Hey, everyone! How are you doing on this warm afternoon of Saturday, September 25, 2021? I'm doing well, if a bit bored with the day. I haven't done much, except for trading in a few comics for a good deal of much-needed cash. I have a lot more to sell, which hopefully means I get a lot more money out of them all. Oh, and I plan to do some reading later tonight, working my way through a bit more of Kushiel's Scion. So, I figured I'd take a little break from the main storyline and explore a bit more of Edaan Palpatine's past with this interlude chapter. This one will focus on his interactions with Luke Skywalker and Edaan's shift in attitudes as he learns more about Master Skywalker and the full scope of his semi-retirement. I hope you are all ready for some revelations and secrets reminiscent of Zayne Carrick's Rogue Moon Project from the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comics. And I plan to have at least a couple more interludes in this story, each strategically placed for the story. Then I'll have a few others embedded throughout each story to better detail Edaan's past as the best circumstances arise. Well, I guess I'd better get started on this chapter. It will likely take a while to write, after all, since I have school and work for a good deal of the next two weeks. That means I'll be quite busy for most of those days. May the Lord be with us in these dark and mad times.

(Tuesday, September 28, 2021, Addendum.) Hey, everyone! How are you all doing on this warm evening? I'm doing well, aside from being a bit exhausted from a little exercise I just did. I also bought a good game for my Xbox a while ago, Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution. I look forward to playing it later in the week, maybe even tomorrow after work. So, in other news, I'm about two-thirds done with Kushiel's Scion, and will work more on it over the week, possibly even tonight. And I've written almost 6k words in this chapter by tonight. I think I'll call it a night now, so I can rest a bit and charge my laptop, since I have school again tomorrow. Well, I hope you all are doing well in these hard times for so many. Oh, and I think I'll base one of my scenes from one of the last chapters from HandofThrawn45's Sword of the Jedi III: Redemption. I hope it works for the story. Finally, I noticed that HandofThrawn45 began his final story in the Legacy's End saga. I am beyond ecstatic, and I am eager to read the rest of it for the duration of its publication! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I hope you have a blessed night.

Selona 21st, 1500 Hours, 54 ABY

Tatooine, Jundland Wastes, Lars Homestead

Just Outside the Rude Awakening

Edaan could feel his heart beating so strongly, it was as if the organ itself was lodged deep within the middle of his throat. After all, it was not every day that a group of about two dozen or so Jedi Apprentices were brought by Ben Skywalker to meet his father, the revered Jedi Master, along with being the reviver of the Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker on a pilgrimage to the latter's homeworld of Tatooine to seek enlightenment and wisdom on many topics.

And they had been waiting outside Luke's home for the last twenty minutes, the same homestead within the Jundland Wastes that once held him and his uncle and aunt, Owen and Beru Lars, before the two aging moisture farmers were killed by Imperial Stormtroopers for unknowingly harboring two fugitive droids, droids that would change Luke's life forever.

It was only because of his best friend and fellow Jedi Apprentice Allana Solo, standing by him and quietly conversing with him about her own missions with her master, Jedi Master and Council member Octa Ramis, that the eighteen-year-old man was not jumping out of his skin from of his torrent of fear and anger. Although Allana could make more than an educated guess about what was eating away at her longtime friend and little crush.

But still, Edaan did not know why Allana and Grand Master Katarn, his own Jedi teacher, had so strongly urged him to come here. The elder Skywalker had all but retired from the Jedi at such a critical time for the galaxy and was a staunch enemy of the Lost Tribe Sith Lady Vestara Khai from the Dark Side and would never allow the turncoat another chance to redeem herself if she was ever given the opportunity.

He still remembered how vindictive Luke and his family were of Vestara back when he was a new Initiate, and he was willing to wager that time would not be able to heal that still-festering wound for any of them, let alone much of the Jedi Order. Though she had cost the Order two of its more promising Knights, Natua Wan and Bazel Warv, through her selfish acts of self-preservation and protecting her former boyfriend in her few months with them.

At least, Edaan feared the previous Jedi Grand Master would not be receptive if he uncovered his plans. The apprentice certainly made no secret of his intense bitterness with the Skywalker and Solo families over the years. That was especially made clear after his tirade during his debriefing on the disaster of a mission into Daala's experiments on Muunilinst almost a month ago, a buildup of his dismay of the galaxy's descent into darkness and the two families' elders refusing to continue to aid the order they spent two generations to rebuild.

So why would Edaan be pressured into taking this journey by his best secret supporters in the Order? Was all this some kind of test set up by his master? Maybe an assessment of his skills in secrecy, misdirection, and intelligence. It made sense, especially since he would need all those intuitive qualities, and so many more, when he finally began his self-appointed mission.

Sadly, Edaan doubted this meeting was a test of his persuasion skills, since Luke would be all but impossible to persuade of the merits of this plan, as reckless as it was. Honestly, the young man was lucky he was able to get Allana on his side after all she had been through in her short but traumatic life. Besides, those skills were more suited to a Sith than a Jedi, and Edaan did not want anyone to get the wrong idea about him.

