.

Han, as much as I liked the guy, could also be kind of a sarcastic ass at times. I wish Chewie was here since he seemed more like the type willing to listen which was probably a benefit of his age and innate wisdom. The big Wookiee was surprisingly insightful and considerate at times, which helped balance out Han's more brash nature. While I was happy to teach the big guy if he wanted to learn, he wasn't really my target audience for this lesson.

"There are techniques guys like you can use to protect themselves," I reiterated. "Mental exercises you can do on your own which may help you in a pinch."

"Guys like me?" Han asked, getting defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Relax," I said calmingly. "I just mean non-Force users. Unless you want to pretend you still don't believe in the Force?"

Han grumbled something under his breath.

I smiled.

"The techniques are actually pretty simple," I explained further. "I would like to try teaching them to you, if you'd let me."

"Couldn't you just teach it to Chewie or Leia instead?" Han asked in an attempt to deflect. "They're both much more interested in that stuff than I am."

"Actually, Chewie has an advantage over you in this regard," I informed him. "Humans tend to have difficulty reading and influencing non-human minds and vice versa. Since the overwhelming majority of Force using enemies we might face are human, he'd posses an advantage in warding off mental influence from all but the most powerful and talented. That, coupled with his age, should make him naturally resilient to such influencing. Still, you're probably right that he'd be more interested when I make the same offer to him."

Wasn't there supposed to be a Wookiee with Force potential out there somewhere? I'm pretty sure they were related to Chewie somehow. Lewbacca, or Lowbacca, or something? I'd have to check my notes later. I had likely already written that down somewhere but double checking never hurt with something so potentially important...

"Should I be ready for that?" he suddenly asked. "Someone trying to mess with my mind, I mean. This another one of your 'vision' things?" he asked, using air quotes to emphasize his apparent lingering skepticism over the source of my knowledge.

"Kinda," I admitted. "More like, I know these threats exist and I want you protected from them. I could even just explain the basic idea of it to you now and you could decide how much practice you wanted to put in yourself."

As aloof as Han was in our interactions, I could tell he was interested. He'd never gotten a look at how scary techniques like Force Persuade or Dominate Mind could be, but most people were naturally wary of the whole concept of mind control. Even a natural skeptic like Han couldn't help but be a little interested when told there was a learnable trick to avoid or deflect such techniques.

"Alright," he finally let out. "I'll bite. How's it work?"

"Awesome," I replied, with a grin. "First question; how good are you at counting cards in your head?"

Han's level stare didn't discourage my responding grin one bit as I launched into my explanation.

I was totally ripping this off from a technique described by the soldier, turned torturer, turned scoundrel, turned Jedi, Atton Rand. A few millennia ago, during the Jedi Civil War, he had been a capable soldier who'd joined Revan after he came back from the Unknown Regions with Malak and started calling themselves Sith. His special talents seemed to be in killing Jedi without the aid of the Force, which he had not learned to access at the time.

As he'd explained it to Meetra Surik, he'd figured out that by occupying his mind completely with some mundane task or overpowering emotion, he could block out the influence of Force users or even conceal himself from detection in a crowd. He used this to gain the upper hand on Jedi he had to kill and developed it to such a degree, that he was capable of warding off Jedi and Sith mental abilities entirely. Later, he taught these techniques to her as she reawakened her own connection to the Force. The greatest asset to this technique was that just about anyone could learn it, not just Force users. This was perhaps the strongest technique I knew of for a non-Force user to take on a Jedi or Sith and give them a chance to win.

While I didn't expect Han wanted to hear me teach him how to kill Jedi, he also wasn't against learning to defend himself from such attacks. Because let's face it; psychics are prone to making people nervous. The Han Solo of legend had more than one run-in with powerful Dark Side users in his lifetime and I couldn't always be around to protect him. Chewie I was less worried about, given his own innate resilience to such things. Nevertheless, I would be checking in with him at some point to see if he wished to learn it. And it would give me a chance to practice my Shyriiwook, so that's a plus.

I'd just finished giving the pair their first lesson when Leia came in with a datapad in her hand. She plopped gracefully onto an available chair before sliding bonelessly into the comfortable seat and letting out a loud and long sigh.

"Everything alright?" I asked. "You look pretty beat."

"Fine, fine," she waved off. "Just... processing is all."

"Alliance brass giving you a hard time over the comm?" Han asked.

"No," she sighed again. "It's actually good news, I suppose. Here."

She held out the datapad in her hand in our direction, seeming uncaring who took it. Han reached for it but I swiped it first by virtue of being closer. Turning the pad over, I was greeted with a wall of text. Blinking, I began reading through the first few lines. Realizing what I was seeing, a grin stretched across my face as I looked up to Leia.

"It's done then?" I asked, elated. "It's out? Since when?"

"Since about twenty hours ago," she answered. "It's being linked through as many data nodes, planetary and Imperial networks as we have access to, which is a lot. Mon asked a favor of the Bothans and requested them to push it through Shadowcast. It'll be popping up the galaxy over within a week."

I blinked again in surprise as I processed that. The Shadowcast network was the main reason the Bothans remained a major player in the intelligence communities of the galaxy. In simple terms, it could be considered this galaxy's own counterpart to Earth's own 'Dark Net' that had been created and cast out like a net over a significant portion of civilized space by riding the currents of the more mainstream holonet. The genius of it lay in how the Bothans had managed to digitally tie encrypted communications to commercial advertisements and essentially 'piggybacked' data packets wherever the advertisements would go. So not only was pesky corporate greed helping run the Alliance unknowingly (and thus, free of charge), but most of those channels used also were paid for by Imperial propaganda services.

Given how persistent those networks were about reaching every sentient capable of understanding spoken or written language, a week was a conservative estimate.

"For those of us in the audience," Han piped up. "Could someone explain what we're talking about here?"

"See for yourself, Han!" I said, cheerily offering him the datapad. "First edition, don't want to miss it!"

Han made a face at me as he snatched the pad out of my hand and looked at it for himself. After about a minute, Han looked up and at me.

"What's this? Your thesis paper?" he quipped. "I didn't think Kenobi gave you homework."

"He doesn't, smart guy," I fired back. "You're holding a weapon in your hand. One I fully intend to use to strike back at that wrinkly old bastard who fancies himself the ruler of the galaxy."

"Your weapon is an essay?" Han asked skeptically, looking the contents over again.

"Don't dismiss the power of literature so quickly, Han," I warned him. "Old Man Palps had control of the story for too long and used it to his advantage to cement his version of events and spread misinformation. Not getting their own story out was probably one of the worst things the Jedi did that contributed to their fall. So far as I'm concerned, the Alliance has been having only marginal success in fighting that misinformation. Now, it'll be different."

"Different how?" Han asked, scrolling down the text on the pad.

"Because we didn't have any Jedi like Luke before," Leia took over explaining. "Someone who is not only familiar with the subject material enough to not make a serious blunder but also willing to share information like he is. For all the good they did, the Jedi were a very secretive bunch. Now, we have someone who can credibly start to fight back against all the secrecy and misinformation."

"And start to get people more familiar with this cosmic power they live with," I added. "Fear is one of the Sith's and Palpatine's greatest weapons. By shining a light where he'd never expect us to, we can start pushing back that fear and replacing ignorance with some knowledge. Curiosity will be as much our weapon in this case as the words themselves. You'd be absolutely amazed at how much detail has been forgotten or left out of history texts involving Jedi and Sith. If we weren't currently in the middle of a galactic civil war, I'd consider publishing for profit."

