So, how did everyone like the reveal of the last chapter? I know there are videos of what might happen if Mace were to have survived Order 66, but this idea will be, mostly, my own storyline I have planned for him, and it's one I think ya'll will love. But now, back to the show.

Chapter III: The Book of Rebellion

Location: Nar Shaddaa, Vector Star Casino (14 BBY)

The elongated form of the Stinger Mantis loomed directly ahead of them. The crimson paint—the same paint Greez had persuaded a team of Partisan mechanics to help him apply while on their first visit to Kashyyyk—shone rather brilliantly in the bright, white of the landing pad's running lights.

"Impressive ship." The male Jedi allowed. "Not many S-161 Stinger XLs left, not after the Clone Wars."

"Hey, you really know your ships." Greez commended. Cal nearly laughed—the two Jedi had already learned the secret to keeping Greez distracted and putting him at ease in a dangerous situation—get him to talk about his ship.

"Our best friend is a diehard pilot." His female friend explained. "We've both learned as much about ships from his as we learned Jedi training from our masters."

"Yeah, well, hey, the Mantis is a really unique ship."

"I do not believe its smell counts, Greez." Merrin piped up.

"Hey, you—"

"I noticed." Asher cut in. "You've added an additional escape pod just forward of the engines, on the starboard side."

"You noticed that?"

"It's kind of hard to miss, actually."

"Greez! Cal!"

Cere Junda's voice interrupted their conversation. Recognizing that they'd now reached the Mantis, Cal moved forward, brushing his way between the two Jedi before rushing for his mentor. He'd not expected her to be hurt, of course, but given his reservations, he nonetheless felt unusually relieved to see that she was unharmed.

"Cere, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Cal. I—"

Cal, now, caught sight of the figure behind the woman, his white-and-violet armor dulled by carbon scoring and dirt. Though he appeared unarmed, Cal knew better than to take a clone ARC Trooper lightly.

"Cere, is that—"

"Relax, General." The clone interjected. "My orders were to detain, not to kill or wound."

"Yeah, well, you'll forgive me if I don't take your word for it; the last clones I saw were doing everything they could to kill me, after they killed my master."

"Of course, General, I—"

A loud roar, however, drowned out the clone soldier's words and forced Cal's attention away from the clone and to the Mantis's boarding ramp. Standing erect and proud was, by far, the largest Wookie that Cal had ever seen. She wore a belt of leather over her large form, its many pouches and clips doing little to dwarf her size. What caught his attention the most, however, was a lightsaber hilt, made almost entirely of wood, that hung from a second belt at her waist.

This, now, did take him by surprise—as best as he could remember, there had been no Wookie Jedi prior to the fall of the Republic.

"Good to see you too, Hawyya."

"I suppose now I might get some answers." Cere's words were those of a woman on edge, both upset and concerned.

"You have our sincere apologies, Master Junda."

"You know who I am?"

"Of course." The woman spoke up. "Our master spoke of you with but the highest regards—claimed you saved her life a dozen times over."

"I—"

"I'm Jedi Knight Asher Victus." The man introduced. "And this is my wife, the Jedi, Talia Arcturus."

This, in turn, became the biggest surprise so far, one Cal was now quick to voice.

"Since when were Jedi allowed to get married?"

"Since five years ago." Asher answered simply.

"We'd been in love with one another since we were teenagers." Talia added. "However, we never acted on these feelings beyond the occasional kiss or acknowledgement; we were too devoted to the Code and the Order."

"Once it became clear the Order had fallen, however, and the Dark Side had won the immediate war, we decided to let shine with a little light of our own."

"How does that even work?" Cal asked. "I—"

"We've both made peace with the reality of our situation, Cal." Talia explained. "If Ash were to die, I would grieve for him, I would be sad, yes, but—as hard as it may be—I would also celebrate his life and accept his loss."