No matter the reason, he did not look forward to this troublesome meeting. It would dredge up more than just simple resentment of the Skywalker-Solo clan's hypocritical beliefs on redemption. He still remembered the agonizing dying screams of his family on Coruscant as Abeloth's Force-created ground quakes, acid clouds, and underground volcanoes wreaked havoc across the entire planet, murdering all his relatives and leaving him an orphan.

Even though the demented would-be Celestial had been the one to destroy his family, Edaan still partially blamed Luke and his relatives for allowing Abeloth and the Lost Tribe such easy access towards taking control of the capital world and the Galactic Alliance's center of government. To Edaan, it was little wonder how the Senate quickly voted to throw out the entire Jedi Order from Coruscant, even as he thought most of its elected officials were nothing more than a gaggle of corrupt, hot headed, and prideful idiots.

That belief only grew stronger over the following months and years, especially after the so-called Galactic Alliance Neutrality Act that passed a handful of months later, leaving both the galactic government and religious body of peacekeepers further isolated and vulnerable to the rising tide of chaos and their opportunistic puppeteers.

And even worse, after the apocalyptic disaster, the entire Skywalker-Solo family swore an unspoken vow of vengeance on Vestara for her intentionally botched attempt on Allana's life in the Sith-occupied Jedi Temple, even after she helped Ben, the man she wholly loved, slay one of Abeloth's last avatars on her prison of a homeworld.

How could they not see that such a self-serving pledge could only serve to isolate her even further and push her deeper down the self-destructive path of the Dark Side? It would only give her further fuel to commit even greater atrocities and move higher up the Lost Tribe's decimated ranks, if not the secret Sith Order that was still lurking in the shadows and might be the Lost Tribe's newest puppeteers.

Lastly, how could they not admit that their warped version of justice was the worst kind of betrayal of the family's decades-old history of redeeming countless broken or wicked souls? From family members, fallen Jedi, and even an entire extragalactic species, the Skywalkers and the Jedi had saved countless lives with their principles of mercy and compassion, and now they were throwing it all away out of arrogance and spite.

Well, it mattered little to the last Palpatine and current Jedi Apprentice, because he knew where he stood on his beliefs and had friends and allies who believed in him and his goal of redeeming Vestara when Ben would not. Unlike so many others, he planned to never go back on his word, no matter how hard keeping a promise would get.

If that meant testing wits and will against the elder Skywalker to push himself closer towards his goal, then he would gladly rise to the challenge. Maybe he could even knock some sense in the family of legends, that is, if the Force was truly with him.

He only hoped he could succeed whatever test Grand Master Katarn and his fellow Council members had devised for him, or all would be lost for his mission before it even took off.

Interrupting his thoughts, as if on cue, the twenty-seven other Jedi Apprentices grew silent, sensing the strong and bright Force presence of Luke approaching them, and none of the other Jedi in training wanted to look bad in front of their hero.

Great. It's as if I'm standing beside a bunch of fans ogling over some kind of galactic pop star. Edaan silently groaned before seeing the homestead's door open, and a robed individual emerged, one whose face could not be seen behind the dark shroud.

Pulling back the hood, Luke's suntanned and creased face could be seen by all, and all but Allana and Edaan were mesmerized from standing right in front of him. "It is my honor to meet you all, the brightest and most promising students of the Jedi Order and welcome you to my home of Tatooine. I have heard many great things about you all from your masters, and I look forward to seeing what questions you have for me as markers of your progress. After all, the Order will one day be in your hands, and I want to be sure it can survive without its current crop of leaders."

Edaan thought that most of its current leaders being replaced wouldn't be such a bad thing, remembering how Ferren Barr and Verla Kaer were wrongly expelled for absurd charges five years ago, with barely a chance to properly defend themselves in their mockery of a trial.

"Now, how about we step inside so we can get out of this excruciating heat by a few degrees?" Luke asked, breaking his thoughts with his innocent question.

"Haven't you lived here for almost thirty years? Wouldn't you have gotten used to it after all this time?" Edaan skeptically, almost rudely, reminded Luke, with everyone surprised at his disrespectful tone. Some of the younger apprentices even glared at Edaan with enough venom to poison a bantha.

Taking the question in stride, Luke warmly chuckled, "Honestly, I don't think anyone ever gets used to it, only learns new ways on how to cope with the constant heat waves. But I'm glad to see that you still have your honest, if rather blunt, tongue, Apprentice Palpatine. It makes for very interesting conversations. How is your master?"

"Grand Master Katarn is doing well. He asked me to give you his warm regards." Edaan politely answered, reining in his leaking anger and resentment. Even so, he knew that he was not going to enjoy this little retreat. He only hoped he could endure the three-day retreat without doing anything to risk ruining his plans.

Selona 24th, 0300 Hours

"Edaan, can I have a word with you in private?" Allana quietly asked him after entering his room in the homestead, not wanting to wake up his fellow Jedi sleeping in the bunk above him.

"Sure." Edaan agreed before getting up from his bunk bed. Softly closing the door, he walked with Allana, jokingly asking, "Everything okay? You seem jittery today. What, don't tell me your uncle's out of hot chocolate?"

"This is serious." Allana gravely stopped his teasing efforts, whispering, "Uncle Luke asked me to get you to talk with you about something important. He asked me a lot of questions about you yesterday, and I think he has a strong hunch about your plans. Your Khai-related plans."

