Hi everyone! Next week is the last weekly update because school starts. Also, I need to catch up on writing chapters. So next week, updates will slow down a little. Sorry.
Have you guys seen the Episode IX leaked photos? Finn and Poe look like cowboys. And does that grass look like Lothal to any of you guys? I'm excited, even after all that Last Jedi stuff that wasn't too great...
I finished the new Thrawn novel a few days ago. It was amazing, and I highly recommend it! I started Thrawn: Alliances yesterday and it's great so far as well. May be spoilers in the future of this story.
The cliffhanger from last chapter will be resolved, don't worry. Lots of Solo references in this chapter, guys. Get ready.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. That's Disney and Lucasfilm have the rights to that.
(published 8.28.18)
Chapter Twenty-One: Spectres and Ghosts
3 BBY
Dejarik was quite a popular game, especially among the Outer Rim. Even with two characters missing one the Millenium Falcon's board.
"So, what's your story?" Anakin asked, carefully thinking.
Chewbacca muttered something about a mud pit and Han finding him. His family had been sold into slavery by the Empire until he and Han had gotten a job retrieving coaxium. On Kessel, they had freed his family and they had gone off without him. Chewie stayed with Han, owing him a life debt.
"You're one hundred ninety-seven years old?" Anakin had asked in amazement. "You look great!"
The Wookie barked a laugh. Tell me, Master Jedi, how is young Ahsoka?
Anakin slammed his fist on the table and reeled back. "A-Ahsoka?"
Yes, said Chewie. We were both trapped on an island where Trandoshans would pick us off, one by one. We helped each other, along with two other Jedi Padawans.
Suddenly, it clicked into Anakin's mind: "Oh yeah! I remember that, how could I have forgotten?"
It is an honor, Master Jedi, he growled humbly.
Obi-Wan walked into the room, stretching his arms. "What's all this about?"
"Chewie is friends with Ahsoka," he smiled back.
Obi-Wan shrugged. "Ahsoka does make friends easily," he muttered. He sat down next to Anakin and leaned back, watching the intense game of holo-chess.
Is Master Yoda still alive? Chewbacca asked. He helped Kashyyyk at the end of the war.
"He is alive, yes," said Obi-Wan. "Yoda is strong; it would take a lot to break him.
Han walked in from the cockpit. "Well, we're in hyperspace and on our way to Alderaan. Now tell me, what's this about a Master Yoda?"
Obi-Wan and Anakin glanced at each other. "Yoda was a Jedi Master," Anakin said.
The Captain bit his lip. "Oh, so you're the monks."
"The 'monks'?"
"Yeah, you know, you monks and your hokey religion. But Chewie believes in it for some reason."
The Force helped my tribe, Chewie said, or it could have been, 'The Force helped my family.' Anakin couldn't tell.
"Well, it's all a load of bantha fodder, if you ask me," said Han drily.
Anakin sat up. "Hey, we believe in it, so will you just - "
"What my companion is trying to say," Obi-Wan said, glaring, "is that everyone has their own beliefs. We just believe strongly in our opinion."
The captain shrugged and added in some computations to his ship's computer. Anakin walked over to inspect the inner workings for his own amusement.
He saw something a bit quizzical. "Captain Solo, your ship speaks in a weird dialect," he noticed when looking at the readings in Basic.
He shrugged again. "That's the Falcon for you."
"But there's something here about a - a droid rebellion."
"Elthree, a droid who was put in here years ago, believed in equal rights for droids," Solo explained, reminiscing slightly. He chuckled. "I never understood it." He peered into the cockpit and stood up quickly. "Hey Chewie, we're coming out of hyperspace!"
All four of them raced into the cockpit, Han and Chewie sliding into the pilot and copilot seats.
"Alderaan," Han said, putting his feet on the control panel, which Anakin thought was very stupid.
Obi-Wan nodded. "Seemingly the only planet that had resisted the Empire's blockade." Indeed, there was only one small Imperial ship in front of the green world. Bail Organa had managed to keep a major Imperial occupation out of his homeworld for a long time.
