Tython - The Ancient Master's Retreat of the Jedi Order

The planet practically thrummed with the force around them. As soon as they had dropped out of hyperspace, Starkiller and Kota had told Juno to drop them off and return to orbit because of the possible danger. Now, with their lightsabers in their hands and unlit, they cautiously moved through the ruins.

Starkiller looked around cautiously, listening to the sounds of the fauna of Tython. "What do we know about this world, General?"

Kota shook his head. "Not a lot, I'm afraid. All the archives said, if my memory serves me right, is that the planet was vacated sometime after the Great Galactic War and the War with the Eternal Empire of the Zakuul Sector. Apparently the Twi'lek Settlements and the Flesh Raiders didn't want them their anymore and, since the seat of galactic power was still Coruscant, they moved back there at the request and urging of the Supreme Chancellor and the Senate."

Starkiller nodded with great interest. He had become quite fascinated with the old Jedi Order after their stay on Dantooine. "What area of the temple are we in now?" he asked.

"If I remember right, this was a Master's retreat - a place where Jedi Masters would accept their new apprentices. The main temple is still several kilometers away but that isn't where we're heading - at least not yet. No, we are going to a far older ruin - a ruin the predates the Jedi Order itself."

Starkiller's eyes widened. "Woah..."

Kota laughed, "You sound like a teenage looking at a flashing airspeeder, boy. But according to the holos and flats, they are beautiful. I'm quite looking forward to seeing them- well, you know what I mean."

Starkiller chuckled.

They left the ruins of the Retreat and struck out into the wilderness. The flora was beautiful and the air was filled with the smells of life. Occasionally, Kota would point towards a clump of bushes or trees or to a pile of stones and say, "Watch out, we have something over there."

Through the trees, he saw various predators here or large herbivores there. It was several long hours before they say any intelligent life and Rahm sensed it long before Starkiller sensed or saw it. "Down the path, we have a sizable group of natives - about a half a kilometer. Let's not jump into combat but be ready."

"I'll follow your lead, Rahm;" said Starkiller.

The old general was proved correct. It was only a short time before they saw them, large, bulky figures with huge mouths fill with teeth and their eyes on protrusions set in the sides of their heads. They were head and shoulders above both men and were armed with slug throwers and bladed weapons. "What do you think, boy?" asked Kota. "Are they pre-space flight?"

"Oh I'd say yes. They're using slug throwers and fixed bladed weapons. I wish we had an interpreter."

Kota shrugged. "We'll be fine."

When they were spotted, the natives seemed to get very excited and rushed forward and both the Jedi could sense their hostility. "Hold on, boy. Let me try this;" said the General.

He filled his lungs with air and made the most terrifying noise that Starkiller had ever heard. The Flesh Raiders, or at least they assumed the odd looking creatures were Flesh Raiders, stopped dead. Their hostility was tinged with fear now but, at a cry from two of them, two strong in the force, they charged.

Starkiller could sense Kota's resignation and regret before they even began to fight. The young Jedi was no more happy about it than his master. However, these Flesh Raiders didn't give much of a choice. At first, the fight was quick but then, two of the Flesh Raiders jumped in and attacked - using the force. Twin blasts of purple flames shot towards them.

Neither of the Jedi had ever seen that before and Kota saved them by throwing up a force barrier. "Focus, boy! Your nearly got charbroiled."

Starkiller scowled and blasted them both with force lightning, only for them both to throw up powerful shields and attack again. Their blades, crooked and sharpened pieces of metal, managed to stop their lightsabers as they slashed wildly.

But these shamans or priests or whatever they were in their tribe were novices compared to Starkiller and Kota. The fight had only just begun before Starkiller slipped under his opponent's guard and cut him down. Kota had little more trouble with his opponent and when the adepts were dead, the other Flesh Raiders retreated. "If I remember right, the Jedi had managed to make peace with these tribes millennia ago - before abandoning the planet. I'm guessing that, without the civilizing hand of the Jedi, they wiped out the Twi'lek colonies and went back to their savage ways."

Starkiller nodded, his weapons held loosely in his hands.

It took the better part of the day for them to get to there they were trying to get to. "Why didn't we think to grab a speeder of something?" muttered Starkiller.