Skin growing pale at the implications, Edaan softly asked, "Did you tell him anything?"

"I'm no sellout, Edaan. I deflected his questions as best as I could, but I doubt it'll fool him for too long. You need to figure out your strategy and do it fast. He wants to talk with you before anyone else wakes up."

"Well, that certainly complicates things." Edaan muttered, shrugging before acknowledging, "Guess I'll just have to play it by ear this time around."

"Really? That's what you're going with? Don't Dad and your other undead friends have better advice for you?" Allana face-palmed herself.

"They've been pretty silent for the last couple months, and only appeared a couple times for some brief lessons." Edaan explained. "Honestly, I doubt they'd show up this time around and cause a scandal for both of us."

"Well, you'd better not let him find out the truth. I don't want you expelled or worse because of my family's vendetta. Neither of us want another Ferren or Verla to happen." Allana worriedly reminded her friend.

"And the fact that you're helping me has nothing to do with any of your worries?" Edaan mischievously smirked, earning him a strong punch on his left arm before quickly apologizing, "Sorry, got a bit carried away there."

"Make sure to not do that with Uncle Luke." Allana warned before stopping just before the door leading to outside the homestead. "He's right outside. Good luck, Edaan."

"Thanks. I'll probably need every tool I can get to make it through this." Edaan gratefully acknowledged.

Walking outside, he felt the sand bombarding his robes and Caucasian skin but pushed through the discomforting sensation in order to approach the awaiting Jedi Master. To his surprise, he saw Luke sitting in a vintage Mobquet Swoops and Speeders C/L-82 landspeeder, staring directly at the Palpatine scion, but betraying nothing in his enigmatic gaze.

Once he was close enough to avoid risking waking anyone up, Edaan politely called out, "Something I can help you with, Master Skywalker? I'd like to go back inside and get a couple more hours of rest before we spend our last day on your homeworld."

"We'll just be about eight hours, so you can get some rest after we take a ride to the town of Mos Eisley. There's something I want to show you without anyone else's prying eyes. And I think it's past time we had a bit of a talk along the way."

"Talk about what? And why are we going to the spaceport that Master Kenobi once called 'a wretched hive of scum and villainy?'" Edaan calmly asked, even as he entered the landspeeder, his mind went into overdrive trying to figure out Luke's angle.

"You've been quiet through most of the trip and asked very few questions from me or any of the other Apprentices. From what Grand Master Katarn and Allana told me, it's quite unusual of you, since you often asked all sorts of questions and desired to know all you could about whatever topic caught your interest, challenging other people's perspectives to try and get them to see things differently." Luke answered, before cheerfully continuing his explanation,

"I figured I'd try to ignite that spark in you while you're here. If I'm being honest, I want to see that same fire of curiosity in more of up-and-coming Jedi Knights. Too many of them were too focused on my past exploits and how to be more like me instead of blazing their own trail for the Jedi."

Could those have been the reasons Luke wanted to privately speak with the young man? Maybe he was simply concerned about Edaan's well-being and wanted to check up on him while challenging his perspective before the Apprentice returned to Shedu Maad and kept building up his covert network of contacts and allies.

But if that was simply the case, then why would Allana have implied that her uncle might have figured out his true plans? And why would Luke have wanted to talk with him on the last day of the trip before the crack of dawn? What was Luke's endgame here?

Well, whatever the end motive was, he would have to play this battle of minds with more care than any mental war he had ever waged, lest he let something accidentally slip and condemn himself and all those he sought to save.

Interrupting Edaan's strategic reflections, Luke quickly added, "And I think you'll be surprised with how far that spaceport's come since I first left Tatooine. To give you a good hint, it's quite remarkable how much good one Jedi can do on a world most beings might think of as backwater or out of the way."

Eyes widening at the implications as the vintage landspeeder sped away from the homestead, Edaan regained a bit of respect for Luke as the former allowed a small, impressed smirk to grace his face, "You helped the people clean up the crime-infested area after you left us, didn't you?"

"There's the sharp Palpatine mind I was told so much about." Luke insightfully joked.

"Guess there's a still a lot of good you can do for everyday people with your retirement than I could've ever thought." Edaan reluctantly acknowledged, even as he berated himself for the tinge of bitterness that entered his voice.

"Trust me, you'd be surprised what one can accomplish when they can escape galactic scrutiny, young Jedi." Luke cryptically concurred.

Two Hours Later

Just Outside Mos Eisley Spaceport

"Any particular reason you want to stop outside the town, Master Skywalker?" Edaan wondered, seeing the town's silhouette about two kilometers away. "I thought you wanted to show me the sights and a little project you had underway here."

"You don't like me and my family very much, do you, Edaan?" Luke got right down to business. "You made no secret of it with your verbal attack on all of us when you returned from the Empire."

"And yet, you get along very well with Allana, given how she's one of your few and closest friends." Luke insightfully added, before requesting, "Tell me why."

Sighing, Edaan carefully acknowledged, "That's true, but it's… really complicated. And I'm worried if I start talking, I'll say something I regret, or let my anger get the better of me and ruin the rest of my life."

