Herding Nexu
By Andrew J Talon
10 ABY, Tao
This is a sequel to A New Hope Will Emerge, set after the original Thrawn Trilogy, and right after Grogu goes off with the Mandalorian. It's a strange mesh of canons, but it's been working pretty well so far.
This chapter written with help from SuperSpleen!
Tao was a world that had recently been liberated from the Empire. And Luke and Ahsoka had gotten a tip on a new potential Jedi on the planet mostly known for keeping to itself. So, Luke had taken his X-Wing, and Ahsoka had taken her shuttle, and they'd both come here to scout things out.
Luke and Ahsoka looked around the street outside the spaceport. Speeders were going back and forth on the streets, as mainly humans and a few Duro, Twi'lek and other aliens walked along the sidewalks. The sun shined down on the mostly white stone buildings, and off the clear blue waters of the sea beyond.
"The land on the planet is mostly made up of islands," Ahsoka said with a smile, "so much beachfront... It's gorgeous."
"Yeah," Luke breathed softly. Ahsoka shrugged.
"Well... Even if this is a wild bantha chase, at least we've come to a beautiful place for it," she said, looking hopefully at Luke. Luke smiled gently.
"This time... It feels different," Luke said. "I can sense her... She's strong in the Force."
Ahsoka's own smile widened.
"Show off," she said fondly. Luke shrugged, trying not to look smug.
"Come on."
They headed down the street, and took a turn. Another turn brought them to a small diner. Luke entered first, scanning around. There were wooden booths, with stylized paper curtains and a bar of a pure white stone. A bartender in all white chopping up fish and steaks, before brushing it onto a hotplate.
Near the far end of the restaurant sat a Lepi girl, with brown fur, large blue eyes, and a cute pink button nose. She wore white cut off shorts with blue and orange rings around her thighs, a white undershirt, and an orange short sleeved jacket tied with red string. An orange sash of some kind was tied around her waist.
Her ears perked up as she spotted them, and she waved happily.
"Oh! Hello!" She said cheerfully, getting up to her bare feet. Luke and Ahsoka walked up to her, Luke still taking the lead. He beamed, and bowed to the Lepi girl as she bowed to him. Ahsoka followed suit.
"You must be Lop," Luke said pleasantly, "of the YasaburÅ clan?"
"Yes," Lop said with a wide smile, "and you must be Luke Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano. Welcome to Tao!"
Lop scratched her ear as the waiter droid brought her, Luke, and Ahsoka their nerf steaks. Luke smiled after he smelled the seasonings on it.
"Smells zesty." the Togruta said.
"I wish you were able to try some of the really good stuff." Lop replied.
Luke raised an eyebrow.
"Seafood's a pretty big part of the local diet on Tao." Lop told him. "The Empire dumped a lot of industrial waste in the waters though. Hurt the fish population pretty bad. It's gonna be a while before we can cook a lot of the dishes we used to be able to make without needing to worry about poisoning ourselves."
"You've got a beautiful planet." Luke told her. "I've never seen a culture like Tao's before."
"Thanks. It's gonna be a lot more beautiful once their factories are gone. So, how many other Jedi are there?"
"So far, we have a human from Lothal, named Ezra Bridger," Ahsoka replied. "another human named Cal Kestis, with his wife Merrin who is sort of a Jedi. We're also training a woman named Mara Jade, and a Hutt named Rotta."
Lop frowned deeply.
"That's...it?"
Luke nodded.
"We're looking for anyone else. Rebel Alliance Intelligence is keeping contact with us about any other prospective Jedi. We've already got a new temple being prepped on Yavin IV. It's not much but we're putting things together one step at a time."
Lop cocked her head.
"I can visit Tao every once in a while, right?"
"Yep," Luke asked. "Keep contact with your family, keep an eye on what's going here, anything like that."
Lop sighed.
"I took part in the resistance on Tao because I wanted to make my father proud, because I knew the Empire was going to wear my home away to nothing if I didn't stand up for the people I cared about."
"We do take 'no' for an answer," Ahsoka told her. "If you want us to leave you to think it over, we can..."
Lop put up her hand.