"It wouldn't do any good;" said Kota as he motioned to the foliage around. "This is all too densely packed. We wouldn't go any faster and besides that, we're almost there. Can't you feel it?"

The younger man frowned. What he had thought had been the planet and the presence of the two Flesh Raider Shamans turned out to be the draw of the place they sought. Making their way through the brush, they came upon the ruins of an arched gateway that opened into a lobby that had most likely been paved with many stones. There was the ruins of fountains as well and, in the distance, more buildings that climbed the hill. Walls and towers had once defended the place but now stood in crumbled ruins. All around, the force swirled and thrummed with energy. Kota clipped his lightsaber to his belt. "I doubt that the Flesh Raiders come in here. It would most likely be a taboo are for them."

"Where is this gate that you spoke of, General?" asked Starkiller.

"In the deepest part of the temple. It was a closely guarded secret, forbidden to be used or entered by all, including the masters."

"Why?" asked Starkiller in a whisper.

Somehow, he felt that speaking too loudly would be disrespectful to those who had come before. Kota seemed to agree. "Because the ability to change the past or look into the future - or even go into the future - would be too great."

Starkiller frowned. "Isn't that exactly what we are going to do?"

"Yes it is;" said Kota, highly amused at the irony. "Step lively, boy. We don't have long. I have a feeling that great events are happening back on Yavin IV - and throughout the galaxy."

They picked up the pace, going deeper and deeper into the ancient temple grounds until they came to an old cave in the mountain side. On either side stood statues that, other than been warn down so that their facial features couldn't be seen, were completely intact. "This is it;" murmured Starkiller, unclipping his weapons again.

"You won't need those, boy;" said Kota.

After a moment of hesitation, Starkiller replaced his weapons and they strode inside.

It was cold in the cave and the force radiated from it and through it. It was clear that the cave was not one hundred percent natural. Wall carvings could still barely be made out and small, three/quarter sized statues could also be identified, though they were no more than lumps with protruding extremities. Silently, they continued into the cave until a vast cavern opened around them. There were more carvings on the walls and a deep pool in the center filled will crystal clear water. "What do you see, Starkiller?" asked the old general.

"Carvings of - a family, it looks like. There's an old man, a young man and a young woman."

"The Father, the Daughter and the Son;" said Kota. "They are sometimes called the Ones, the Old Ones or, even more archaically, the Mortis Gods. Some lore says that they were once a part of the race called the Celestials."

Starkiller tried to hide his amusement. "Mortis Gods?"

Rahm nodded. "That's right, boy, the Mortis Gods. Why is that so amusing?"

"Well, I mean, come on, Kota;" chuckled Starkiller. "The Mortis gods? There aren't really Jedi gods or force gods like that, are there?"

Kota didn't answer immediately and when he did, he sounded very thoughtful. "I read a report during the Clone Wars sent by General Anakin Skywalker and General Obi-wan Kenobi. They went to coordinates and something strange happened. According to them, they were trapped for several cycles on a bizarre world with three beings who were impossibly strong in the force - these Mortis gods. However, the Son, who embodied the dark side, killed the Daughter and the Father and Kenobi and Skywalker, along with Skywalker's padawan, killed the Son. Whether they were truly gods or not, I'm not sure. From the legends I've heard, gods create and watch over there peoples. These beings seemed to care only for the force and its effect on the galaxy."

Starkiller looked around at the paintings and carving on the wall and they all seemed to point to one at the back of the cave, clear on the other side of the underground lake. "They all seem to be indicating one big one in the back;" he murmured.

"Then that's the one we want;" said the general.

He put a hand on Starkiller's shoulder and said, "Lead the way, boy. Time's wasting."

They made their way around until they stood before the mural. "Any sign of a way to enter, Starkiller?"

"I'm not sure. There's a puzzle here but I can't really recognize it."

Kota rubbed his goatee. "Have a seat, Starkiller. Clear your mind, close your eyes and when you are still, looked at the mural again."

The younger Jedi obeyed and when he opened his eyes, he noticed something. "There's a code in here. Look at the hands."

Kota looked in his directions with a scowl and Starkiller realized what he had said. "My mistake. Let me some up - their hands are in different positions. Maybe if I..."