"Actually, I'd prefer if you go all out with your words this time, even if you have to punch me good a few times." Luke admitted. "It might help me confirm a few hunches of mine, or at least challenge me to think differently."

Looking down, Edaan ruefully asked, "You really want to know? I know it's something you don't agree with at all and would sooner have me exiled from the Order then risk tainting others with my mad beliefs."

"But it has something to do with many of my family's past decisions, yes?" Luke patiently raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Especially all of you and your desire for vengeance against…" He found his words lodged in his throat, and hoarsely whispered them out, "Vestara Khai."

Luke closed his eyes for a moment, and Edaan could imagine countless scenarios that went through the elder Jedi's mind, and most of them did not bode well for the young Palpatine. But instead, Luke let out a deep breath, and surprised him by calmly saying, "I had a feeling it was something like that. I still remember how you formed a friendship with her in her brief time with us, before she betrayed Ben and everyone else that ever tried to help her."

Intently gazing at Edaan, Luke knowingly said, "You're planning to go after her, aren't you? You want to pick up where Ben left off and try and save her from the Dark Side, I can see the desperation in your eyes."

"Why do you care for her so much that you would risk everything to save a woman who does not even want to be saved?"

"'Why do I care?'" Edaan repeated, a hint of anger creeping into his voice. "I think it should be obvious. Someone has to. After all, you and your family decided to betray all of your vaunted principles and so much history when you chose to seek retribution on a woman, even though she's a notorious Sith."

"Actually, it should be even more of a reason for you all to keep trying to reach out to her, especially when you consider all the horrendous sins that your father and older nephew did before they died. And Ben just gave up on her without even hearing her side of what she was accused of!" Edaan's voice grew more animated and angrier with each word, and he even began pacing back and forth in an increasing rage. "Vestara isn't as far gone as you believe, and what she did on Upekzar and Coruscant, as wrong as they were, both give me hope that she can still be saved!"

"What do you mean by that? What do you know, Edaan?" Luke carefully asked, his tone not giving away any hint of emotion in his question.

"It's a long story." Edaan warned, his gaze drifting towards the desert town. "One that even you might not believe. I can barely believe it myself, and I'm living this mad life."

"And I think we both could go for some breakfast right about now. How about we continue this talk after we get some food and water to better start the day?"

"Edaan…" Luke warned the young man, shutting down that stalling tactic before he got any further.

Sighing, Edaan groaned, "Fine. But don't blame me if one of us collapses from dehydration or suffers from heat stroke."

"I think we've both conditioned our bodies and Force reserves enough to avoid that dark scenario." Luke lightheartedly reminded him.

Forty Minutes Later

"So, that's it. That's the whole story. I'm going to do what you and your family gave up on, and I've got a lot more than determination to finish the job." Edaan admitted, taking a moment to wipe away the tears streaming down his eyes before guzzling through the last of his second water jug after finishing his explanation to a dumbfounded Luke.

If Edaan was telling the truth, and Luke could not detect a single lie in the young Jedi's outlandish tale, through the Force or through reading Edaan's micro expressions, then he had more than a strong mind and noble, stout heart going for him in his self-appointed mission of redeeming Vestara Khai.

According to the Jedi Order's brightest rising star, he had the help of six Jedi spirits in guiding him in the most advanced practices of the Force and the lightsaber, one of which was Jacen Solo, Allana's father, Luke's own nephew and greatest failure while he was Grand Master of the Jedi Order. But he was not taking this terrible burden all on himself.

No, he had the support of two dozen Jedi to help prepare him for the long and arduous task ahead, including several elite mavericks, investigators, and members of the Jedi Council, even all the way up the chain of command to Grand Master Katarn. Obviously, Edaan had inherited more of his ancestor's persuasive abilities than most beings could anticipate.

But what surprised him the most of all these revelations was how Allana agreed to help him after he helped her forgive her father four years ago. A remarkable feat, for Allana was not one who forgave terrible deeds and losses easily. He knew that she still harbored the emotional scars of Bazel's death from Vestara's ambush on Coruscant, botched though it was, according to Edaan.

And Vestara, what a tragic story that was, especially considering every heinous act she had committed since she left Ben and the Light Side behind ten years ago. All of her treacherous acts on Upekzar and Coruscant: killing Natua Wan to a Sith abomination in a misguided effort to save an incapacitated Ben, carefully botching an ambush against the Millennium Falcon and revealing Allana's identity as the prophesized Jedi Queen to the Sith, were not acts of loyalty to the Lost Tribe as everyone thought.

No, they were acts of a desperate and confused teenager, who was still too entrenched in the ways of her Sith youth to truly know better. While Luke obviously did not condone such behavior or acts in the slightest, it certainly changed his perceptions of the Sith Lady, and made him wonder if he had done things differently, Vestara could have still been a Jedi and together with Ben. Perhaps they could have been married by now and even have at least a couple children of their own.

Still, it did not help to dwell on the past or possible future now, not when Vestara was amassing increasing amounts of power for the Sith and had to be stopped before she could complete her dark designs.

And Edaan was clearly hurting from the pain of carrying this oppressive burden when the entire galaxy, along with most of the Jedi, would have been set against him should they know the truth. So, in order to do what was right for everyone, Luke decided to take the necessary measures to give Edaan the hope and means needed to accomplish his goals.