"I...it's OK. I'll go with you. The Yasaburo family's going to be in good hands even without me. Plus, I've got a much better chance of finding my sister if I go with you instead of staying here. We'll have to talk with my father about this but I think he'll see where we're coming from."
"Your sister?" Luke asked. Lop looked down.
"I'll tell you later," she said, her Force presence filled with sadness.
"That's all right," Ahsoka said gently, "listen, I'll meet you on Yavin IV. You can get there, right?"
Lop nodded, her sadness fading. Luke's holocomm beeped, and he pulled it out to look over a text message. His eyebrows rose, as Ahsoka and Lop continued talking.
"Oh yes! I have a ship!" She said cheerfully. "It's an A-Wing! So fast! I love it!"
"Good," Luke said with a grin, "I look forward to seeing you there. Ahsoka can help you get settled. But me?"
Luke stood up.
"A contact of mine has a lead on a Jedi on Ord Mantell," Luke said, "and I've gotta check it out."
"Are you sure?" Ahsoka asked. Luke nodded sadly.
"Sorry to say, but yes," Luke said, "they say it's an emergency, and..." He trailed off, uncertain, "the Force is telling me... I should be there."
"Hard to ignore that," Lop said cheerfully, "but that's okay. I'll look forward to seeing you there!"
"We both will," Ahsoka said with emphasis, as Luke headed out, "and I'll get the-!"
A credit chit flew over to the cashier. The register droid chimed happily. Ahsoka scowled.
"One of these days, I'll beat him to the check," she grumbled, as Lop laughed.
Ord Mantell had started as a weapons depot, but the good climate and abundant natural resources, as well as proximity to several major hyperlanes turned it into an economic power. Casinos, clement banking laws, and the beautiful natural wonders brought in huge numbers of tourists. The pink clouds and other eccentricities made it a popular getaway across the galaxy, even during the Imperial period.
Luke had been here a few times, but only on Rebel business. Now? He was here on Jedi business.
But it was proving to be much more relaxing than the previous times. No bounty hunters were after him.
He and Artoo wandered about the island of Avilatan. It was volcanic in nature, with trails, hotsprings, beaches and boat tours for the outdoor-minded tourist, and casinos, clubs, and restaurants for the more indoor inclined. An authentic museum detailing the civil war over three thousand years ago stood nearby a sports bar. Swoop Bike races went on underneath a tropical flower garden. Every kind of entertainment was presented, but it lacked the raw seediness of other pleasure worlds Luke had been on.
Still, the Force was warning of danger. Luke checked his datapad-The New Republic informant had passed on a tip from a singer in the area. As well as an invitation.
He paused as he spotted a holosign just outside a club: A beautiful platinum blonde woman, with mother of pearl colored irises, played a double viol in an alluring, silvery dress. He checked the datapad, and then headed up to the front office.
A heavyset Gammorean was the only one there. He looked up from his desk with a scowl.
"We're closed, genius. Come back in a few hours," he grunted in Huttese.
Luke held up his datapad.
"I have a personal invitation from Tionne," he said gently, "I'd like to know where I can find her."
The Gammorean scowled more deeply.
"What are you, a stalker or something?"
"No, it's right here," Luke said, pointing to the datapad. The Gammorean read through the invitation, then looked back up at Luke. He scowled at Artoo for a long moment, before he fixed his eyes on Luke.
"She mentioned something about a visitor, yeah," he said. He pushed a holocomm towards Luke, "left you a message."
Luke took the holocomm, and played the recording. Tionne stood in some fashionable street clothes, smiling like a sun.
"Hello, Master Skywalker. I've been so excited to meet with you! I've collected Jedi lore and history since I was a little girl-My grandmother got me into it. You can meet me in the courtyard of the Nobody's Inn. We should be able to talk alone there. I really can't wait to talk to you! Most recently, I learned the most exciting things about Darth Revan, and his abduction by theLeviathan! And his subsequent entrapment by the Sith Emperor-Oh, but I'll save me-Save us some time when we meet! See you soon~!"
She winked and blew a kiss, before the recording ended. Luke stared intently at the holocomm, the danger sense in the Force screaming even more loudly.