"And I would do the same for her." Asher agreed. "It has never been more dangerous to openly act as Jedi, yet we do, and we have no illusions as what we risk by doing so. But, if either of us die, we will die as Jedi Knights."

"Asher Victus. Talia Arcturus. I—of course!" Cere gasped. "Lor. Your master was Lor Kavar."

Asher nodded.

"Who?" Cal asked.

"Lor Kavar. She was one of the Order's best swordsmen. She and I went on several missions together when we were still apprentices ourselves. When Cordova would go off on one of his solo archaeological adventures, he'd allow me to travel with Lor and her own Master."

Asher laughed. "Master Plo Koon once told me he was glad he wasn't a human while training Master Kavar; otherwise his entire head would have been white."

Cere, now, laughed as well. "Master Cordova once told me I was the reason he'd gone so bold so early in his life."

Cal, however, ignored the continued conversation and instead focused the brunt of his attention on the two Jedi. Merrin, it appeared, noticed this as well, and in response she dropped back, perfectly unnoticed, to come to stand perfectly abreast of him.

"You are concerned." She observed. Knowing better than to try and hide his worries, he nodded.

"Yeah, I am."

"Why? Do you not trust your fellow Jedi?"

"I trust him." Cal explained in a whisper.

"You have met him before?"

"No, but I've heard stories about him."

"What kind of stories?"

"He refused to lead clones into battle." Cal explained. "And he refused a commission with the Grand Army of the Republic."

"I thought all Jedi were warriors."

"He disagreed." Cal continued. "I don't know why, but he never engaged in open warfare."

"And his friend? Have you heard stories about her, too?"

"Yeah, I've heard stories about her, and not the good ones."

"What stories?"

"She came to the order later in life than most Jedi." He answered, his voice still a whisper. "She's not the first, but it was still always rare."

"This is a bad thing?"

"Jedi were taken from their families as toddlers, usually before the age of four."

"That sounds like abductions to me."

"It was for our own good—"

"Taking babies from their families is for their own good?"

"Older children would remember their families, and those attachments are harder to break. The Jedi took children from a younger age to prevent the formation of those attachments."

"Why is being connected to one's family such a bad thing?"

"As Jedi, our ultimate loyalty was always to the Republic, to the greater good."

"And Jedi having families conflicted with this?"

"How many beings could make the choice to save millions, or billions, of lives if it means sacrificing their family, the people they love?" Cal asked. "And even for those who would make that sacrifice, they would grow embittered and angry."

"And these emotions lead to the Dark Side?"

"They can, yeah."

"So then, these stories you've heard—what did they say?"

"That she was raised by those who worship the Sith."

"What are these—Sith?"

"Ancient Force-Users who were the opposite of the Jedi. Instead of seeking to protect and serve, they sought to dominate, to rule."

"So, you do not trust her because she was raised by your sworn enemies, yes?"

"I suppose—"

"Yet, you trust me, and I, too, was raised by the sworn enemies of your Order."

"Well, the Nightsisters weren't exactly our sworn enemies—"

"Yet you were always cautioned to avoid us, no?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Then where is the difference?"

"Well—I mean, I know you—"

"You do?"

"Well, yeah, I—"

"Which color is my favorite?"

"I—"

"What is my biggest fear?"

"Well—"

"Which of my memories do I cherish most?"

"You—"

"Face it, Cal Kestis, a few weeks of dodging life-and-death situations and this Empire of yours is scarcely enough time to get to know someone."

"I—"

The snap-hiss of a lightsaber coming to life, however, ended the conversation. Cal's own blue blade had only just snapped to life when Asher's weapon went sailing through the air, stabbing perfectly into the eye of an Imperial probe droid.

As lightsabers went dark once more, the older Jedi Knight casually walked over to the sparking, hissing mess that had once been a functioning droid.

"What do you think?" Tali asked. "Did it manage to get any communications out?"

"Hard to say. Commander?"

The clone trooper remained silent as he carefully studied the scanner now in his hands. Then, finally—

"No guarantees, Sir, but I don't think so; jamming's sill active."