Padmé, Anakin thought excitedly. I'm coming.
"A Jedi?" Luke said, holding up his hands in surrender. "My father is not a Jedi. He is definitely not a Jedi."
Kanan fingered his sleeve. "If he really is Anakin Skywalker, then yes, he was a Jedi."
"But I thought that Jedi weren't allowed to be in relationships?" Ezra questioned.
"They weren't."
"Again, my dad doesn't fight. He can hardly…" His eyes drifted to Kanan's side. "Wait. What's that?"
The Jedi picked up his lightsaber. "This? This is a lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi."
"The weapon of a Jedi…" Luke whispered. "Wait. My father has that thing, the cylinder. Or, lightsaber."
Ezra smiled. "See? Your dad must be a Jedi! He's got the lightsaber, the name, and you're Force-sensitive."
Leia stepped in, confusion lining her face. "Hold on, I thought that all the Jedi went extinct years ago. How could the Hero With No Fear be alive?"
"The Hero With No Fear?" Luke asked.
"Anakin Skywalker's nickname during the Clone Wars. What the news called him," Kanan clarified. "And Princess, you're looking at living proof that not all the Jedi died. It's definitely possible that he survived as well."
Luke suddenly had so many questions. "My father went to Tatooine when I was born. He came with his friend, Ben Kenobi. Do you guys know who he is?"
This time, Kanan, Ezra, and Leia all gasped. "Wait - Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Ezra said, become more confused every second. He looked at his master. "Like… the guy from the holocron?"
Kanan nodded again. "It sure seems like it. Kid, is Ben's real name Obi-Wan? Do you know?"
"Yes, his real name is Obi-Wan," Luke said. "But he changed it to Ben when they moved."
Leia lit up. "This is great! The Negotiator and the Hero With No Fear," she said.
"Negotiator?" he asked. "This is so confusing. Ben - Obi-Wan - was called Negotiator or something?"
"Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi of the High Jedi Council," Kanan said with clear admiration in his voice. "I met him a few times. He was intelligent, brave, and a cunning warrior. Only fought when he really needed to."
"Ben was a Jedi?" Luke said in astonishment. "I-I think I need to - " He plopped down in one of the seats, hand over his forehead.
"Wait - Chopper's trying to contact us!" Ezra said, waking everyone up from their dazes about Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Yeah, what is it, Chopper?" Kanan asked into a com. "Stormtroopers?"
The shuttle came around a band of stone mountains. An Imperial convoy was stationed next to the Phantom and troopers were ready to check out the ship as it landed.
"Kriff!" Luke cursed.
"Friends of yours?" Leia said dryly.
"Not for much longer," Kanan said. The shuttle landed and Kanan and Ezra stuck their helmets on again.
"What are we going to do?" Luke asked tentatively.
"This time, you follow my lead."
They all emerged from the Lieutenant's ship and stormtroopers greeted them. Two soldiers were surrounding a man with a white beard while an orange C1-model droid was peering out from another's legs, waving. "This is a secure site," said the commander. "State your business."
Kanan improvised, which apparently came easily to him. "I'm, uh, taking the princess ambassador here on a scouting mission for possible refugee relocation."
The trooper turned to Leia. "This is not a safe area for you. There's a high level of rebel activity going on here at the moment."
Kanan spoke up again, persuasion lining his words. "Well, we're finishing up our survey. We could take the prisoners back to Jalath for you."
"That won't be necessary. We have orders to terminate one of them immediately." The man with the beard looked down mournfully.
Ezra made a small noise and everyone reeled back a bit. Leia stepped up to the commander. "Hold on, trooper. As a representative of the Imperial Senate, I demand to know what this man has done."
Luke could almost feel the soldier rolling his eyes behind that helmet. "He's a fugitive from an Imperial prison. Now depart immediately for your own safety. When you find one rebel, there are usually more."
Suddenly, the C1 rolled into the center of the encounter and began whirring uncontrollably.
"Chopper's getting a signal!" Kanan whispered.
"That's your droid?" Luke said. "It's a piece of junk."
"Don't let our captain hear you saying that," Ezra laughed. "The Ghost is here."