"How did she seem when she left this with you?" Luke asked. The Gammorean oinked in thought.
"She seemed... A bit tense," he admitted. He then grinned widely. "Still! You're really Luke Skywalker? That Jedi who killed Vader? Can I get your autograph?!"
Luke chuckled, and nodded to the eager Gammorean.
"After I've met with Tionne. It's a promise."
"Thanks, Master Skywalker, sir," the Gammorean said happily.
Nobody's Inn was a quiet, elegant white building on Avilatan's southern end. The local tourist Holonet links described it as a beautiful, peaceful spot for tourists to relax, meditate, and take in the ocean environment. It had been built after the Great Galactic War with the Sith Empire, by a local celebrity of some sort: A former smuggler, apparently, who was a war hero to the Republic.
It seemed a little too clean and pristine for that sort of person... But then it had been three thousand years.
Luke walked the stone paths, native plants filling in the gaps, as he approached the courtyard behind the large inn. He could hear the sounds of shoreline scavengers crying out, the roll of the surf... And music.
A double viol was being played, and a sad, ethereal song washed over his senses. Even as the danger warning grew stronger.
Luke headed in, Artoo rolling behind him. The song continued. Luke turned a corner, and then another, into the courtyard proper. It was wide, walled in by white tiled walls. White stones carved through a well kept garden, like a river. Many small shelters of wood dotted the landscape, all built to face south to behold the ocean's beauty.
In the middle of a sandy spot, sitting on a wooden bench, Tionne played her song. Her elegant fingers plucked the strings, filling the air with sweet, melancholy music. Her awareness in the Force was actually quite strong-She noticed he had entered, but kept her rhythm as she continued to play.
A man in a dark cloak sat at a nearby table under a shelter. He sipped some tea. Luke walked up to Tionne, Artoo hanging back a bit.
"Hello Tionne," Luke said softly, "I take it you need some help?"
Tionne stopped playing, and looked up. She pursed her lips.
"It would be appreciate, Master Jedi," she said softly.
The man in black leaped, igniting a red lightsaber and swinging it for Luke's head!
A moment before it would have struck, Luke pulled out his own lightsaber, ignited it, and parried the blow. He smoothly turned, deflecting and parrying his assailant's next furious strikes. Luke then thrust out his hand, and with a Force push sent the attacker flying.
He slammed into a bench, and got up. His hood fell away, revealing a tanned human with short cropped blonde hair. His jaw was thick, almost lantern shaped. His eyes burned yellow, as he pointed his red lightsaber at him.
"Luke Skywalker," the man rasped, "you slew the Emperor, you slew Darth Vader. I now take revenge for them!"
"Who are you?" Luke asked, "what's your name?"
The man's Force presence wavered a bit, but he gritted his teeth.
"I have no name. I need no name. I am my master's Wrath-And you will die!"
The Inquisitor dashed forward, thrusting his lightsaber for Luke's chest. Luke dodged to the right, then brought up his lightsaber to deflect his enemy's follow up swing. Luke parried the next strike, shutting off his lightsaber and ducking underneath the burning plasma blade. He thrust his lightsaber forward, reactivating it-
The Inquisitor jumped back with the Force, narrowly avoiding the blade going through his stomach. Luke stood warily, sizing the Inquisitor up.
"You fight well," Luke complimented him, "good instincts."
"I was trained..." The Inquisitor trailed off, stalking around like a caged nexu, "a long time ago."
"I can see that," Luke observed, walking along as the two circled eachother. Tionne stared, covering her mouth in horror. Artoo had retreated nearby her.
The Inquisitor glanced at Tionne, and then back at Luke.
"Why is your droid protecting her?" The Inquisitor demanded.
"You took her hostage to lure me here," Luke said, "shouldn't I be concerned with her safety?"
"I... I have no quarrel with her," the Inquisitor stated angrily, "harming her would be meaningless! You are my target!"
Luke tilted his head, as the two continued to circle one another, slowly, carefully, the hum of their lightsabers filling the courtyard air.
"That's not what you usually hear from an Inquisitor," Luke said, "in my experience... You're drunk off the Darkside."