"Regardless," Cere cut in. "It won't take long for the Empire to notice a probe droid's gone missing."

"Agreed, General." The clone added. "Sorry, sir, but we haven't much time before the Imps come looking."

Asher kicked the mangled mess over the side of the landing platform and into the dark void below. "Let them keep looking." He answered darkly.

"Perhaps it's best if we take this conversation indoors." Talia continued, motioning for the boarding ramp of the Mantis. "After all, we've much left to discuss."

"Agreed." Cere responded, leading the group for the safety of the ship. As he and Merrin brought up the rear of the group, however, Cal paused, looking back in the direction of the now-vanished probe droid.

"Cal?"

"I'm coming." He muttered. "It's just—"

"What is wrong, Cal?"

"I sense—something. A disturbance, in the Force."

"What kind of disturbance?"

"I—I'm not sure. I—"

"Hey, Kid, you comin'?" Greez asked, standing atop the boarding ramp.

Cal turned with a nod of his head and led Merrin up the ramp, forcing his mind back to the topic at hand.

Once in the ship, Cal found that, somehow, the entire group had managed to arrange itself around the now-dormant holoprojector. Putting his best foot forward, per se, Cal squeezed himself in between Cere and Greez as Merrin followed suit.

"You said the Jedi Council has a mission for me?" Cal asked.

"Wait." Cere countered. "The Jedi Council? The Council—"

"The Council is dissolved." Asher confessed. "Officially speaking, at any rate."

"Then—"

"We're on a mission to re-establish the High Council." Talia explained. "And, through it, the Jedi Order itself."

Cere and Cal, now, exchanged dark, forbidding looks. Taking charge, however, Cal shook his head.

"That's not possible, not anymore."

"Why not?" Asher asked.

"We destroyed the Holocron." He answered. "The—"

"The one with a list of all known Force-Sensitive Children prior to the end of the Clone Wars, you mean?" Talia asked. Cal, in answer, nodded.

"Good." Asher answered. "Given the nature of that list, I would expect nothing less from a Jedi Knight."

"I-wait—you knew about the list?"

He nodded. "We do."

"How?"

"Imperial communications aren't nearly as difficult to crack as the Empire would like for you to believe."

"That's how we learned of your mission to Nur, and your success against a Dark Lord of the Sith."

"A Sith Lord?"

"Of course." Cere breathed, her eyes going wide. "It makes so much sense, now. His fury, his coldness, the level of darkness I'd never before encountered."

"His name is Darth Vader." Asher explained as he brought a holo-image of the dark figure Cal and Cere had faced in the depths of Fortress Inquisitorious.

"What do you know about him?" Cal asked, leaning forward slightly as he studied the image closer.

"Unfortunately, not as much as we'd like." Asher confessed before allowing his friend to take over.

"We don't know his original identity—"

"Original identity?" This question, now, came from Greez.

"When one becomes a Dark Lord of the Sith," Tali explained. "There's ceremony to it. You shed the identity you were born with and take on a new name, a title granted by the Dark Side. As a Sith, he's Darth Vader, but who he was prior to becoming Vader—we still don't know."

"We have theories, of course, but nothing solid at this time."

"You," Merrin turned her attention towards Tali. "Know quite a bit about the Sith. How is this?"

"With all due respect—"

"I was kidnapped as an infant and raised by Sith cultists." Tali answered, silencing her friend's objections. "They discovered my bloodline was distilled from an ancient and powerful Sith Lord, and likewise they believed I was the one to bring the Sith back from extinction. Of course, they didn't know the Sith had never truly gone extinct, but still—"

"And did they succeed, these Sith Cultists?"

"Almost."

"What happened?" Came Cal's question. Talia, now, smiled.

