"What is it, Lord Judicar?" Vestara Khai asked after stepping away from her station on the Helping Hand's bridge. "What do you feel?"
Standing at the bridge's center, Darth Judicar's yellowed eyes flashed open and she looked down upon Vestara. "I feel a presence with which I am unfamiliar, Tyro Khai, and it is coming for us."
Vestara looked concerned. "Shall we raise defenses, My Lord?"
"No," Judicar replied simply.
"No?" Vestara asked.
"This presence, though strange, is nevertheless one that is clearly willing to serve the Sith," Judicar explained as her gaze returned to the bridge's viewport. "We shall welcome this newcomer, Tyro Khai."
"As you wish, Lord Judicar," Vestara responded obediently before she turned to return to her station.
"And, Tyro Khai?" Judicar asked.
Vestara stopped in her tracks and turned back to address Judicar. "Yes, My Lord?"
"If I need you to step away from your station," Judicar intoned darkly, "I will let you know. Is that clear?"
Despite the schooled expression on Vestara's face, Judicar could read right through the girl's emotional Force-shield and practically taste the fear that was mingled with the respect that she had for her.
"Yes, Lord Judicar," Vestara declared evenly.
"Good. You may return," Judicar added more calmly.
Vestara turned back again and resumed her station, which was at one of the bridge's sensor stations alongside several other Tyros.
It had been weeks since Judicar and Vestara had initiated their mission to build a fleet for the Lost Tribe of the Sith by pillaging from pirates, smugglers, and even innocent merchants and cargo haulers in Wild Space and at its fringes. And with more ships that the two Sith brought back to Kesh, more Lost Tribe members, namely Sabers, Tyros, and even Lord Sarasu Taalon and Vestara's actual Master Lady Olaris Rhea, had taken those ships and initiated their own ventures to collect even more vessels for their brethren.
As such, the number of ships that were in this nameless system—which contained a blue dwarf star and a few lifeless planetoids—numbered well over thirty. And yet there were still other ships that the Lost Tribe had acquired that were lurking in other nearby systems which were little known hyperspace lanes that pirates and smugglers liked to take.
But now, instead of waiting for one of those illicit-faring ships to drop out of hyperspace before this small fleet, Judicar awaited the arrival of the unknown but friendly dark presence.
And she only had to wait a few minutes as a ship that looked like a giant eyeball with branching wings appeared several hundred kilometers before the Helping Hand.
Judicar's heart skipped a beat upon seeing the strange ship. In her previous life as Jaina Solo, she had fought vessels that bore a faint resemblance to this in the form of Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers and other battleships helmed by the extragalactic invaders.
But then that notion was immediately dispelled from Judicar's mind when a masculine voice conveyed to her through the Force, There is no need to fear. I come to serve the Sith who do not cower from their destiny.
After Judicar had a moment to adjust to the fact that she was speaking to something that was neither human nor humanoid, she communed, And just what are you that wishes to serve us?
I am a Sith Meditation Sphere. And as I have made clear, I am at your will.
Warily, Judicar replied with, Very well. My name is Darth Judicar, and you have my permission to dock aboard my ship; you know where I am.
Thank you, Lord Judicar. And might I say, your strength in the dark side matches perfectly with your cousin's memory of you.
Judicar raised an eyebrow. You know my cousin Ben?
He freed me from my imprisonment, and he delved deep into the dark side of the Force to do it. I feel that, with enough time, he may even eclipse you in terms of power, Lord Judicar. I believe, also, he will use that power to avenge his mother when he has reached the zenith of his abilities.
Judicar kept the grimace she wanted to express off of her face. She also managed to shield her emotions when she said to the Sith Meditation Sphere, I believe we have a lot to talk about. You know where to dock.
No more was exchanged between Judicar and the Sphere before the latter rocketed itself toward the Helping Hand's hangar bay.
As the living ship made its way to Judicar's ship, however, the Sith looked back to Vestara and the Tyros beside her. All of them quickly looked back at their stations as if they hadn't all just been staring at her during her conversation with the Sphere.
Judicar ignored them before she turned to her other side and announced, "Commander Faal!"
"Yes, Lord Judicar?" asked Commander Leeha Faal, a female Keshiri Sith Saber who was roughly the human Sith Lord's age.
"You have command of the bridge while I go and address this Sith Meditation Sphere more personally," Judicar ordered. Then she added more loudly, "And you have free reign to discipline the Tyros however you wish if you even suspect that they might be slacking in their duties."
"Including Tyro Khai, My Lord?" Faal asked.
"Why should she be exempt?"