"I use the Darkside... It gives me power," the Inquisitor shot back, "but wasting it... What is the purpose?"
The Inquisitor struck again, striking furiously in Juyo. He lashed out with several lightsaber blows, before dropping underneath Luke's counterstrike and slamming both of his feet into Luke's stomach. Luke lashed out with the Force, sending the Inquisitor flying away.
The Inquisitor landed and dashed for Luke again. Luke grabbed some sand with the Force and cast it up into a cloud into his opponent's eyes. As the Inquisitor blinked through the distraction, Luke flanked the man and thrust for his saber arm.
The man swung around, meeting the blade and locking the burning sabers against one another. He pushed back hard, and Luke took a step back, another... Before he summoned up his full strength, and stopped. The Inquisitor struggled, sweat beading on his brow, before Luke shoved him back, hard.
The Inquisitor nearly lost his footing, and tried to throw a blast of the Force at Luke. Luke dodged, and unleashed one right back. The Inquisitor flew backwards, barely able to land on his feet before Luke fell upon him. Luke's lightsaber blows rained down on him like a lightning storm, as the Jedi Knight pushed his incredible strength in the Force through every strike.
Just like his father had.
The Inquisitor's lightsaber split, the half-crescent becoming a full circle around the handle. A second lightsaber blade, blood red, ignited on the other side. The Inquisitor spun it around himself, before swinging the weapon wildly at Luke. Luke parried and deflected every swing, weighing his options.
He didn't want to kill this Inquisitor. His presence in the Force was dark, but... Not like the Emperor. Not even like his father's. And his mind... It was struggling, even as he attacked.
He was full of conflict...
But the only way to stop him might be something fatal... Luke's precognition wasn't giving him many futures, and yet...
Luke leaped up over the Inquisitor's swinging blades, backflipping and landing some distance away. He eyed his opponent, and the Inquisitor stared back.
Then... Music echoed in the courtyard. Luke and the Inquisitor looked over at Tionne, as her fingers played frantically over her double viols to notation Artoo was displaying with his holoprojector. It was relatively upbeat, a swinging jizz number... And yet there was a mournful tinge to it. A touch of the melancholy. Like it was homesick.
"What... What is that...?" The Inquisitor asked. Tionne breathed hard, playing the song.
"You remember it, don't you?" Tionne asked, "even after everything Vader did to you... That the Darkside has taken from you... You remember it..."
The Inquisitor shook his head, and reached up to his temple. He gritted his teeth.
"No... No, I-I can't remember that..." He muttered, "it's pain... It's all pain...!"
"You remember it, because it's something your father knew," Tionne went on, "Ranik Solusar... A Corellian Jedi... From Kor Vella Mesa... You know it because it was written and played there first...!"
"N-NO!" The Inquisitor shouted, "I DON'T-NO-STOP IT!"
"It's your true self," Luke said, as the Inquisitor staggered about, "everything the Emperor suppressed in you... It's still there. You don't have to live like this-"
"SHUT UP!" The Inquisitor bellowed, swinging his lightsaber around, "you can't... My mission... I HAVE TO OBEY!"
"No you don't," Luke insisted, "you have a choice! You can choose! You can break free-!"
"NO!" The Inquisitor roared. He threw his lightsaber at Luke, the weapon spinning like a deadly chakram. Luke deflected it, bouncing it back. The Inquisitor was running, flipping up to catch his weapon before swinging it down upon Luke. Luke reached up, stretched out with the Force...!
He stopped the Inquisitor and the man in mid air. The Inquisitor's eyes widened in shock, just before Luke thrust his open palm forward.
The Inquisitor lightsaber shattered like glass, the blades instantly dissipating. In the same motion, Luke used the Force push to slam the man down onto the ground, hard, cracking the pavement stones from the impact. The man panted for breath desperately, the wind knocked out of him.
He stared up at the clear blue sky... Tears running from his yellow eyes.
"Kill me..." He murmured, "I... I failed... I have... No future left..."
"No," Luke stated, "there's good inside you..." He knelt down beside him. Tionne walked up slowly, still playing the music, as Artoo rolled up alongside her protectively. Luke looked up at her. Tionne swallowed.