"A Jedi Knight and an apprentice she never wanted crash-landed on our hidden planet while on a separate mission. The apprentice discovered me, refused to give up that I could be redeemed, and eventually, he succeeded. They brought me before the Council, and the Council decided that if I were to leave with only Sith teachings in my heart, I would be a danger to the galaxy. So, they accepted me for training as a Jedi, instead, and I've been a Jedi ever since." She paused, turning, now, to Cal. "So yes, my friend, the rumors you heard as an apprentice were true—mostly."

Cal blushed, but nonetheless he kept her gaze. "I'm sorry, I—"

"Relax, kid." She laughed. "Do you think you're the first of my fellow Jedi that have secretly judged me because of the rumors of my past?"

"Then why—"

"Why be honest about it when I could just as easily hide it?"

"Yeah."

"As Master Kavar taught me—trust given is trust returned."

"You have to give trust to receive trust."

"Just so. What we're about to ask you to do will make your Holocron quest seem like a quiet day at the Temple; it would be quite unfair to ask this of you without first showing you that I trust you."

"And what, exactly, is it you're about to ask of us?" Greez asked. "Because let me tell you, the Mantis has been through a lot lately, and if you want us to raid Coruscant, or run another Imperial—"

"You will be well-compensated, Captain." Asher answered calmly before motioning for his Wookie companion. "The case you see in Hawyya's hands contains ten thousand credits; you will receive another ten thousand once the mission is concluded. Additionally, we have state-of-the-art facilities available to repair, free of charge, any damage your ship should sustain during this mission."

"I-wow—"

"Like I said, Captain—you'll be well compensated for all you've done for our Order."

"I—well, hey, it's not all about the money, is it?" Greez asked in a shaky voice. "I mean, these two are the best thing to ever happen to me. I—they make me feel important, like I'm doing something that matters."

"I can promise you, Greez; it does." Cere answered as she placed a shoulder on her hands.

"So, then, what is this mission you wish for Cal to undertake?"

"Right." Asher answered, placing his hand back on the holoprojector. A moment later, the image of a green-and-blue planet appeared before them. There was, Cal, had to admit, something eerily familiar and yet utterly alien about it. "Cal, Master Junda, does the name 'Tython' bring back any memories?"

Neither Jedi answered.

"I presumed as much." Asher continued. "Though not the Order's birthplace, it's still considered the ancestral home of the Jedi Order; some of the original Force Users could even be traced back to this planet. Approximately three thousand years ago, after the sacking of Coruscant and the subsequent Treaty of Coruscant between the Old Republic and the Sith Empire, the Order abandoned Coruscant as our headquarters and returned here, to Tython; for decades, this was the Order's de facto capital. Our knowledge of when or why the Order would abandon Tython and return to Coruscant is still vague and incomplete. Today, however, it sits mostly abandoned, home only to the natives known as Flesh Raiders."

"We had a mission a few months ago to Tython." Tali explained, now taking over for her husband. "We'd heard rumors that the Dark Lords may be interested in the planet's lingering Jedi secrets, so Master Kavar dispatched us to investigate."

"Were they?"

"No." Asher answered without looking at Cere. "All we found was a band of mercenaries looking for a place to lay low."

"Apparently, they'd made a blind jump into hyperspace to escape an Imperial patrol." Tali added. "We helped them effect repairs to their ship and then they went about their way—after we erased their navicomputers."

"However, while there, we came across the remains of an outpost, easily three millennia old. While investigating the ruins, we uncovered something—an item—of a unique nature."

"How unique are we talking?" Cal asked. In turn, his fellow Jedi brought up a new holo-image, one he wasn't expecting.

"It is a stone tablet." Merrin observed. "How is that unique?"

"See the symbol in its center?"

Cal nodded, but said nothing as he studied that symbol closer. It looked very much like the Jedi Order's sigil, yet it also looked different. While it was certainly related, it was nonetheless completely different.

"This was the Galactic Republic's official emblem-three millennia ago."

"What about those little symbols above it?" Greez asked.