After all, over the last nine years of retirement, he had much time to reflect upon the full scope of his legacy, both positive and negative deeds and marks on the galaxy. And while the majority of his acts were beneficial for the galaxy, he could not help but feel a strong measure of regret for all of the lost souls he could not save, and the rare times he fell to hubris and strayed from the Jedi way.

He especially felt remorse over his inability to save the many Jedi under his tutelage that fell to the Dark Side, especially the five Jedi that he considered to be his greatest failures:

Brakiss, one of his first students at his Yavin Four Praxeum who eventually helped found the Second Imperium and his Dark Jedi to wage war against the New Republic before his betrayal and death by his cohorts.

Dolph, once a gentle young man with a promising future, before he lost his parents in a planetary civil war on his distant homeworld of Almania. Consumed by grief and falling to the Dark Side, he became his planet's ironfisted dictator while roping Brakiss into his schemes and leading a genocidal campaign against the New Republic through droid saboteurs. His madness killed millions of innocents and dozens of New Republic senators in his war, and nearly killed Luke before he was finally put out of his misery.

Bey Gandan, a young man full of promise and vanity that, when rebuffed his attraction to fellow Jedi Knight Klin-Fa Gi, fell to the Dark Side and allied himself with the Yuuzhan Vong, even after being tortured by them over a year after their invasion began, and tried to poison the planet Thyferra and its bacta-producing capabilities until Klin and her friends dispatched him and his Vong handlers.

Alema Rar, a Twi'lek slave who found emancipation by fellow Twi'lek, Jedi Knight Daeshara'cor, who suffered countless losses and hardships throughout the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion, before her accumulated pain fully drove her into the waiting arms of Lomi Plo and her personal Killik nest during the Dark Nest Crisis. She would commit too many heinous acts during the crisis and the Swarm War, and in her later alliance with Lumiya in order to wreak vengeance against Leia and her loved ones for the injuries the retrained Jedi Knight inflicted on her through many battles throughout the conflict for anyone to consider her redeemable. It was only when Jagged Fel finally put her out of her misery on a Sith asteroid base in order to redeem his family's name within the Chiss Ascendnacy that she was finally stopped.

Jacen Solo, Luke's own nephew and once an icon that many younger Jedi looked up to for guidance and inspiration, before his fall and dark transformation into Darth Caedus via manipulation by two Sith Ladies, and the trauma he endured by the Yuuzhan Vong during his yearlong captivity. Over the course of a single year, he committed countless atrocities throughout the Second Galactic Civil War while steadily taking over the Galactic Alliance to remake it into his own twisted image.

He utilized his secret police in the Galactic Alliance Guard to take over Coruscant and imprison many political enemies, rewrote the Galactic Constitution to authorize a coup against the true Chief of State, bombarded many enemy worlds to try and stem the rising tides of secession and defiance, and even targeted his own family if it furthered his dark ends. By the end, there was nothing he would not do in his efforts to bring a new Sith order to the galaxy, except harm his only daughter, Allana.

But first, Luke could tell that Edaan, for all his power, hope, and abilities, needed a strong reality check on the galaxy and the hard choices every leader had to make when faced with a crisis. Unless the Coruscant native could realize the error of his thinking through his current bitter and distrustful mindset, he would not be able to conquer the fears and darkness lurking in the deepest recesses of his heart, let alone save Vestara from her own darkness. And he would start with undoing the young man's intense and broiling hatred for the Skywalker family.

Walking over to Edaan, he knelt beside him and sternly, but not unkindly, offered him a hand up, "On your feet, Jedi Palpatine. It's time you learnt just what the real reason was for me returning to my roots."

"I don't understand. I thought you would be angry at me and threaten to expel me, not showing me any kind of compassion." Edaan disbelievingly stated, his eyes bloodshot from his tears and the stay bits of sand getting in his eye sockets.

"For all your potential and compassion, there is still much you fail to understand, not just about the galaxy, but about myself and my family. I think it's time for me to spend some time teaching you regarding your noble goal of saving a Sith."

"I promise, no harm will come to you while you're with me." Luke simply vowed, surprising Edaan, who, for some inexplicable reason, believed the former Jedi Grand Master before he took his hand to help himself up. "Come on. We ought to have a good breakfast before we go see a little project of mine that I set up here."

"Project? What kind of project are you talking about?" Edaan curiously asked, despite himself.

"Something that will show you that I haven't abandoned the galaxy, despite what you may think of me and many of the older Jedi, young Palpatine." Luke cryptically answered as the two Jedi prepared to reenter the landspeeder.

But before he could do so, Luke could feel his consciousness leave his corporeal form, and he found himself on a planet he had no intention of revisiting.

Covered in countless ancient and desolate ruins, the Sith mausoleum world of Korriban had been a stronghold for countless Sith Orders over the last seven thousand years. And sadly, as long as it existed, the teachings hidden away in its countless tombs would certainly give rise to new threats for many centuries to come.

But what was Luke doing here? Was he experiencing a vision granted to him by the Force? His reflections were interrupted by the familiar sound of lightsabers, at least five lightsabers, he assumed, active and clashing against each other.