And it didn't hurt that I was focusing more on recent history at the moment. People would be more willing to believe my writings if I alluded to recent events and individuals that people are still alive to remember. As much as the Empire had worked to suppress the good image the Jedi had built up for themselves, they couldn't stop people from remembering. Not everyone and not everywhere. Living memory will feed my credibility for now and give me ground to stand on as I reached further back into history as time went on. While my sources for events millennia ago were less available to folks today, my intent was to draw a tapestry for my readers and let them see where we came from and how we got here.

I let out a snort of suppressed laughter as Leia snatched her datapad out of Han's hands and told him to get his own copy. The two began another bickering session until Leia just transferred a copy over to another datapad so Han could read it himself.

'Oh Palpatine,' I laughed mentally while, watching my two friends with bemusement. 'Will you be able to resist becoming a reader yourself once I begin diving into Sith lore? I wonder what you will have to say for yourself once people begin to ask awkward questions?'

The thought of teaching Darth Sidious about the legacy of his own cult amused me more than it scared me. The man doubtless had a substantial collection of Sith artifacts stashed away somewhere and knew plenty already. How much of that information was useful, I wonder? How many Sith talked about their failures over their successes? Those failures, which were going to be the whole point of my writings on the Sith?

As amusing as it was though, I still had the presence of mind to be worried about consequences. Which was probably why I couldn't seem to rid myself of that small kernel of fear within me as I had just committed to reveal a large source of Sith knowledge outside of that madman's control.

~Skywalker: Resurgent~

We arrived in system and landed without any issue. Transmitting our clearance codes, we held our breath for a bit as our stolen ship was scanned over a dozen times from different locations on the surface and the orbital station. Eventually, we got the clearance to land on the designated landing zone with complimentary warnings to not deviate from our course.

A short time later, I was descending down the ramp after Han with Leia to my right and Artoo following along behind us. There was the expected squad of stormtroopers there to stand guard but at the head of them was a trio of officers in their grey uniforms and caps. Two were younger looking but the one standing between them was clearly much older and had more ornamentation on his uniform, pegging him as the guy in charge. A protocol droid with a bulbous head stood beside them and a bit behind, simply observing until called upon.

Leia and I were wearing typical Hutt ceremonial armor with a concealing helmet, since she was very recognizable among Imperials and I was almost certainly a wanted man myself by this point. We carried the typical halberd/blaster combination staves that were typical of ceremonial Hutt guards and looked more intimidating than they were deadly. While the idea of a polearm/firearm combination seemed interesting when I'd first seen it, reality fell far short of my imagination. The poorly weighted and seemingly decorative weapon rested heavily against our shoulders as we marched behind Han.

"Welcome to Cymoon I and Weapons Factory Alpha," the lead officer stated loudly and clearly as we descended the ramp. "To whom do I have the honor of addressing?"

Han had insisted that if he was going to do this, they were going to let him act in a way he saw fit as someone who'd actually worked for Jabba and knew what was expected of an emissary. We'd agreed to this well in advance, as Han explained that the Imperials would get suspicious if he didn't act as authentic as possible in this circumstance. He had to play on their expectations as much as possible to get them to let down their guard.

"I," he began grandly, sweeping his arms open wide. "Am the official emissary of his High Exaltedness, the Illustrious, Jabba the Great. Mightiest of all Hutts, Master of Tattooine, and Grand Warlord of the Outer Rim. But can call me Han. That is, Captain Han Solo."

'To Han, 'authentic' seems to mean acting like a total showboat,' I thought amusedly.

"Identity confirmed," a protocol droid informed everyone present. "Emissary: Han Solo. Small-time smuggler and known associate of Jabba the Hutt."

"Woah, woah, 'small time?'" Han objected. "Better update your droid's databanks. There should also be a 'captain' in there somewhere."

"I am Overseer Aggadeen," the lead officer identified himself, seeming to ignore Han's remark. "Your arrival was expected. If you-"

"Pleasure to meet 'cha, Aggie!" Han interrupted him and grasped the man's hand in greeting. "Real pleasure! Been working for Jabba for a couple of years now, so I'm sure you've heard of me."

"I'm afraid we don't hear much of smugglers or gangsters in this sector unless they're being executed," the Overseer informed dryly, removing his hand from Han's grip. "Your guards are free to remain at the ship but if they insist on coming along, they'll have to turn over their weapons. This is a secure facility and no weapons are allowed, even into the administration sector."

"No problem at all!" Han waved off. "These boys ain't got a problem with it either; do ya, fellas?"

Han was really hamming it up with his performance here. Still, everything seemed to be going well enough so far. With total silence, we handed over the cumbersome ceremonial weaponry to the stormtroopers present. After disarming ourselves, we fell into position behind Han while the a pair of armed stormtroopers fell into position behind us.

"Is that everything?" a skeptical looking lieutenant asked, looking at us and Han.

"Hey," Han said, holding his arms out. "What you see is what you get. Why would I come to a negotiation armed?"

The officer gave a skeptical look before holding up a scanning wand and running it over each of us for a few seconds. After completing his scan, the lieutenant gave a thin-lipped nod of assent to the Overseer, apparently content with the results of his scanner.

With a thin veneer of courtesy, Aggadeen invited us to follow him to the conference room where the negotiations would take place. Along the way, the rest of the party broke off until it was just the two armed troopers behind us and watching for any excuse to shoot us. As we ventured down the passageway and listened to the Overseer droll on about the efficiency of 'his' factory and the levels of output, I kept a wary mind's eye on the two troopers behind us as well as observing the sheer scale of production as I watched a factory floor where it looked like a dozen AT-STs were having armored plating installed over their cockpits. Whatever else this place was, it certainly looked impressive.

"This facility is a testament to Imperial efficiency," Aggadeen droned on. "Fully automated. Capable of providing the Imperial Armed Forces with any and all equipment necessary to conquer whole worlds. Walkers, blasters, armor, even fightercraft. Factory Alpha operates on a level the Outer Rim worlds simply cannot match."

"Real impressive," Han assured him, still using an aloof tone. "Even more striking considering how that even with all of this," he gestured to the factory floor below us. "You still had to reach out to the Hutts to make up for recent losses. I should warn you; Jabba's a tough negotiator and he's left me with strict instructions. Your guy isn't gonna have an easy time here."

"There will be no negotiations, Mr. Solo," Aggadeen replied coldly. "Upon arrival, the representative will state the Empire's demands which will be accepted by you as the Hutt's envoy. The Empire is vast. We simply have no time to cater to every small-time smuggler and two bit crime lord who thinks themselves worthy of attention."

"Catering to criminals at all isn't the Empire's usual style," Han pointed out, seeming to take no offense at the Overseer's words. "How many credits did the Empire lose when the Death Star blew up? How many zeroes in that price tag? All those years of construction, atop of the loss in equipment and personnel? The fact that you're reaching out to 'small-time smugglers' and 'two bit crime lords' means you can only be desperate. Which means your position isn't so strong as you like to claim. Or am I wrong?"

Aggadeen clenched his jaw hard and I felt the stormtroopers behind us stiffen and tighten their grips on their weapons at Han's words.

'Guess he touched a nerve there,' I thought. 'Just don't overplay our hand here, Han...'

Fortunately, it seemed our little guided stroll was about to come to an end. We arrived at a nondescript looking door, barely any different from the dozens we'd passed on the way here. Aggadeen stopped in font of it and turned stiffly to face us, likely still put out by Han's remarks and having to take lip from him as an 'emissary.'