"Um..." Faal trailed off as she tried to think of a response that wouldn't potentially offend the Sith Lord.
"Do not assume that my connection to Vestara Khai will excuse her from punishment on account of insubordination, Commander," Judicar stated. "She will be treated like any other Tyro who gets out of line. Is that clear?"
"Yes, it is, Lord Judicar," Faal replied hastily.
"Good." Judicar said nothing more before she turned and left the bridge.
However, before she passed through the exit, she reached out through the Force for Vestara again.
And again, the mixture of fear and respect remained, as it should.
. . .
When the Jade Shadow finally cycled down its engines in the hangar bay of Shedu Maad's Jedi Temple next to the Millennium Falcon, Luke wasted no time in unstrapping himself from the pilot seat's crash-webbing and rushing out of the ship to embrace his waiting son in a firm hug. No words were exchanged between them; for now, all they could do was sob in each other's arms, uncaring of what anyone else in the bay might have thought.
Of course, the few spectators who were there—Han, Leia, Kenth Hamner, and Cilghal and her assistants—only looked on with respect and sadness; after everything that they had gone through, especially considering the things that Ben went through on Ziost, it was only fitting that they leave the Skywalkers with this moment.
As Luke and Ben continued to hold each other, even as the sobbing finally died down, Cilghal and her assistants sidestepped them and boarded the Shadow. When they emerged, they had, between them, the Force-trapped form of Lumiya, sans her legs and her left arm while her right arm remained inoperable following her duel with Luke. Both her dazed outward expression and subdued Force-presence indicated that she was clearly under the influence of a mild sedative that kept her from using even the stump of her left arm from using the Force to attack anyone.
Once the three Jedi passed close by to Han, Leia, and Hamner, the non-Jedi of that trio quickly whipped out his blaster, stepped between Lumiya's Jedi captors, and levelled the tip of the barrel under her chin.
"What have you done to Ben, you evil witch?" Han growled.
"Han, not here!" Leia exclaimed. "Not now!"
Because Han's sudden action had caused Cilghal and her assistants to stop in their tracks, the Jedi Master said, "Captain Solo, if you would please step back and-"
"This Sith scum tortured my nephew and made him use the dark side of the Force!" Han shouted. "I'm not steppin' back 'til she answers for-"
"Han!"
At the sound of his brother-in-law's Force-enhanced voice, Han looked away from Lumiya's dazed face and toward Luke. The Grand Master was now standing up to his full height, with a protective arm around Ben's shoulders.
"Let us handle this," Luke conveyed more calmly.
Han spared another look at Lumiya. The Sith, however, even in her dazed state, managed a sneer.
Nevertheless, Han had the ability to control himself from lashing out at her any further and swiftly turned away to return to his place next to Leia. And with that, Cilghal and her assistants resumed their course with Lumiya in their Force-hold for the Temple's medbay, where she would be held in a recently-constructed cell next to an ysalamir that would repress her Force-abilities after the sedative had worn off in her system.
After Lumiya and her captors left the bay, Hamner stepped away from the Solo couple and walked up to the Skywalkers.
"How are you feeling, old friend?" Hamner asked as he placed a hand on Luke's shoulder.
"I'm glad to have my son back, Kenth," Luke replied evenly. "I'll also have to get a replacement hand soon." He held up the stump where his artificial hand, lost to Lumiya back on Ziost, used to be. When he lowered that arm back to his side, he continued with, "But to cut to the chase, you still have control of the Jedi Order for now. Ben and I have some things we need to work through first." He cast a saddened glance down upon his son before returning his gaze upon Hamner.
The acting Grand Master nodded before taking his hand off of Luke's shoulder. "Of course. There's no rush. Even in this time of war, you should be given time to grieve."
Luke returned the nod and said nothing more before he took Ben around Hamner and toward Han and Leia. The latter said, "Luke, if there's anything we can do to help-"
"We'll be fine, Leia," Luke cut her off. "Like I told Kenth, Ben and I need some time to ourselves first."
Leia nodded as Han said, "Well, we're here for you anyway, kid. Don't you forget that."
Luke gave a small smile to his brother-in-law. "I never could, Han." He and Ben then walked around the Solos and made their way to the hangar bay's exit.
Once Luke and Ben were gone, Han and Leia turned back to Hamner.
"You didn't bring us here just for Luke's return, did you, Kenth?" Leia asked.