Quickly being thrusted towards the battle, he came upon a sight that filled him with confusion and dread, seeing Edaan go up against five dark shadows and a Tuk'ata Hound, strategically keeping the five of them at bay with two lightsabers in a perfect display of Jar'Kari.

"It didn't have to be this way, Edaan! In fact, it never should have come to this!" A familiar female's mournful voice echoed throughout the vision. It was one that Luke could not easily forget, even with the passage of time: Vestara Khai, Sith Lady, galactic menace, one time girlfriend of Ben, and the woman Edaan had set his sights on for his daring quest of redemption.

"You refused every offer I gave you, Lady Khai; you gave me no choice but to fight!" Edaan regretfully spat through gritted teeth, before Vestara and two other Sith unleashed a storm of lightning at the Jedi. Nimbly avoiding the blast with a few grand acrobatics, Edaan telekinetically threw Vestara against the Sith war beast, leaving her for later before he recklessly charged at the four remaining Sith.

Suddenly, Luke found himself in front of a giant silver balance scale, with Edaan and Vestara, each bolstered by a legion of Jedi, Sith, and each of their legions of allies, stationed on a different plane of existence, trying to control the outcome of the balance.

More visions quickly followed, with Edaan trapped on a world Luke did not recognize, fighting with weapons stronger than a lightsaber, before seeing him leading a new alliance against many dark armies, and fighting for the Light and to finally finish restoring balance to the Force where his father failed.

But overseeing it all was a familiar and gruesome sight that Luke had hoped to never see again: a tall, silver-eyed, long-haired woman with a repulsive maw where her mouth should have been, and countless tendrils replacing her two arms as she gripped the balance scale and unleashed a bloodcurdling laugh that sent shivers across Luke's spine.

Abeloth. Luke felt his heart skip a few beats at the horrific revelation, and saw Edaan and a coalition of countless beings, coming from all walks of life, leading them against Abeloth and her armies of darkness to decide the fate of the galaxy. Just then, the vision stopped, having the Jedi Master return to his body in the outskirts of the Jundland Waste.

"Master Skywalker?!" Edaan's concerned voice was heard, and Luke found himself staring right at Edaan's head as the elder was lying on the ground. As he rose back onto his own two feet, Luke ignored Edaan's queries to contemplate the revelations he just received.

Could that have been a vision of the future? If so, what did it mean for everyone involved, and why did Luke receive this glimpse of what might come to pass? He would have to consider this carefully and let Grand Master Katarn and his most trusted friends know of these visions. If what he saw came to fruition, then the galaxy might very well not survive what was to come, unless they prepared for these possibilities.

"Don't worry, Edaan. I'm alright. I guess I had a bit of that heat stroke you mentioned." Luke easily lied.

"Come on. We need some food and water in our systems, and then I need to show you my pet project."

Two Hours Later

Mos Eisley

"You brought me to a library?" Edaan cautiously questioned upon coming upon a medium-sized stone building with a wooden sign that simply said, "Shiin's Library." "No disrespect intended, as I'd normally be down for a good reading session. I do love knowledge in all its forms."

"Well, part of the Jedi Code is to seek knowledge over ignorance." Luke amusingly agreed.

"Yes, but aren't we on a bit of a tight time budget right now?" Edaan pointed out.

"This won't take too long." Luke promised before he started to walk inside the two-story building, "An hour, ninety minutes at the most. Now come on. I have plenty of employees inside that would very much enjoy meeting you."

Stepping inside, Edaan saw at least two dozen shelves of books, composed of both holobooks and actual books made of flimsi, stationed throughout the store, each for rent to the town's residents, as well as many of the region's outlying settlements. At least, that was what the sign stated when one walked into the stone structure.

Wondering what the holobooks were focused about, Edaan prepared to walk over to ask a Chistori librarian examining a stack of holobooks, but Luke instructively stopped him, "Come along, Apprentice. Denal, the library's owner, is rather busy right now, and we'd do best not to interfere in his work of finishing cataloguing all of yesterday's returns."

Stepping aside, Edaan followed Luke, both of whom entered the store's back office before the latter stood in front of a stone wall. A few seconds later, the wall partially opened to reveal both a retinal and fingerprint scanner, and Luke quickly followed the instructions an automated voice ordered of him.

Observing the whole scene, Edaan had a strong hunch that whatever Luke was doing here, he was taking a terrible risk by showing his work with Jedi Apprentice. Once the retinal scan was complete, Luke ordered the unseen computer, "I'm authorizing a visitor for the network. Designation: Ought-Zero-Nineteen."

"Voice authentication confirmed. Welcome, Master Owen Lars." The masculine voice said as the stone wall slid open, revealing a descending stairway, one that was made entirely out of metals and technology instead of the typical Tatooine structures.

"Why'd you have the computer refer to you after your uncle?" Edaan wondered.

"Would you have a computer call you by your actual name if you were running a covert intelligence agency on your homeworld, especially when it's a Jedi-sanctioned one that would be shut down or destroyed if it was ever discovered?" Luke rhetorically asked, enjoying the shock quickly plastering itself over Edaan's face.