"You may wait inside while the Empire's representative makes his way here," he informed us. "There's-"

"Nah, nah, nah," Han tutted, interrupting him. "This ain't gonna work."

"Excuse you?" Aggadeen asked, clearly peeved at being interrupted.

"I'd prefer we do our talking elsewhere," Han said, stroking his chin. "Like, say... on the factory floor?"

"The factory fl-" Aggadeen repeated, incredulous. "Have you taken leave of your senses? Why would we ever conduct any sort of business down there?"

"You said it yourself, Aggie," Han said, smile turning vicious. "This isn't a negotiation."

Han suddenly swing his fist forward, landing a punch right in the Overseer's gut and stunning the older man while sending him backwards into the wall.

Not giving the stormtroopers a chance to respond, Leia and I both spun quickly and set upon our armed guards. My trooper was taken completely unawares as I grabbed his blaster rifle and ripped it out of his hands while kicking him hard at the spot just between the torso and gut section of his armor. The trooper stumbled back and attempted to recover but was too slow as I rushed him and slammed his helmeted head into the nearby wall. While somewhat protected from trauma, the blow still sent the trooper's head rattling inside the helmet like a bell. I repeated the attack one more time before letting the trooper slump to the ground, dazed but still clearly consious. My newly acquired blaster rifle fixed that as I turned it on its previous owner and fired two stun shots into him.

We'd discussed it before the operation and had agreed that while we weren't against killing for the sake of the mission, stunning had the benefit of not being nearly as loud or messy. Thus, we'd avoid leaving damaged armor bits, charred flesh, and a peculiar burning smell in our wake as we bought ourselves more time for the operation.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Leia had chosen a more 'blunt' approach and had decided to use her helmet as a weapon to attack her target. Crude, though I couldn't argue with the results as even with his helmet on, those blows must've still hurt. Worse was when the beaten trooper had Artoo roll up to him and give him a serious shock with his extended stun pike, putting him down for the count. Leia scooped up the fallen trooper's weapon a moment later, picking up a blaster pistol and passing it to Han as she did so.

Han wordlessly accepted the blaster pistol and made a quick examination of the weapon, checking the power pack and nodding in satisfaction as he powered it up.

"What kind of envoy are you?" Aggadeen sputtered, having recovered from being knocked back and staring incredulously at us.

Han levelled the blaster pistol between the Overseer's eyes and gave an insufferable smirk as he replied;

"The Rebellious kind."

"Nice one," I complimented him, unstrapping the uncomfortable armor I was wearing and choosing to go in just the plain shirt and pants I had underneath.

"Now," Han continued. "How's about you show us where the main power core for this facility is located, Aggie?"

"You're mad," the shocked Overseer said, seeming to regain some of his nerve. "All of you! Weapon's Factory Alpha is one of the most secure and guarded locations in the sector! What do you think you'll accomplish with this besides your deaths?"

"Don't you worry about what we're here for," Han said, pressing the barrel of the blaster against Aggadeen's forehead for emphasis. "Just point us in the right direction."

Aggadeen bit his lip and I could see beads of perspiration begin to form on his brow as he stared back at Han, terrified but defiant.

"Hard way it is then," Han sighed, stepping back a pace while keeping his weapon covering Aggadeen. "Artoo?"

Said droid warbled and rolled towards the cowering Imperial. Said officer looked contemptuous at the little droid until Artoo extended his electrified stun pike once again. I found it more than a little amusing that he seemed to be aiming to jab the Imperial in the groin this time as small arcs of the electric charge wrapped around the deceptively harmful weapon.

"Alright, alright!" the Overseer cried out as he tried to press himself harder against the wall and away from Artoo's advance. "Sublevel One, east end of the complex directly accross from us!"

"Thanks, Aggie," Han replied cheerily. "Anyone else care to do the honors?"

Before I could so much as raise my blaster to stun the prisoner, Leia stepped up and sent the man sprawling to the side with a mean looking left hook.

"You know we have a stun setting for that, right?" I asked, hitting the Overseer with such a blast for emphasis. "See?"

"I know," she replied simply, rubbing her left knuckles.

"Nice," Han complimented, smirking. "Let's move."

As quickly and as quietly as possible, we deposited the fallen bodies and our discarded armor pieces in the conference room to get them out of sight before proceeding deeper into the facility towards our objective.

~Skywalker: Resurgent~

"That's our target," Leia stated.

A rather unnecessary statement, given the sight of the thing. The power core for the factory was one level below the main factory floor and seemed to be an almost stereotypical example of such devices with large columns and parts resembling a turbine of some sort. And as seemed per the norm for massive power sources, it hummed loudly and even glowed in certain areas, casting odd shadows as it contrasted with the standard lighting above us.

The sounds of industrial equipment did an excellent job in muffling our progress as we'd passed through the factory floor to reach our destination while encountering only mouse droids, which were harmless for the most part, and automated machinery. We'd hurried to get ourselves out of sight and encountered a sign clearly written in Arubesh that pointed us to where we were now.

"Artoo," I said, pointing to the main console in front of the generator. "You're up, buddy."

Letting out an excited whistle, the diminutive astromech rolled up and plugged himself into the droid jack on the side of the control station. As bringing along copious amounts of explosives would've surly ended this mission before we'd ever gotten inside, Artoo was going to arrange a meltdown of the main reactor for the factory as well as sabotaging a few other things, which I'd made the suggestion to do during the planning phase.

"How much time do you think you'll need?" Leia asked Artoo after a moment.

Artoo warbled an answer.

"Pretty quick, all things considered," I remarked. "Care to pass me my lightsaber, buddy?"

Artoo beeped an affirmative as one of the blue panels on his domed head slid open, revealing the hollowed out compartment which perfectly concealed my lightsaber within. Hardly surprising, considering the man who'd put that compartment in the little droid's chassis had done so to hide this exact same weapon within it. I'd been especially pleased when I'd first started making an inventory of Artoo's features and modifications and uncovered that particular compartment. Not only did it contain a hydraulic spring capable of launching my weapon towards me in an emergency but it was also shielded to avoid weapons scans. This ensured I could bring it along for the mission with minimal risk.

"And now that things are under control here," I began, plucking my preferred weapon from the compartment and attaching it to my belt. "You guys think you can stand guard here for a minute while I look into something?"

"'Look into something?'" Han repeated, glancing around a corner for any sign of trouble. "Luke, now's not really a good time to take in the sights."

"Agreed," I replied, already moving in the direction of a stairwell we'd passed on the way here. "But this seems important. Don't worry; I won't be far and I'll stay out of sight."

"This one of your Jedi things too?" he sarcastically asked.

"Pretty much," I shrugged. "I'll only be a minute. Don't start blowing this place up without me."

"No promises!" Leia called out as she was examining a wall mounted schematic of the facility.

I let out a huff of amusement as I rechecked the blaster rifle I was still carrying and set off for the stairwell. I expanded my senses outward while looking for my quarry and while keeping an eye out for any guards or workers I might stumble across. Confident in my direction, I set off at a brisk pace for the lower levels of the factory.

A short time later, as I was walking cautiously down said stairway, I realized I was closing in on my intended destination once I could hear the sounds of talking. It was loud enough for me to hear it even through the duracrete walls and durasteel door. I could make out many voices with differing dialects and at least two distinct languages. Reaching the bottom of the steps, I opened the door into Sublevel Two. The lighting seemed dimmer here and the facilities seemed far less immaculate than the administrative area or even the factory floor. It still didn't hamper my vision to the sight that greeted me as I reached the source of the chatter.