A Corellian ship cast a shadow over the sandy ground and it swooped above them. It began to fire at the stormtroopers; even Kanan and Ezra, dressed at troopers, were in the line of fire.
Covering her head, Leia muttered, "More friends of yours?"
"Hey, I'm a likable guy!" Kanan ran over to help the older man while Luke, Leia, and Ezra hid behind one of the larger crates.
The ship's hangar bay opened, revealing what looked like a girl in multi-colored armor and a large… thing. A purple, hairy thing. Luke watched as the two exchanged fire with the Imperials, in shock that only two people could go up against all of those stormtroopers. Chopper, the droid, rolled through blaster fire to the ship. He exchanged some words with the girl, then propelled himself back to the Phantom.
The former prisoner said, "Your friends might shoot you wearing that armor."
Kanan nodded. "That's not a bad idea, Governor. Take the princess hostage."
Luke made a face. "What?" he asked.
"Don't worry, he can take you hostage too."
"Play along," Leia said through gritted teeth. "If I'm seen escaping with you, I'll be labeled a traitor. You have to take me prisoner."
"Well, you better make it look good," Ezra said. "I'll warn Sabine." He exchanged a few hand motions with the armor girl, who seemed to understand. She said something to the other creature.
Just then, the Governor pushed Kanan and grabbed Luke and Leia, pulling them with him.
"Help! Help! Commander!" Leia yelled, sarcasm projecting clearly from her voice.
Luke smirked slightly and said, "They're taking us hostage! Help!"
Over the blasts, Luke heard Kanan: "Hold your fire! They're my responsibility! I'll get 'em back."
Just how no one realized that this was a setup was beyond Luke.
The Governor stopped in front of the purple creature. "Kanan's coming. He said to make it look good." Before Luke was dragged onto the ship, he could almost see a grin of pleasure on his face.
Luke collapsed into the hold, although the ground was cold and grimy. He heard punches and looked up. The creature was hitting Kanan and Ezra!
"That's Kanan!" the younger Jedi yelled before he was whacked in the head with a large rifle.
Groaning, Luke got up. Above him stood a green Twi'lek along with the same armored girl from before, Sabine. "Hello," said the Twi'lek. "I'm Hera, the captain of this ship." She turned to Leia. "Princess, we're honored to have you. We're associates of your father's. And this is…"
"This is Luke," Leia explained, carefully dropping the last name. "He's one of my most trusted aids from the Rebellion."
Hera nodded. "Come with us to the cockpit. We've got a lot to discuss."
Huh, Luke thought. The Princess trusts me.
Hold it right there, Skywalker. We've got to figure out who you really are. And no, I still don't trust you, said a voice inside his head that certainly wasn't his own.
Leia? he gasped, continuing to walk even though he would have rather tried to yell at her. Are you using the Force?
I don't know, she admitted. I heard your voice in my head, and I responded.
They entered the cockpit. A few of the seats were covered with colored duct tape (which he had to admit was the most useful substance in the galaxy) and everything was very tidy. Compared to what the Jedi had shown, it was obviously only thanks to Hera that everything was this clean.
"Sit down, kids," said the Twi'lek. "If you want to try and get those ships of yours, you should rest up."
"Rest?" Luke scoffed. "I don't think I could rest after something like this."
"Me neither," Leia smirked.
The Governor walked into the room, folding his arms. Hera smiled at him and walked slowly out the door. "I owe you my life," he said. "You have my gratitude."
"It's the least we could do after leading the Empire right to you," Hera responded. Leia and Luke glanced at each other and followed the two out the door. He couldn't help but overhear the creature, who Luke still didn't know the name of, and Sabine, who now had her helmet off revealing bright blue hair.
"We heard what happened. Sorry, kid," said the creature. He was speaking to Ezra, who, along with Kanan, was awake now.
Sabine put her hand on Ezra's arm. "Hey. At least now you know."
"Yeah," the younger Jedi said, looking down. "I guess I just need some time." Luke and Leia again looked at each other. What was that about? Ezra had seemed so exciting during the battle, and suddenly, he was just… down. He walked past the two of them, entering the cockpit. Kanan approached them.