"I'm afraid not, Leia," Hamner replied as he walked toward her and her husband. "Fleet Admiral Bwua'tu and Master Durron called me from the Calamari system. The Jedi there, including Jacen, discovered a Sith among the Chiss and have successfully captured him. Commander Bwua'tu has given the Jedi full permission to disengage from the Calamari campaign and return to Shedu Maad with their captive. They're expected to drop out of hyperspace into this system within a few hours."
"And hours after that, we'll be able to get started on seeing if we can end this war," Leia concluded, "by seeing if we can get this Sith to tell us what he knows."
"That's not gonna be easy," Han said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Especially since interrogation techniques aren't typically endorsed by the Jedi Order."
"Oh, I assure you, Han," Hamner said, "the Order won't be conducting these interrogations."
Both Solos' brows furrowed in consternation. "What do you mean, Kenth?" Leia asked.
"Upon learning of this Chiss Sith's capture, Commander Bwua'tu approved of a Galactic Alliance specialist to conduct the interrogation," Hamner explained. "I thought that it was important for you to know, Leia, given how this concerns your efforts in gaining the cooperation of factions such as the Bothans into aiding the GA in ending the war."
"And you thought it would be appropriate that Han and I be appraised of this information if and when this Chiss Sith is successfully interrogated," Leia deduced. Her tone, however, conveyed a strong reluctance in accepting what had to be done according to Hamner.
Hamner nodded. "Of course. Now I understand that you may not approve of the methods that may be used here, given your personal history-"
"I don't need to be reminded of what tortures are accompanied by interrogations, Kenth," Leia interrupted sharply.
Hamner held up his hands defensively. "Of course not, of course not." When he lowered his hands once he detected that Leia had calmed down, and that Han wasn't going to say or do anything rash himself, the acting Grand Master continued with, "I'm just wondering if... you had any better ideas." His tone indicated that, as a Jedi, he, too, didn't much care for what had to be done if they wanted to end the Chiss War.
Han and Leia looked at each other for a moment before they returned their united gaze upon Hamner. "We'll think about it," Leia said. "Until then, Kenth, we'll wait in our reserved quarters here."
"Thank you," Hamner said with a nod. "I'll let you know when Master Durron, Jacen, and the others arrive."
Han and Leia returned the nod simultaneously before they turned and left the hangar bay.
. . .
On their way back to their family's quarters in the Jedi Temple, Luke and Ben remained silent both outwardly and even in their Force-bond. And even after they returned to their quarters and the door was closed behind them, still no words were spoken between them for a long time.
Instead, Ben looked out upon the pristine, well-kept living room that was barely used. He stood there for a long time, his thoughts unknown even to his silent father, before he finally began walking.
At various points, he stopped at certain spots to look them over with a clearer eye; namely, at things that Mara had possessed. Little trinkets and keepsakes here and there, as well as a holophoto of a picnic that the Skywalkers had on Ossus before the Killik crisis had broken out.
After what had to have been an hour, Ben had mustered the courage to finally approach his parents' bedchamber. He hesitated for only a few seconds before he opened the door and walked in. Upon entering, however, his walk was even slower than before as he gazed longingly all around at everything that had reminded him of his mother.
When he finally approached the bed, he levelled both hands over where Mara had slept beside Luke.
He felt her there; not her completely, but a passing remnant of her presence that had yet to completely fade away in time.
It only took a few moments, but it was only then did Ben collapse upon Mara's spot and cry there.
Luke, for his part, who had felt he had done enough crying for now, simply allowed his son to let it all out for the memory of his mother. But even so, he couldn't help but leak a few tears of his own at the sight.
When Ben finally stopped crying, he looked back to his father with rage that shocked Luke.
"Jaina did this, Dad," Ben growled. "I was there, I saw it. I saw it all with my own eyes! And Lumiya... Lumiya let her kill Mom!"
"Ben, please, don't," Luke said with his natural hand raised. "I know what you went through on Ziost. Trust me, I do. Please, don't give in to your hate. That's not how your mother and I raised-"
Luke was cut off from saying anymore when Ben suddenly unleashed a Force-wave toward him with both hands. But the Grand Master blocked it just in time from blasting him off his feet before he used his own Force-power to pin his son to the wall behind him.
As Ben struggled vainly under his father's power, Luke walked up to him and levelled a stern gaze upon him. They stared each other down, once again not needing to convey anything to the other through either words or the Force, before it was Ben who grimaced and looked down in shame. Only then did Luke release him from the Force-hold before bending down and embracing him again.
"Lumiya and Jaina will both face justice for their crimes, Ben," Luke said with a soothing whisper. "But we will not resort to the dark side to mete out that justice."
But even as he said that, Luke didn't feel he was fully convinced by his own words.