I'd found Weapons Factory Alpha's secret workforce.

Twi'leks, Ithorians, Torgruta, Zabrack, even a small huddle of Jawas as well as some species I didn't quite recognize. They all huddled in small groups mostly separated by species, although it wasn't always the case. But regardless of species, they all shared similarities in how they wore dirty, plain, and often ripped brown and grey coveralls. They also all looked terrified of me standing there with my blaster out.

"'Fully automated' my ass," I muttered. My heart clenched at the sight of them all and I repressed a spike of rage at what I was seeing. Even with meeting and talking to the former slaves I'd rescued, sights such as this would likely always struck a dark chord with me.

Stepping forward to begin calming and freeing them, a sudden interruption stopped me in my tracks.

"Hey!"

I barely turned to look at the man who was stomping towards me. If I didn't already know what he was, what he was wearing and carrying would've made it obvious. He was a large, hairy human man with a vaguely Imperial looking uniform, but in brown with his hairy arms left bare and an object that looked uncomfortably like a thick lightsaber hilt in his hand.

"Get away from those cages!" he barked. "Unless you'd prefer to-"

That was as far as he got before I ripped the object he was holding out of his hand with the Force and caught it in mine.

The slave keeper gaped as I examined the device in my hand curiously and with a deceptive calm. Flicking the switch on the side, I activated it. A thin cord shot out of the end and seemed to almost instantly ignite with a fiery glow until the cord was fully extended and sparked and sizzled against the ground beside me.

"Of course it's a whip," I observed aloud with a cynical tone. "How could you expect them to obey you any other way?"

The keeper sputtered a response but whatever it was he was trying to say, I didn't feel like hearing it. Instead, I felt my anger rising to the surface within me. I could only think of the scared faces of the people in that cage beside me, the faces of Duella and the other slaves whom I saved from Crimson Jack...

What came next happened too fast for conscious thought. I snapped my arm up and sent the whip towards the detestable man. The end snapped loudly against the exposed skin of his upper left arm, sending the man stumbling backwards with a loud yelp.

He hardly had time to spit a curse at me when I snapped the whip a second time, this time aimed at his legs. The wretched man yelled and squealed again as he fell onto his ass and cried about the burn mark that had afflicted his calf and had cut right through his pants. Not waiting for the slave driver to find his courage, I lashed him twice more and sent him scrambling on his hands and knees back in the direction he came from and away from the slave pen.

Not wanting the slaver to sound an alarm, I used my free hand to bring up my stolen blaster and fire a stun shot before he scrambled out of sight. The electric blue bolt struck the slaver in the ass and sent him slumping face first into the ground.

'Perhaps not the most Jedi thing to do,' I contemplated. 'But justice comes in many forms. I have neither the time, not the desire to torture that man but there's something still satisfying about sending him scampering away with the same tool he abused others with.'

I believed that. I know I did. This wasn't me giving in to anger... I was certain.

I flicked off the whip and watched as the reddish orange glow faded and the cord retracted quickly into the hilt. With a snap and click, it was just an oversized handle again. While the thought of dropping the cruel device or even hurling it away was each appealing in their own way, I reluctantly decided it was something worth holding onto and stowed it in one of my pockets. If nothing else, it was a unique weapon and worth studying if I should ever encounter an actual lightwhip.

Turning back to the gate of the large cage, the people inside cringed and backed away from it upon my approach. Unhooking my lightsaber and igniting it in a well practiced motion, I swiped my arm out and destroyed the large locking device over the cage door. Pushing it open with the Force, I kept my lightsaber ignited as I looked to the occupants and spoke to them directly for the first time.

"I'm Commander Luke Skywalker, with the Alliance to Restore the Republic," I declared. "We're about to blow this factory to scrap by setting off the reactor. Come with me if you want to live."

~Skywalker: Resurgent~

Guiding everyone back to Sublevel One and the main power core, I returned to where I had left my companions. I was greeted with the sight of Leia looking intently at Han and the smuggler looking like he was attempting to deflect or change the conversation.

"Um," he let out. "Maybe now's not the best time..."

"Sorry to interrupt," I said, not sounding sorry at all. "But playtime's over. You two can flirt later."

I was amused to see both of them redden slightly at my remark. Both looked ready to retort with something, likely a denial, but were distracted by the hunched and dirty crowd of aliens behind me.

"Making friends, I see," Han remarked, examining the crowd.

"We're not leaving them behind," I stated firmly.

"We've got the room. It'll be tight but we won't need it to be for long," Han agreed, likely running mental calculation's on the Falcon's life support capabilities. Since we only had to make it a short distance to rendezvous with the Resurgent, it shouldn't overtax the life support systems.

"Artoo finish yet?" I asked, observing some of the braver looking slaves arming themselves with tools and whatever sort of weapons they could improvise from the environment. There was no telling if they'd encounter more Imperials on their way out and I wasn't looking to get them killed while trying to free them, so I silently approved this initiative.

Said droid warbled a response as he disengaged from the main console and rolled over to us. He'd triggered a cascade of failures in the electronic control systems and it was only a matter of time until the reactor went critical. Unlike in the original operation I remembered, I had also advised him to begin equipment malfunctions throughout the production lines. Fires would soon be breaking out as high intensity plasma welders began to fire out of control and the fire suppression system failed to activate. If the Imperials here were talented and a bit lucky, they could stop the reactor from going critical. However, I didn't fancy their chances if the facility was burning down around them while they did so. Smoke and heat were even deadlier killers at times than actual fire.

"Time we called our ride then," I said. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," Han repeated, pulling out his comlink. "Chewie, you there?"

Our faithful wookiee friend responded promptly, confirming his status. Chewie had landed the Falcon on Cymoon a day ago and had been lying in wait for our call ever since. I wasn't sure how Threepio had ended up alone on the ship originally since he was by no means a great pilot but I knew Chewbacca would have little trouble in evading Imperial patrols and sensors. He was almost as good a pilot as Han, although Han was emphatic that he was the better of the two.

And of course...

"All is well, Captain Solo!" Threepio cheerfully informed us. "Oh, it is so good to hear from you! We are standing by and ready to pick you up!"

"That's good news, Threepio," Leia answered. "We'll rendezvous on the roof of the factory. The stairwells should provide us with uninhibited access all the way there."

It was all going perfectly. We'd done our job and it was time to leave. Of course, this was when my true reason for coming here arrived...

"Problem," I stated aloud, looking up towards where I sensed his arrival. "Looks like the Empire's rep just showed up."

"Too bad for them," Han shrugged. "We'll be on our way out by the time he figures out we're not here."

"The rep is Darth Vader."

A spike of fear seemed to shoot through the room at my words, even causing some of the freed workers to gasp.

"V-Vader?" Leia asked, clearly startled by my reveal. "Luke, are you certain?"

"Positive," I answered. "I can sense him landing right now."

And I really could. His dark presence was like an oncoming storm. I felt it churn and writhe as he sensed someone Force sensitive close by and observing him.

Originally, the Old Luke shouldn't have been able to sense Vader like I was right now. Too new to his Force senses and unused to having any sort of presence in the Force, he'd have been like a fly on the wall. That is to say; hard to notice unless you were looking for him. Now however? I wasn't even trying to conceal myself as I felt his malicious gaze lock onto me through the Force.

'That's right,' I seemed to project. 'Come and get me.'

"Alright; let's all take a breath," Han chimed in. "Luke, you said you can hide from him sensing you, right?"