"That," Talia explained. "Is the ancient language of the original Jedi, dating back over twenty thousand years ago; even before the Order returned to Tython, it had gone extinct; very few Jedi would have known it, and even fewer would have practiced it."

"I see."

"What does it say?" Cal asked, his curiosity now beginning to get the better of him.

"It took almost a full month for us to decode." Asher admitted. "Unfortunately, it looks like only a partial piece of the overall thing. However, this piece's translation…" He trailed off, then, and with the push of a button, the image began to morph. The strange symbols hovered in the air, glowing brighter than the tablet itself. Then, however, the symbols began to morph, transfiguring themselves into something more readable. Cal, in turn, began to read the writing aloud.

"The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins, but in the heart of its strength lies its weakness: one candle is enough to hold it back. Love is more than a candle; love can ignite the stars."

"Well, someone was waxing poetic." Greez joked.

"Agreed." Tali concurred, before yet more symbols began to arrange themselves below the poetry. This, now, did catch Cal's attention. Two words. Only two. Two words that struck him with both concern and hope.

"Sith Killer." Cere translated, her eyes now finding Cal, the implication hanging there, unspoken.

"We believe," Tali concluded. "That this may be something we could use to destroy the Sith, once and for all."

"Exactly. See these numerals here?" Asher asked, now highlighting the numbers he'd mentioned. "We could find nothing to match them, until Hawyya there suggested plugging them into our ship's navicomputer."

"So, we did." Tali explained. "And we got this."

A new world appeared, now, replacing the image of Tython. This world, also green and blue, however, was once that Cal knew well, having once accompanied his own master there.

"Alderaan?"

"Mhmm. The exact coordinates seem to lead somewhere deep in the Juran Mountains. Beyond that, however—" Asher sighed. "You know as much as we do, now."

"Cal, we want you to investigate this." Tali explained. "Go to Alderaan, find what's at this location, and follow that clue as far as you can. With any luck, it's a weapon or knowledge that can help us defeat the Sith once and for good."

"Whoa, now just hang on a minute." Greez interrupted. "I thought you said this mission involved rebuilding the Jedi Order."

"It does."

"It doesn't sound like it to me."

"I'm with Greez—especially with your knowledge of the Sith," He paused, eyeing pointedly at Talia. "Why don't you investigate?"

She said nothing, but instead looked over at her husband, who held her gaze but momentarily before nodding. Asher, then, spoke up.

"The truth is, under normal circumstances, I would demand it be us. However, we are on a mission of our own to, as we explained before, rebuild the Jedi Order."

"How can you do this?" Merrin asked. "Cal destroyed your list—"

"We're not going to focus on training a new generation of Jedi." Tali explained quickly. "At least, not yet, not while the Sith and the Inquisitors are in control; the dangers such a move pose are astronomical, as I'm sure you would agree. After all, is that not why you destroyed the list?"

"Yeah, it is."

"If your goal isn't training new Jedi, then what—no—surely—"

"There were approximately twelve thousand Jedi prior to the First Battle of Geonosis. Even by the end of the war, we numbered just under ten thousand. We have no absolute data to tell us how many survived Executive Order 66 or the subsequent purge, but our best estimates put it between one and five percent."

"And even if its on the low end of those estimates," Tali added. "100 Jedi Knights have a great rate against two Sith Lords."

"However, we'll also have to face the might of the growing Imperial Starfleet. To do that, we need allies, and for allies, we need to show them we have something that can cut the head off the beast."

"This Sith Killer."

"Indeed."

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but you've still not told us what you'll be doing." Greez countered.

"You've all faced the Inquisitors—Cal, how many meetings did it take before the Second Sister knew who you were?"

"She knew by our second meeting, why?"

Asher nodded, answering, once more, for his wife. "Seems rather odd, doesn't it? After all, if even a hundred Jedi survived the Purge, how did she know which of those Jedi you were, unless—"

"They've kept records." Cal gasped, the truth of it, now, striking him.