"Is he alright?" Leia asked with genuine concern in her voice.
"He's okay," he smiled. "He just lost some people close to him." Oh. "It's a challenge being his age with so much responsibility."
"I know that feeling," Leia said.
Luke sighed. "I've been living on Tatooine my entire life. Seeing this, people my own age working for a better cause… it makes me want to do something about it, too."
Kanan smiled. "Maybe he could use some friends."
Leia crept into the cockpit again with Luke at her side. Luke could hear a faint sob emanating from the nose gunner station. Quietly, they entered. Ezra sat there, wiping his eyes, staring at a holo of a man and a woman holding a cheerful boy, blue eyes and hair the same as Ezra's.
"I heard your transmission," Leia suddenly said, breaking the eerie silence.
"Yeah?" said Ezra, voice cracking a bit. "My parents did, too. But they're gone now."
Luke winced and looked down. "I'm sorry, Ezra."
"It's just… there's so much against us," he said. "Leia, do you ever wonder - "
"If this fight is even worth it?" Leia cut in. "Every day. But, I'm still here."
"But you're a princess. You don't have to do this," he remembered.
"I feel like because I can fight, I have to for those who cannot," she said. Okay, Leia was officially the most courageous person Luke had ever met. "And I think you may be the same way."
Ezra stared at the picture for a few more seconds. "Hey," Luke said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You have friends here. Friends who seem like they would support you no matter what."
The holo flickered off and Ezra stood up, letting out a quivering breath. "Let's figure out a way to get your ships back." He walked past Luke and Leia and the two shared a glance.
"You heard him," Luke smirked, turning to the Alderaanian. "Let's get your ships back."
"We did a scan of the landing field, and looking at the Imperial security, I just don't see us living long enough to get near those ships," Sabine was saying.
"Two walkers are a big problem," Zeb deadpanned.
"Ugh. Even if we reach the ships, they're not going anywhere until we can disable those gravity locks," Kanan said.
Leia stepped forward. "Those defenses are formidable. Why? Because the Empire doesn't underestimate you. They know how good you are."
"We might be able to get one, but we'll never get all three. It's impossible."
"My definition of impossible has changed based on what I've seen today," Luke said. "If we make a plan, an organized plan, we should be able to get through the defenses and take back the ships."
The Ghost crew raised their eyebrows, and there was a lengthy silence. Then Leia spoke again. "I know you need those ships. So don't tell me why we can't get them - tell me how we can."
Ezra finally said, "Well, Kanan and I still have our disguises, so we can get on the platform. But to get close to the platforms, we'll need a distraction."
"We'll handle that," Leia said and Luke nodded.
"The Ghost can act as air support," added Hera.
"And I can use detonators to blast off the gravity locks!" said Sabine, seemingly excited to get to blow stuff up.
Suddenly, a voice that Luke forgot was there spoke up. "Won't work. You can't forcibly remove the locks," said the Governor.
"You know this.. how?" Hera asked.
"In prison, I put these locks together, so I know how to take them apart," the Governor said.
"Ryder Azadi, does that mean you're getting involved?" Kanan said mischievously.
"Just this once," Azadi warned. "It's clear I can't stay on Lothal, so… I'll help you, if you get me out of here."
Luke grinned and put his elbows on the table. "So what's the plan?"
As you can see, a lot of stuff happened in this chapter: Anakin and Chewie reminisce about Ahsoka and the Clone Wars, Anakin meets Elthree, Luke finds out the truth about Anakin and Obi-Wan being Jedi, Luke and Leia discover their bond (but they don't know they're twins yet), and the Ghost crew devises a plan to take Leia's corvettes from the Empire.
Guest: You're absolutely right, Luke did screw up everything! Luke is very ignorant for a pretty long time until he gets some actual training.
Please make sure to REVIEW! Also, I have a challenge: Can you guys name all of the Solo references in this chapter! There's one that super subtle, so read carefully! I want to see if you guys know your Solo: A Star Wars Story.
May the Force be with you and God bless!
-HH