"It's too late," I shook my head. "He's definitely already sensed me. Hiding now would be pointless. He'll likely soon figure out that this is a raid and put the facility on alert."

"Then we'll blast our way out on the Falcon," Han responded grimly. "Let's get to the roof, fast!"

"You'll go on ahead," I informed him, stopping him before he could make a dash for the stairs. "He's only going to be looking for me and you'll need a distraction to keep him off your tail."

"Luke, no!" Leia ordered. "You're coming with us!"

"Relax," I replied easily. "This isn't martyrdom. You all load up and swing back around to get me once the Falcon is here and you're all in the air. But I won't be able to protect all of you if he attacks while you're around. So, I'll distract him by heading off to the far side of the factory. The north end should be clear, so that's where I'll head."

"Luke, he's too powerful!" Leia protested. "You can't face him alone!"

"It'll just be for a distraction," I assured her. "I'm not looking to fight the man while the factory blows up around us. You'll swing around in the Falcon to pick me up."

"Luke-" she tried again.

"Leia," I interrupted her. "Do you remember how you trusted me before? When you helped me get the forces together to take down Crimson Jack and end his piracy operation? I had to depend on you to help me get the support I needed. Did you disappoint me then?"

Taken aback by the shift in topics, Leia cut off whatever she was about to say and seemed to formulate a different response.

"The answer is no, you didn't," I continued. "You helped me accomplish what I couldn't manage alone. Now, I can help return the favor by doing the same. Get these people out of here and come back with the Falcon so we can all escape. Can you do this for me, please?"

Leia looked ready to continue arguing otherwise. Honestly, her stubbornness was one of the things I admired so much about her, if not when it was working against me.

Still, she nodded to me once before taking a quick step forwards and embracing me. The hug was over quickly and Leia walked over to the freed workers to start organizing them and telling them what the plan was. In any crisis, that woman was a natural leader.

Han was, unsurprisingly, less emotional in his response as he just looked at me awkwardly for a moment while shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"We'll be picking you up shortly," he informed me firmly. "Keep your comm close."

"You'd better," I replied, grinning and pointing to the small communications bead sitting in my ear. My grin lessened to a smile as I jerked my head towards the exit. "Now get these people to safety, Han. We're all counting on you."

Nodding, Han quickly started calling for the freed workers to 'stay quiet, stay close, and keep your heads down unless you're looking to get it shot off!'

Eager to comply with the people who'd promised them a ride out of here, they all hurried back to the stairwell, feet pounding as they all hurried to the roof.

Feeling something bump into my leg, I looked down to see Artoo. He beeped at me sadly.

"Hey," I comforted, resting a hand atop his dome. "It'll be okay, buddy. Don't worry."

He beeped a question.

"You'll be better off with them," I told him gently. "C'mon, you know those guys might need your skills to make a getaway. And if you stay with me, who's gonna look after Threepio and keep him from annoying all those nice folks while they're trying to make their escape?"

Artoo whistled quietly in acknowledgement. He followed it up with a promise.

"I'll see you soon too, pal," I returned the promise. "Now, run along."

Artoo acknowledged the promise before speeding after the others to catch up. He'd have to activate his jet boosters to get up the stairs but I knew that wouldn't really inconvenience him.

'The little guy has a knack for getting around quickly,' I thought fondly.

In a few moments, the last sounds of their footsteps faded and I was alone.

Where I was standing wasn't the most defensible position, nor the best place for me to be for a fast exit. I turned and jogged down the nearest hallway, heading across the facility and towards the opposite end of where I currently was. I was serious about leading Vader away from them since I knew Vader would hardly care for the rebels if I was around to offer a more tempting target.

There were curiously few signs of life as I made my way up to the main factory floor and the ground level. That is to say, there were no stormtroopers to bar my way or set up a choke point for me to run into. I'd have at least expected some sort of automated defenses or security drones of some sort, but there was no such thing. Not even the telltale sign of rushing engineers as they scrambled to the reactor to shut it off or stop the overload.

I was totally alone.

Perhaps in this timeline, without Chewbacca to signal an alert by trying to snipe Vader on the landing platform, the Imperials were playing this different? Had they not noticed the reactor going critical yet, or was Artoo simply that good at hiding his work? And had nobody noticed that the factory overseer and two troopers had gone missing?

As though triggered by my thoughts, the alarm suddenly sounded and the whole facility was put on alert.

'Time to pick up the pace,' I thought, breaking out into a run.

I made good time running through the main factory floor. I passed partially completed bits of the Imperial war machine as they were in mid-assembly. TIE fighter cockpits, AT-ST and AT-AT legs, speederbike chassis, and I even think I caught sight of a line of 2M-Saber tanks before passing the area by completely. This place really was a major production hub.

Of course, this sight may have been more impressive if the equipment hadn't clearly started to malfunction. Parts were being bolted to things they were never meant to be bolted to and high intensity welders were firing into the assembly line itself or the factory floor as they went completely out of control. The automated nature of the factory and the lack of slaves to tell their superiors if something was wrong was now working against the Imperial staff here as there seemed to be nobody present to attempt to stop it all from breaking down.

Moving quickly to escape the rising levels of heat, flame, and smoke being generated by the malfunctioning equipment, I reached the end of the production lines and passed through a doorway to arrive at a stockroom of some kind. Finished TIEs and Saber tanks almost seemed to gleam as their factory finish ensured that there literally wasn't a scratch on them.

Shutting the door behind me, I continued moving to the far end of the factory. Even moving as quickly as I had been, I could still feel the dark presence of Vader closing in. It was more than a little unnerving and acted with all the drama of a countdown timer as I could nearly sense the conflict to come. Scratch that; the conflict I knew was coming.

Still, I hadn't run this way without some forethought. If I had gone another direction or deeper into the administrative and office areas, I'd run the risk of being trapped in a corridor or some other enclosed space when Vader found me. In such tight quarters, he'd have the advantage over me with his size and strength. Out here, on the factory floor, there were more wide open spaces where I could move to dodge and attack more freely.

I'd talked a big game to my friends about not fighting him or being capable of holding my own in a straight fight with him but the truth was that I was nervous. I mean, who wouldn't be? This was Darth Vader. The man had killed more Jedi Masters than I'd seen birthdays. He's been fighting and killing longer than I'd been alive and he's gotten good at it. Could anyone say they were entirely prepared to face such a man at his own game?

But rather than let fear or doubt take root at these thoughts, I decided to make preparations. That was how I'd defied him and saved Kenobi before, right? And wasn't it what I'd already done by choosing where to fight as to give myself an advantage?

I came to a stop as I reached a dead end. Two large loading doors remained sealed before me and I didn't know how to open them. The only other way out seemed to be back the way I came. I was far enough away from the smoke and heat of the main production areas that if it weren't for the flashing lights, I'd never know there was an alert going on right now. It was just me and the factory products in this room until my opponent arrived.

I smirked.

Time to get to work.

~Skywalker: Resurgent~

POV Shift; Several Minutes Earlier...

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith was about as close to happy as he was accustomed to being.

One may not be inclined to believe this if they took recent events into account, such as his master's latest weapon being blown apart along with Tarkin; one of his more favored subordinates. This failure, which had happened under Vader's watch, was a blow not just to the Empire or even to his master, but it was also a blow to Vader's personal pride. For even before the battle over Yavin took place, something thoroughly inconceivable occurred aboard that battle station.