He then admitted with a sly smile, "Besides, I thought it was a good way to honor Uncle Owen and his love of Tatooine. Even if he wouldn't have wanted to have gotten involved with the rest of the galaxy, he still wanted to help his friends and family in his own gruff way."

"You… you're not kidding, are you?" Edaan hoarsely asked as they walked towards a durasteel door at the end of the stairs.

"See for yourself." Luke answered, right as he entered in a ten-digit code to unlock the three-inch thick door. And when Edaan stepped through the door, he was rendered speechless when he came across a sight wondrous to behold: It was a smaller version of the Jedi Temple's Archives and Situation Room combined in one giant chamber, with at least fifteen agents combing over incoming data from a six-foot tall central hub. All situated in a fifty-foot area, with eight hallways leading to other parts of the facility, it was an archivist's dream come true.

Immediately losing control of his boundless curiosity, Edaan quickly barraged Luke with a constant stream of questions, "How long have you had this big setup going on? Does everyone on the Council know about this? What kind of work are you doing here for the Jedi? Are these people your employees, or are they a subset of Jedi that you secretly founded? How many people know of this operation?"

"Edaan, you need to get a hold of yourself." Luke firmly told him, placing a hand on his shoulder to get him to cease his endless queries, "You're only embarrassing yourself here, and we need to move this along before we're missed for too long. Aside from the Council, another dozen veteran Jedi Knights and Masters, up to two dozen of the Order's best allies, and my family, you're the only person who knows the full scope of my retirement project here. And for many safety reasons, that's exactly how I'd like to keep this matter for a long time."

Clearing his throat and trying to recompose himself, Edaan apologized for his lack of tact, "Sorry for that, Master Skywalker. I just got carried away by all this and… well, it's quite impressive."

"It is, isn't it?" Luke allowed a small smile. "The wonders one can do for the galaxy and its peoples when that person is away from constant scrutiny."

"Yeah." Edaan marveled before realizing how hypocritical and judgmental he had been towards Luke.

Trying to apologize, Edaan respectfully admitted, "I was wrong about you, Master Skywalker. I was wrong about so much in this galaxy, and I wish I could take back those years of bitterness towards you and your family."

"I know the feeling, Edaan." Luke accepted the apology, before he suddenly began, "For the first two years of my retirement, I let my own bitterness towards Vestara and my failures against the Lost Tribe and Abeloth eat away at me. It hardened my heart even further and left me blind to the effects my mistakes had on the galaxy."

"It was only when I saw how, during a trip to the Darklighters' household to trade supplies, I treated those I considered part of my family, was when I began to see how far I had lost my way from the idealistic farm boy I was when I was your age. It helped me start to turn myself around and reexamine many of my choices over my later years, especially with many of the Jedi and the arrogance I helped allow creep into the Order."

"What do you mean by that?" Edaan asked, not with any hostility, but genuine curiosity.

"After the Yuuzhan Vong War, I allowed Jedi to go off and meditate and learn on their own. That worked fine for the first six years, but when the Alliance needed a strong and united response to the Swarm War, I had to bring everyone back under a central authority. I forced everyone to choose between the Order and their personal duties and beliefs. That made us lose good people like Tenel Ka and Danni Quee, and looking back we lost Jacen then as well." Luke sighed.

"He always was a deep thinker and hated having others control them in their pursuit of higher truth." Edaan quietly agreed, drawing on his lessons from Jacen's spirit, earning a confirming nod from Luke.

"After the Dark Nest crisis, I made the opposite mistake. I made the Jedi too centralized. I locked us in a temple on Coruscant and made us self-appointed protectors of the Alliance, whether the people wanted us to protect them or not. I repeated the mistakes of the old Jedi Order, and the galaxy almost paid the price for that arrogance."

"You were just trying to help people and keep them safe. We did have two apocalyptic wars to deal with in an eleven-year span." Edaan reminded him.

"That was exactly how Jacen thought, and look where that led him by the end." Luke shook his head. "We ended up alienating the people we wanted to protect. In getting so tangled up with politics we left ourselves vulnerable to Abeloth and the Lost Tribe. It only left the people we swore to protect feeling disaffected and abandoned, and they wanted out of the cycle of war between the Jedi and Sith that we helped start."

You mean after the Battle of Corbos and exiling twelve of the most dangerous Dark Jedi without a single means to keep an eye on them? Edaan remembered. Out of all the arrogant decisions the Jedi Orders had made, that was the one that had left its lasting scars on the galaxy over the last several millennia. With all the bad blood between both orders, it seemed a problem without a solution, not boding well for Edaan's vow of redemption for Vestara. "So, how do we end this endless cycle of war?"

"By doing what we should have done from the start. A long time ago, Mon Mothma told me she wanted to 'a Jedi on every street corner.' She wanted Force-users to coexist with normal beings, working normal jobs and living normal lives. She certainly didn't want us to be warrior-priests who never showed in public."

"And do we do that by leaving Shedu Maad?" Edaan asked. "Most of the galaxy isn't as receptive to the Jedi right now as the people here."