"Indeed, that is our theory." Tali confirmed. "We believe the Empire has either kept records of the Jedi who survived, or, more likely, records of Jedi they've confirmed as having died."

"The latter is most likely; once they took the Jedi Temple, the Empire had access to all of our rolls; they could cross-reference those lists with Jedi that are confirmed killed, and they would now have a list of potential survivors."

"You're going after the list."

Asher nodded. "We are. If we can get that list, we can begin locating surviving Jedi and begin the process of re-establishing some sort of working leadership, and perhaps, eventually, a New Jedi Order."

"I don't like this."

"Master Junda."

"I'm sorry, Asher. Cal, think about it—if we gather the surviving Jedi in one spot, it'll be like setting off a flare in a dark forest; the Sith will sense us."

"I—"

"We won't be gathering the Jedi in one spot." Asher argued. "Not immediately, at any rate."

"Right now, Master, our plan is simply to confirm which Jedi have survived and plan a future conclave, once we can be sure our presence won't be detected by the Emperor and Vader."

"Wait—the Emperor is Force Sensitive?" Greez asked, sounding dumbfounded. "I mean, sure, he's ugly and all, but—"

"Sheev Palpatine is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious." Asher answered.

"How do you know this?" Cere asked.

"We were on Coruscant shortly after the clones turned on us. A friend of ours managed to hack Imperial Security and, among the things we found, was an image of Master Yoda confronting the Emperor, referring to him as Darth Sidious."

"According to Master Kenobi's report from Geonosis, Count Dooku boasted that Darth Sidious was secretly in control of the Galactic Senate and even responsible for the Blockade of Naboo." Asher explained.

"It does make perfect sense." Tali explained. "It was the Blockade of Naboo that directly led to Palpatine being elected as Supreme Chancellor. He then corrupted Count Dooku, who was a public and beloved member of the Order. Dooku, as Count of Seranno, bankrolls the Separatists with nearly unlimited wealth and makes war against the Republic."

"Indeed." Asher concluded. "Palpatine seems the elderly, grandfatherly hero while he secretly manipulates the war from both sides—Chancellor Palpatine for the Republic, and Darth Sidious for the Confederacy—and then, when the Jedi Council discovers the truth, he makes the Jedi look like traitors with most of the public support now against us. He orders the Grand Army to enact Executive Order 66, and they're just following orders, so there's no hatred or malice to sense, and suddenly, across the galaxy, thousands of Jedi are exterminated in a matter of minutes, and there's no one left to contest the Sith for control of the galaxy."

"It is the perfect plan." Merrin allowed.

"Aye, indeed it is." Tali agreed with a nod of her head. Cal, meanwhile, struggled to breath. Though he didn't allow this struggle to manifest itself physically, he was nonetheless struggling with this revelation. Looking over at his mentor, he could see that Cere was thinking the same thing.

"The Jedi," He spoke slowly, cautiously. "Were doomed the moment the war began. If we fought, we lost—we were spread to thin, one Jedi for thousands of clones. If we stood out and refused to fight—we lost. Public sentiment would turn against us, we'd lose all of our moral and legal authority."

"The perfect trap." Cere added. Cal, in turn, nodded.

"The perfect trap."

"Darth Sidious and Darth Vader believe they have us defeated." Asher explained. "They view the remaining Jedi of such little threat that they're no longer actively hunting for us—Inquisitors are only dispatched if a Jedi is found by local authorities. We've spent enough time hiding for fear of the Dark."

"Now," Tali added. "It is time for the Dark to respect the Light."

"So, Cal, will you help us?"

Immediately, he nodded. His answer no longer required thought, or care, or meditation. Without fully understanding it himself, he could sense that the Force was telling him this was the right choice to make.

"Cal—"

"I understand the risks, Cere, but I think—I feel—they're right. I—I trust in the Force."

"And I trust in you." She concluded.