Kenobi had returned and then just as abruptly, escaped him. He'd spent years waiting for a lead, a sighting, for the merest whisper from the Force for him to pounce on. At long last, he'd found his old master. He'd gloated how Kenobi had clearly withered away in whatever hole he had been hiding in while Vader's power had only grown. The fight had been everything he'd wanted as Kenobi had begun well enough but had quickly lost ground. The opportunity for a killing blow almost came too quickly for his tastes.

But of course, nothing worthwhile is ever so simple.

He'd been so close to having his revenge, to having satisfaction, that he'd been completely blindsided by the young adept who'd thrown a bomb at him. Actually, physically thrown it at him. Him! It was almost laughable at how simple and naïve the boy had looked then, thinking he could overcome a Dark Lord of the Sith by throwing something at him.

He'd been completely unprepared for the device to explode, not with flame or with any actual dangerous force, but with confetti and smoke. The fact that the device was so harmless was what had worked against him. The strange bits of reflective flimsi had been something Vader had never seen before. They had fluttered and sparkled in the smoke, causing no real damage but had instead completely scrambled his HUD.

By the time he'd realized the true danger and reached out through the Force to see rather than his eyes, Kenobi had already slipped away. His rage had exploded as he'd tried to give chase, to hurl his lightsaber, to rip that hunk of junk starship apart with his own hands if needed! Alas, it was too late. The rebels were gone. Kenobi was gone. And that boy...

The boy had done this. He was the one responsible. He'd been prepared to face Vader. He'd attacked him in a way he'd never encountered before, using a method few, if any, beings would consider which exploited a specific weakness of his suit. None of his foes, even the ones with some idea of what he really was, had thought to attack him in such a way before. It indicated not just resourcefulness on the boy's part, but preparation.

Kenobi had clearly trained the boy. He'd surmised as much when he'd sensed him flying in the rebel assault on the station. Not even the most talented of latent Force users could leave such an impression in the Force, nor fly with such skill. Vader now had no doubt that the boy was trained to fight him, specifically. Kenobi and the Rebellion's secret weapon to take him out. It was almost laughable if it weren't so insulting.

Because an apprentice, even a capable one, was all too often a weakness.

Yes, Vader had learned that lesson long ago. The boy couldn't possibly hope to escape, whatever his plans were now. The factory's garrison was chasing down the other escaping rebels at that very moment while he dealt with the fool boy. Vader would find him and he would demolish him but not before he dragged every scrap of valuable information out of him, screaming if he must.

Vader could feel the Dark Side whisper sweet nothings to him as he thought of this, every step bringing him closer to the confrontation. Reaching out, he tried to get a grasp of the boy's exact location. It was then that he sensed something curious...

The young Force sensitive was... pacing?

Tuning his senses even more acutely than before, he sensed the young one moving back and forth along what he was certain was the loading area for finished products of the factory. Was he looking for a way out? He wasn't fleeing through any of the available corridors. He'd given strict instructions for the rebel to be left to him. Was he locked in the room by someone operating the factory's security doors and sealing him in? He'd intended on confronting the boy himself and woe unto the foolish who thought they'd deny or delay him.

But no, that wasn't it. His path was unimpeded still, he just wasn't moving anywhere else except around the room. Was it confusion? Was he searching for something? A way out?

'No matter,' Vader thought, moving even more quickly towards his target. 'It is already too late for him.'

Having walked through the facility rather than the factory itself, Vader had arrived above his target's location, situated in the administrative zone of the factory. Rather than being an oversight or looking for a way down, Vader was right where he'd wanted to be.

He ignited his lightsaber with its customary snap-hiss and immediately began cutting into the floor. The carpeting of the office space he was in burned and ignited in some areas but he didn't concern himself with such trivial things now. There was a Jedi to kill.

Vader completed his large, circular cut into the floor. The material within the cut dropped into the expansive room below as Vader gazed after it. Looking first only to check that there were no machines that he may land on and damage him, he dropped into the cavernous space below. His cybernetic limbs were strong enough to take the fall from such a height, so he didn't even bother slowing himself with the Force as he fell what must have been nearly forty meters to the ground level.

Of course, he landed with a thunderous clap. He bent his knees on impact, letting his cloak fall around him as his crimson blade glowed with malicious, red light and casted eerie shadows along his crouched body.

He rose, raising his helmet to look into his prey's eyes which were certainly showing the fear he so relished-

"Well, well, well," came a cheery voice. "Look what the womp rat dragged in!"

~Skywalker: Resurgent~

POV Shift; Now...

"Well, well, well," I said, putting on a cheery tone. "Look what the womp rat dragged in! It's been a good minute since we've seen each other, Vader. You're looking good. Actually, you look taller. Are you taller? You got yourself new robot legs, didn't you?"

As I said this, my mind raced as I analyzed the battlefield. Ideally, I'd avoid a fight entirely. If unavoidable, I'd sworn to do my utmost to pick my battlefield beforehand. A large, open area either inside a warehouse, hangar or similar building or even just outdoors where there was plenty of room for me to maneuver. Speed and maneuverability were my advantages over him in a stand up fight and I intended to exploit them as much as possible.

"Insolent child," Vader growled at me. "You will not escape me again. You denied me Kenobi's head once before. For that insult, you will die."

"So you haven't learned my name yet?" I inquired, taking my lightsaber off of my utility belt before tossing my commandeered blaster rifle off to the side, not breaking eye contact with my father's reflective helmet lenses. "I'd have thought you'd have put more effort into it. It hurts me to think you don't care who I am after I threw a bomb at you and blew up your battle station."

'It sounds like he hasn't uncovered my identity yet,' I thought. 'Which leaves me a great card to play here to help make my escape.'

"So," Vader hissed, advancing towards me. "Kenobi's arrogant pupil admits to his crimes? Unsurprising. Your arrogance is typical of what I'd expect of one of his students."

'Was that an insult at his past self in that remark?' I thought as he said this.

"Tell me where your master is and I shall grant you mercy," he demanded.

"The mercy of a quick death, I suppose?" I asked, igniting my own lightsaber and taking a stance. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to discuss another topic?"

His heavy footsteps coming towards me were my answer.

This was a fight I knew was a long time coming. As nervous as I was to cross blades with this juggernaut, I had plenty of time to prepare myself. I may not have known exactly where or when this confrontation would happen but now, I approached it head on.

Time to see how I measure up.

Making the most of my environment, I crouched low and jumped up and to the side, landing on the foot of an AT-AT as I sprung off again quickly and made a downward strike at him. This was an admittedly flashy move, typical of Form IV with its aerobatic maneuvers and speed, and I was going to need speed and whatever maneuverability I could get. Holding out physically against him wasn't something I believed I could do for long without exhausting myself, so I had to stay out of his way as much as possible.

Our blades clashed but he didn't relent one bit as he deflected my heavy strike with one hand on his weapon.

The heavy overhead strike should have been enough to immediately place most opponents on their guard, or at least have them take a step back. The only sign Vader made was stopping and standing perfectly still, yet ready as my weapon descended.

What came next was me constantly jumping to one side or the other as I tested his guard. I was careful to not expose myself by reaching for his body with my attack but instead attacking just his guard. I didn't want to let him draw me in to a contest of strength, so I constantly hit his edges and flanks.

Eventually, he seemed to tire of just deflecting my attacks and spun to meet me. He pushed me back with an impressive display of strength, proving to me he had the advantage in regards to pure muscle. I wasted no time recovering and instead, made another attack. I dove the tip of my lightsaber towards the artificial limb holding my opponent's weapon, intending to damage it and limit his combat potential.