Luke shook his head. "No. That will stay our headquarters, and in time I think we can return to Coruscant and the Galactic Alliance. But I want most of our Jedi to be out in the galaxy, doing good wherever they can to rebuild the trust with the people. That is where you and your generation of Jedi will play a crucial role."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've already talked with Chief of State Dorvan and he'll be introducing a policy that will allow individual worlds in the Galactic Alliance to decide if they want to call upon the Jedi for aid in non-Sith related crises."

"How about the rest of the galaxy?" Edaan asked. "Do you really think the Hutts, Empire, and the independent worlds would want even more Jedi on their street corners?"

"Well, we already have a lot of Jedi in the Empire, especially with my niece and her family." Luke ruefully smiled a little. "It won't be easy for Jaina, but I'm sure she'll figure out how to navigate the two worlds. I'm also curious to see how many other Force-users she'll continue to find in Imperial space. I know that there are countless people out there with latent talents we've never had the opportunity to contact."

"Imperial knights," Edaan mused out loud. "That's a weird concept."

"The Jedi shouldn't be locked away in a tower, and neither should the Force. Jedi need to be free to explore the galaxy and learn new ways of working with people and solving problems. Jacen was right about that, at least."

"Hopefully you and the rest of the Jedi will be able to build the groundwork I'm laying for you. I fear we're running out of time before many great threats start to return." Luke gravely admitted, the underlying fear in his voice catching Edaan off-guard.

"Are you talking about the Sith and…" Gulping, Edaan terrifyingly whispered, "Abeloth?"

"Yes. As I'm sure you know, the Quest Knights are still searching for the Mortis Dagger, but I've been re-thinking their mission. It's important to find it, because it's insurance against Abeloth if she ever comes back.

"But for a while I was thinking that just possessing the only weapon that can kill Abeloth would help bring balance to the Force. I think I was scared after what had happened with Abeloth, the Lost Tribe, and Darth Caedus.

"If we really want to tip the galaxy back into light, it won't happen because we find some ancient Force-imbued artifact, or by eradicating all forms of darkness. It's going to happen by devoting ourselves to the will of the Force on a person-by-person basis. And I think that your mission to save Vestara will be a critical one in the years to come."

Looking directly at Edaan, he placed his hands on the young man's shoulders as he warned him, "But you can't do this alone, unless you wish to repeat Jacen's mistakes. You'll need people you can trust and work with outside the Jedi if you're going to reach the places Vestara and her people will be most likely to use."

"You mean like a team, don't you?" Edaan deduced. "I already have a few ideas in mind for a good crew."

"Then I suppose you're one step ahead of me in this case." Luke allowed a small smirk to cross his face. "But there's more I should do to help you."

"If you have any good suggestions, show them and I'll strongly consider them." Edaan laughed at the irony of the turnaround of his bitterness. "Man, I guess I owe Allana and Grand Master Katarn big time for convincing me to come here."

"Yes, you do." Luke warmly chuckled. "But I doubt we can get this done in a few hours. I'll keep in contact with you and Grand Master Katarn over the next few months, and we'll help you speed up your buildup of contacts and favors."

"Then when that time comes, I will be in your debt for the rest of my life, Master Skywalker." Edaan bowed to Luke, and it held no anger or resentment towards the man who brought the Jedi Order back from the brink of extinction.

Don't worry, Vestara. I'm going to save you soon, and now I know that when the time comes, we'll both have more friends than we can count! Edaan eagerly vowed.

Well, I think this is a good place to end the interlude. What did you all think of this? Do you think the characters were believable enough, as I struggled with Edaan having such anger rapidly bubble to the surface against Luke, and his sudden turnaround in attitudes towards the previous Jedi Grand Master? I hope that the chapter can do well for you all, as it'll give you a glimpse of what will come later on in this saga, and what comes afterwards. And I look forward to fleshing it out in the stories to come. So, how are you all doing on this warm but foggy day of Thursday, September 30, 2021? I'm doing well, as I am gonna go to my comic book store in an hour to buy a comic or two, and then I'll probably do some homework and preparations for a school project due in less than a month. Man, I am scared to graduate in less than three months. But it'll be a bridge I'll have to cross, so I'd better be prepared for whatever comes next. Well, I'd better get this chapter stored away, as it'll be a while before I publish it, since I have another one to write set before this one, which will feature Edaan going up against Natasi Daala and his tragic decision for Tahiri Veila and Jysella Horn. May the Force and God be with us all, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!

(Wednesday, December 29, 2021, Addendum.) Hey, everyone. How are you all doing on this warm night at the end of such a turbulent year? I'm all right, if a bit rattled by many recent events and tragedies that have been wreaking havoc all over the world. Man, we all need to come to God now more than ever, I believe, and it's not just religion and politics talking. Call it a gut feeling. But you didn't come here to hear me rant. I also have been reading a bit of Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection Volume 2, and the short stories contained inside are remarkable. I'm currently in the Legends section, and it only makes me wish that the continuity had never been discontinued. And I only have one day left of work tomorrow before I can take it easy for a few days afterwards. In other news, I've been playing a bit of Greedfall, and it's a great game. A smaller RPG compared to bigger and more well-known franchises, but very immersive and enjoyable compared to many other video games currently out there. Well, I'd best get this chapter published by tonight, as I want to get some rest for tomorrow and my final 7-hour shift of the week. May God be with us all in these dark times as we prepare to enter a New Year, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!