"Well, then, if that's set—"

A beeping commlink, however, drove the remainder of Greez's words into silence as Asher and Tali exchanged surprised—and concerned—glances. Asher, however, moved, patching his commlink into the holoprojector before them. Immediately, the image of a man in his early thirties appeared, his black, spiky hair a sharp contrast to his bright, brown eyes. Donning a custom-made flight suit, he did indeed appear to be at the controls of a ship.

"What've you got, Pax?"

"I know Master Kavar told you both to stay out of trouble on this one, but surely there's a reasonable, logical explanation why an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer just emerged from lightspeed and dropped three troop transports, three troop transports now making a hard burn for the Vector Star Casino."

"Karabast."

"What was that?"

"Sorry, Pax." Tali answered for her husband. "We were spotted by an Imperial Probe Droid."

"And you thought destroying it was a good—wait, no, that'd be Asher, wouldn't it? Because of course it would—"

"We managed to keep it from transmitting a signal—"

"Thank the Force for small miracles. Of course, I would presume one of you might have a plan for escaping. I mean, I'm good—perhaps even the best—but the Raven's Claw can hardly take on a Star Destroyer."

"General," Tactus interrupted. "While you were in the casino, I took the liberty of hacking their security grid, just in case we needed a distraction. I'm triggering an alarm in 30 on the far side—they'll think it's a drunk and disorderly fight. That should distract them long enough for us to make our escape."

"Great thinking, Commander." Pax commended. "I can mask our transponder and match it to one of an Imperial cargo hauler; by the time that Star Destroyer knows otherwise, we'll be free and halfway across the galaxy. Locking onto your sig-locks now; ETA is 95 seconds."

"Take this, Cal." Asher commanded, handing the younger Jedi a data chip. "It contains everything you'll need."

"There's also a set of coordinates encrypted within." Tali added. "Travel there once your mission is complete, or if the Mantis is damaged and needs safe harbor for repairs. When you do, however, be sure you're transmitting your true transponder."

"Or what?" Greez asked.

"Or else I'll never have a chance to try that galaxy-class cooking you promised me as we left the Vector Star." She answered with a wink as she followed her companions out of the ship and down the boarding ramp.

"Tactus," Asher asked as they approached the edge of the landing pad. "Have you finished their Ident-cards?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The clone responded, handing a series of card-shaped objects to Cere.

"Once you reach Aldera, you'll find Viceroy Bail Organa is awaiting your arrival; he's to be your primary contact on Alderaan. He's—a friend of the Order. Those Ident-cards will mark you as faithful Imperial citizens and get you through any Imperial checkpoints." Asher paused. "Remember, though; you may be safe on Alderaan, but the Empire has eyes everywhere."

"And remember; trust always in the Force." Talia added.

Before Cal could respond, the roar of engines drew his attention upwards just in time to watch a ship descend upon them. It was, he recognized almost immediately, an old Consular-Class Corvette from before the Clone Wars. Its body was painted in a dark, rich blue, with a single bronze strip running the length of its central dorsal hull. As it descended, its forward-facing boarding ramp lowered, beckoning Asher and his party home. The male Jedi was the last one up the ramp, but as the ship began to slowly ease away from the ramp, Asher turned, offering a nod towards Cal.

"May the Force be with you, my friend."

And then he disappeared into the ship, and with its crew now safely aboard, the ship turned upwards and made a final, hard burn for space.

"Hey Kid, not trying to tell you what to do, but we should probably follow them."

"Right with you, Greez." And Cal turned and followed the Latero pilot back towards the Mantis. "Next stop, Alderaan."

So, for the record, the Consular-Class Corvette is the ship that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are on at the start of The Phantom Menace. Also, for those who may ask, most sources agree that there were between 10,000 and 12,000 Jedi prior to Geonosis, and the official cannon has that around 1% of those survived into the Imperial Age. Also, I know it seems like my OCs know more than they should about Sidious and the Clone Wars, but that will be explained throughout the story. So, what'd ya'll think?