He seemed to anticipate my attack. He deflected my blade sideways and immediately made a swipe at the hand holding my weapon. Quicker than he likely expected, I was back on my guard and deflecting his strike into the floor, where it left an angry orange mark as the heated blade bit into the metal. I stepped back and took a guarding stance, Form III, and prepared for the next move.

I saw a subtle shift in Vader then. It wasn't anything overt but the way he seemed to stand changed slightly as he shifted his weight, his grip tightened on his weapon, and his head tilted ever so slightly down as he seemed to ready himself.

Now that he'd seen I wasn't some pushover, the real fight was on.

Red clashed with blue in a show of light and sound that likely affected my eyes more than Vader's. His heavy strikes were brutal in terms of strength and efficiency, which was all the more impressive considering he only used one hand to make them. He left himself with nearly no openings and the ones I did see, I didn't dare trust. I used both hands and a considerable amount of my upper body strength to block the almost casual onslaught of blows coming at me.

I was hardly idle though. I bounced from one foot to another, letting instinct and the Force guide my footwork as I kept moving to his flanks, never letting myself get bogged down in a single position. My own strikes became few and far between but I was putting enough effort into each one that Vader had to block or dodge himself or suffer damage.

'Except I can't let him keep me on a mostly defensive approach,' I thought, straining against deflecting another blow. I had gone almost purely defensive, which I knew was going to be a problem unless I regained the initiative or got myself some breathing room. 'Gotta shake it up.'

Seizing an opportunity presented in the brief pause between his attacks, I dropped to the floor. Crouching low and balancing on my toes, I sprang forward and slightly to the side of Vader's legs. The surprisingly low angle attack worked to my benefit, immediately causing Vader to plunge his blade down as he moved to avoid me from taking out at least one of his legs.

I threw myself into my roll and sprang quickly back to my feet. I was now a healthy distance from Vader but took the opportunity to take a few more steps while trying to play another card I had in this fight.

"So have you not really guessed who I am yet?" I asked, catching my breath.

There was no response as Vader also seemed to decide to change his own attack style.

Holding his free hand out to the side, he made a clenching and lifting motion as a trio of speederbikes rose into the air and turned to point at me. At this angle, I couldn't help but think the bikes resembled large spears with their pointed tips arrayed against me.

Before I could make another quick comment, the first bike shot towards me. I raised my own hand up, halting the deadly projectile in mid-flight with a shudder and creak of untested metal and components. Vader's telekinetic powers were strong but I was no slouch myself after so much practice and so many hours of control exercises.

If Vader was surprised by the halting of his attack, he didn't show it as the other two bikes quickly shot forward as well. I felt a moment of panic before I expanded my control of the first bike, capturing the others in my grip along with the first. All three shuddered to a halt in the air between us as I felt Vader renew his attack and put more power behind his thrusts. I reached deep and tapped even more power from the Force to keep up.

As the seconds dragged on, I felt my arm growing tired from the strain as I pushed back against Vader's attack. He was pushing more and more as the seconds dragged on and it was becoming noticeably difficult to match him. I'd have to come up with something if Vader didn't relent soon.

After what must've been over a minute, the decision was taken out of our hands as the speederbikes crumbled under the combined strain before practically shattering under the sheer force of our combined assault. All three bikes were crushed and broke apart into hundreds of individual pieces. I felt Vader let go of the mess through the Force nearly a second before I did and we both watched as the crushed and warped shards of the once pristine bikes fell to the floor between us, sending fragments everywhere in a mess of scrap metal.

"Impressive," he intoned. "Most impressive. It has been a long time since anyone has managed a similar feat of Force prowess against me. I doubt even Kenobi, as decrepit and withered as he's become, could match it."

"I hope you're not going to try and sweet-talk me now," I replied. "Because I think we both know you'd be bad at it."

"Your insolence does you no favors, boy," Vader warned, heat behind his mechanical baritone. "Impressing me is a far cry from defeating me. If you surrender now, I'll allow you to live."

"Yeah," I sighed theatrically. "I'm gonna have to say no to offers of surrender or mercy. C'mon, was none of that fight the least bit familiar to you? Did you not even look at my lightsaber during that exchange earlier? Because I looked at yours and let me tell you; it is a totally uninspired follow-up to the original design. Although, I do have a thing for black myself so maybe this one's just due for a new paintjob..."

That seemed to get the desired reaction as Vader cocked his head ever so slightly. I could feel his gaze on my weapon as he started, taking one step forward and practically growling his next words to me.

"Where did you get that?" he demanded.

"I inherited it, obviously," I replied.

"Kenobi had no right to give it to you!" he snapped. "You have no idea what its true origins are!"

"He gave it to me," I answered slowly. "Because it is probably the closest thing my family has to an heirloom. I daresay I have more right to it than Kenobi did."

Vader paused as he attempted to parse those words out and decipher their meaning. It seemed to bring him only further confusion - or perhaps to an answer he didn't believe - as he snapped out his next demand.

"Identify yourself!"

"What, you don't recognize me?" I asked. "C'mon, there's got to be a family resemblance! I'm almost hurt that you don't see it."

"Who are you?!" Vader demanded.

There were perhaps a hundred different ways I could relay this information. I could even allow him to discover it on his own, although that brought about its own risks and took the decision almost entirely out of my hands. I'd hedged around the truth enough at this point and resolved that simply saying it outright was the best option.

"Vader... I am your son."

Of course, there was always something delicious about irony as well.

Something interesting that I noted was that it was actually fairly easy to tell when I'd gotten a significant reaction out of Vader. His respirator, which usually gave out steady breaths, caught and hitched at the sudden inhalation as he connected the dots and got an answer.

"That's not- you're not- you cant..."

I'd never imagined I'd hear such confusion and denial from such an imposing figure with such an imposing tone. His mask ensured that even in confusion, the Darth still sounded menacing.

"It's true," I told him. "I am yours and Padme's son. You were lied to by your master. Padme survived long enough to give birth. The secret was kept about my survival in order to protect me from you and especially your master."

"Protect?" he repeated. "Protect-!?"

"You'd just choked your pregnant wife and attacked your best friend / brother / mentor in a fit of uncontrolled anger," I pointed out. "I think most people would call that an unsuitable environment for a child. The Dark Side is one hell of a drug, isn't it?"

Cutting off whatever my father's next words would have been, the loading bay around us seemed to hum with sudden activity.

Floodlights turned on at the heads one of the AT-ATs looming over us. It's startup sequence had finished cycling and the huge armored transport shuddered as it came to life. Vader turned, bringing his lightsaber up in a defensive posture as he was clearly startled by the sudden activity from the seemingly empty machine.

"Don't worry, you didn't miss anyone else in here with us," I assured him, quickly reaching up to tap my ear once. "It just took this long for the blasted thing to power up. It took much longer than that pair of TIEs against the wall over there," I pointed.

"Or those Saber tanks over there," I pointed again.

"Or those speederbikes against the wall," I pointed a third time.

"The folks here do good work, y'know," I complimented. "All this brand new equipment runs smoothly and quietly. At least while just flipping on the power. Got their power cores running nice and smooth. Builds up a nice healthy charge and you don't really hear them going active without their repulsors being switched on."

"What are you-?"

"Hold on, I'm not finished!" I interrupted harshly, actually managing to silence the Sith Lord with my words though I imagined he had a lot on his mind at the moment.