"I remembered a Jedi Master in the archives, one who looked like this man," Tionne said, "He was called Ranik Solusar... He had a wife and son, got expelled from the Order by the Council for it."
She looked down at the man in sympathy.
"What Vader and the Inquisitors did to him..."
"My... My name," the man whispered, "so long ago... What... What was it...?"
"Let me help you remember it," Luke said gently.
The Inquisitor... Very slowly nodded.
Luke looked down at the man. He rested his hand over his forehead, and concentrated. His shields of hatred, rage, and fear were still strong... But Luke powered on through, an opening being made by the memories associated with Tionne's music.
Inquisitor Jerec torturing him with lightning... Vader choking him and tossing him around like a ragdoll... The Emperor cackling as his own dark lightning ripped screams from his throat... Strapped into a chair as things were shoved into his mind...!
Luke pushed past it all... To find the music playing in the background of a small, comfortable family home. Corellia's busy speeder lanes filled the window nearby. A woman, dark haired and beautiful, danced with a tall, handsome blond man. Both looked towards the man in the memory, smiling with love and affection...
"Come on, Kam-Your favorite song's up!" The woman said.
"I don't wanna dance by myself," Kam huffed.
"You'll be dancing with us," his father consoled, chuckling. Kam looked up and, with a smile on his face, raced up to hug them...
-The Inquisitor screamed, as Luke pulled his hand back. He panted hard, eyes wide. He stared up at Tionne and Luke, slowly calming down.
Then... Like creaky gears turning... A small smile emerged.
"Kam," he whispered, tears stinging the corners of his brown eyes, "my name... Is Kam..."
Luke and Tionne took Kam to the local hospital. They said he'd been injured in an accident, and they'd taken it at that. Clearly more than enough less than legal things happened around here the hospital had learned not to ask too many awkward questions.
Tionne, Artoo and Luke watched Kam recover in the hospital room. It was Luke who broke the silence first.
"You were able to reach him," Luke said gently, giving her a smile. She blushed and looked down.
"I... I just played something I thought might appeal to him," she murmured, "something that he might have remembered-"
"Yeah, but the odds of finding just the right song?" Luke asked, "remembering a Jedi who looked like him? And connecting the dots, that fast?"
He turned to Artoo, who bleeped the probability. Tionne's eyes widened.
"That much?!"
"Yeah," Luke said, looking intently at the beautiful young woman. "You said you've always had a connection to Jedi history... It goes more deeply than just a passion."
"You mean..." Tionne trailed off, her eyes going wide, "I'm... Force sensitive?!"
"Not very strong right now, but yes," Luke said. Tionne frowned.
"So... How not strong?" She asked.
Luke hesitated.
"It's hard to say," Luke admitted, "I'm not an expert. It might just be because you're not trained... The point is, it's there."
Luke smiled as he looked over at Kam. Tionne followed his gaze, staring at the man.
"And I know I'd want you as part of my order," Luke said, "you figured out how to reach Kam. You probably know more Jedi history than anyone else in the galaxy right now..."
Tionne was silent, still looking intently at Kam. Luke sensed her mulling things over. He held up a hand.
"You don't have to answer right now, but-"
"Yes," Tionne said with a smile, "I... I'd love to. Especially since, well... Kam's going to need a lot of help, isn't he?"
"Yeah," Luke said with a nod, smiling warmly back, "but he's got us now."
"We've all got one another," Tionne said, "isn't that how the Force works? We're all connected? All in this together?"
"Absolutely," Luke laughed.
I had Gershwin's "Summertime" playing in my head for the scene:, but you can choose anything you'd like.
As you might guess, this is Kam Solusar. Here we're changing things up a bit-He was still the son of a Jedi Knight. He was captured and tortured into obedience by Vader and the Inquisitors. He was an experiment in creating a more obedient Inquisitor, by suppressing his memories with technology and torture. He became active as an Inquisitor some time after the Battle of Yavin, and has been tasked with hunting down Rebels and Jedi. Hence why he hasn't shown up until now.
And of course, how could I NOT include Lop? Bunny Girl Jedi FTW!