"Now," I continued. "We've got all this equipment around us, right? Big, powerful war machines. Made with pride, if without morals, here on Cymoon I. And I switched on a bunch of them in this room. This room with only an open door leading back to a burning factory and another set of doors leading outside. As big as this factory is, getting my exact location to my ride for a quick escape would be tricky, huh? But if that ride had someone in the cockpit paying attention to, oh say, the scanner; then they'd know right where I was and that blasting open the loading bay doors on the north end of the factory would be a very good idea!"

Anticipation spiked as Vader and I both tensed for a sudden explosion hit the room. Several seconds passed in silence as nothing happened and the doors remained intact.

"Okay, so the timing's a little-"

The loading doors exploded inward from my right, sending a fireball into the loading area where Vader and I were standing as well as several large pieces of shrapnel.

In a universe that seemed to love its heroes, things like that never seemed to kill the protagonists. The Force just seemed to really be with me today as I crouched and covered my ears to protect them from the incredible noise the blast generated. I relied on the Force to warn and protect me if any of that shrapnel came close and it seemed to pay off just fine as I stood back up a moment later to see a large hole had been blown in the doors. And I could hear the familiar whine of the Millennium Falcon's engines coming from outside.

Time to go!

"We'll have to catch up some other time!" I called out to him. "Do yourself a favor and start considering what else your master is hiding from you! Also; you should probably run before the factory explodes!"

Turning on my heel, I immediately poured on the speed while enhancing it with the Force. Force Speed was a pain to maintain over prolonged distances but I only had to use it in a short sprint for this escape. In a mere second, I was already charging outside through the blast hole and on my way to freedom.

"Wait!"

Vader's faint command was practically a whisper - although I was sure he shouted it - as I left him behind me. I had no choice but to ignore it.

I imagined I looked like a blur as I raced outside and towards the Falcon's lowering ramp. Chewie was there to greet me, bowcaster in hand as he scanned for targets and nearly yelped in surprise when I barreled to a stop beside him, leaping the remaining distance up the ramp and catching myself on a handhold to stop from crashing into the ship or Chewie.

"Time to go!" I told him.

The big Wookiee huffed once in agreement and hit the button to close the ramp again, moving back towards the cockpit as he hurried to assist Han in our escape.

I caught sight of black smoke coming out of Weapons Factory Alpha just before the ramp finished closing.

~Skywalker: Resurgent~

"What did you say about the stupidity of fighting while the factory was burning down around you," Leia snapped, slapping my arm hard.

"Ow!" I complained, fending off her follow-up slaps. "It's not like I started it, so relax! It all worked out, didn't it?"

We'd made the jump to hyperspace a few minutes ago, making our getaway from the pursuing Star Destroyers. I'd come up to the cockpit, wading through all of the grateful-to-be-alive-and-free former workers, only to be met with an irate Leia with Han and Chewie serving as an amused audience to Leia's wrath.

"Barely!" she answered, relenting in her assault. "Stormtroopers followed us to the roof before the Falcon could get there. We had to hold them off until Chewie could show up and give fire support. Then we had to handle the AA emplacement that defended the factory while we waited for you to signal us. Han had to take control for Chewie while I manned the lower quad gun."

"Did we lose anyone?" I asked. "On the roof, during the escape?"

"A few," Leia frowned. "We saved almost all of them though. We can take solace in that. I'm glad you found them before we blew the factory."

"So am I," I agreed. "And that was a great escape, Han. Chewie, thanks for having the ramp lowered and being ready for me. I was worried for a second that he was gonna chase me."

My Wookiee friend yowled in acknowledgement and added that he was glad Vader didn't try and chase me too.

"You really pissed him off, huh?" Han asked. "Tall, big, and creepy didn't like someone young and new showing him up, I'll bet."

"Something like that, probably," I answered. "We on course for the rendezvous?"

"Assuming the Resurgent is right where we left her," Han nodded. "Given all the trouble you've put me through, I'm looking forward to finding out how well you've restocked the bar since I was last there."

"Because I'm sure using my ship as a repair station doesn't cover it," I replied dryly. "Go right ahead. Just know that I left orders to lock up the good stuff whenever the Falcon is docked."

"What the hells!?" Han immediately protested.

"Before you children start," Leia interrupted. "I'm going to look in on our passengers. I'm sure they'll be looking for someone to talk to who isn't Threepio by now."

"I'll have you know that Artoo Deetoo is a wonderful conversationalist," I said, feigning offense for my faithful droid companion. "And Threepio is a pretty good storyteller too."

"Not everyone understands Binary, Luke," she replied offhandedly, exiting the cockpit.

Sliding into the seat behind the pilot's chair, I let out a relieved laugh that was part happiness and part adrenaline crash.

"This was fun!" I got out between chuckles. "All of us together? We make a great team! Hey, we should team up for missions more often! Let's make it a heist next time. I've always wanted to do a good heist. Han, Chewie; you guys know a good bank or casino we could rob somewhere?"

Chewie huffed in amusement and offered a suggestion. Han immediately countered it by listing what he thought were better options and suddenly, the two were bickering. It sounded like I'd rekindled an old discussion between the two as I listened to them raise well-rehearsed points with amusement.

Leaning back against my seat, I stretched the sore muscles in my arms and processed the result of our mission.

I was right to make those changes to the mission plan. Things went very smoothly, though my friends might object without having something to compare it to like I did. No chase in an AT-AT, no scavengers picking Threepio apart, and no desperate speederbike chase as we ran for our lives. Today, we got the enslaved workers out with minimal conflict, the factory was still destroyed and would leave Imperial production crippled in this sector for the foreseeable future, and I'd managed to not only cross lightsabers and hold my own (for a bit) against my father, but I'd also planted the seed for our future interactions.

Only time would tell what will grow from that seed but I could still be hopeful for what was yet to come.

All in all; today was a good day.

AN: Son. Of. A. Bitch.

This chapter just didn't want to get written. I kept getting held up in writing certain scenes until I was about 75% done and realized I'd made a mistake and had to rewrite a sizable chunk of what I'd already written, further demoralizing me from getting this done.

So, how was it though? Too much too fast? Not enough?

I got a fair bit of flak last chapter from people being happy to see Mara Jade, but think Luke should have recognized her.

1. There are plenty enough redheads in the galaxy that not every one is gonna set off Luke's sense of danger. There's some fan art and book art for what Mara Jade would look like, but the basic description is 'red hair, green eyes, and beautiful,' which is pretty generic. I know there's an attached pic on wookieepedia but it's not like she's as recognizable as Leia or Han.

Cut a guy some slack, alright? It's not like she meant him any direct harm, or he would've sensed it. Do you really think he'd have followed her up to her hotel room if he sensed she was about to kill him?

2. Mara wasn't trying to showboat her abilities and reveal that she was a deadly assassin. She was playing a role and stuck pretty close to it, even after the point most people would consider her cover blown. The woman's a professional liar and manipulator. If she's not giving off any signs that she's about to do harm, how is Luke supposed to see it coming from what he believes to be a stranger?

3. Like some folks have pointed out, the Force makes weird coincidences happen. Look no further than the films for evidence of this.

As an aside, for those of you who don't know or read the comics, the comic I was referencing in this chapter has an awesome line to it between Luke and Vader:

"Who are you?"

"You killed my father!"

"I've killed many fathers. You'll have to be more specific."

Easily one of the best lines from the Vader comics! XD

I've created a account! Contribute to join the official discord conversations about my stories and suggest new stories and ideas for future stories and projects! Search for my page on /LennexMacDuff. I hope to also enjoy things like live discussions and gaming events in the future if I can garner enough interest!

Until next time!