Stretching out with the force, he could sense it - a strange layer in the force that seemed to be waiting to move aside and let them through. "Pure Sabacc;" he murmured and gently touched the mural, altering it.

As he did, the mural moved and an opening appeared - an opening that looked like a black void through which, he could sense near-nothingness. "It's open, come on, general."

Again, Kota put a hand on Starkillers shoulder and they walked through the gate.

Immediately, they both froze. They appeared to be in the void of space, standing on a walkway that wasn't there. They just saw a pare of parallel lines. "Well this looks different;" murmured Kota. "I haven't seen in over a year and this looks like nothing I've ever seen before."

Starkiller looked at him and noticed that his eyes had been restored. "You can see? That's-"

"It's strange is what it is. Anyhow, let's get going. I'll take the lead from here."

They made a point of staying between the two lines. The walkway seemed to be like a massive web that crisscrossed everywhere. All along the walks were what appeared to be portals, just like the one they had just come through. But the strangest thing were that they could here voices in the air - or vacuum, whatever they were walking though.

Starkiller looked around as he heard two familiar voices going back an forth. The first was the voice of the little green creature he had met on Dagobah. The being had been very strong in the force and, judging by what he had told Starkiller, the young Jedi was certain the little creature had been a Jedi himself at one point. "Death is a natural part of life;" the aged being said.

As if in response, the voice of Starkiller's former master Darth Vader spoke. Foolishly, you cling to hope of the life you once had.

The voice of the aged creature said, "Let go of everything you fear to lose, you must."

You think you have a purpose - a destiny; sneered the voice of the Dark Lord.

"Uncertain and fearful, you are."

You are but a shadow of your former self.

"Confused, you have become."

Weak and misguided.

"Hide not, from yourself."

Accept the certainty-

"Confront your fear."

-that all is lost.

"Find yourself, you must."

Rahm Kota put a hand on his shoulder and smiled a kind smile - something that Kota had never done for him before. "That is one of the reasons we're here, my boy. Come, the first thing we need to see is just ahead."

They came to the first portal and as they approached, the inky blackness cleared and showed them a sterile white and gray room. Out the window, nothing but cloudy skies and flashes of lightning could be seen. There in the foreground stood a Kaminoan and the tall, dark figure of Darth Vader. "We are running out of time, and I am running out of patience;" the Dark Lord said, his mechanical voice filled with menace.

"I understand, my lord, but cloning force sensitive individuals has always been tricky, especially when introducing Spaarti technology to our own. The combination causes the subjects to be unstable at best and downright volatile at worst;" replied the Kaminoan scientist.

Lord Vader pointed at him. "I do not want your excuses, Doctor. I want a perfect clone."

"There is another way, my Lord;" said the scientist, lifting one long finger. "The subject you brought, the template, you said that he is not quite dead. Is that correct?"

Vader was silent for a long moment before answering, "Yes, that is correct. But if I were to take him out of the stasis I put him in, he would die in short order."

Watching this, Starkiller felt his heart begin to pound and sweat begin to bead his forehead.

The scientist seemed to smile and said, "With the right application of bacta and if I can activate his cells correctly, I should be able to save him. Tell me, what is the extent of the damage?"

Lord Vader shook his head. "But then I would be saving an enemy."

"Not if we wipe his memory and replace it with an artificial one. We have done it before to beings who were severely injured and amnesiac - including to a Jedi, if I'm not mistaken."

The scientist began tapping away at a datapad until he began to nod. "Ah yes! Here we are - one Falon Grey was saved. His memory was also altered so that he would not remember the treatment and reconstructed so that all he remembered was the bacta tank and the neural reconstruction - what he was awake for anyway."

Lord Vader nodded. "Very well. Wipe his memory and flash train him like you do the other clones. When we're done with that, keep working on clones. I still have a need for them."

Starkiller watched with wide eyes, his mouth just slightly open. Juno had been right the whole time! He really was Galen Marek!

He and Kota watched as the body of Galen Marek was healed. Internal organs were miraculously restored and the neural damage was repaired as well. Then, his mind was wiped and he woke up in a tank of bacta, all him memories gone except the one's they had given him.

When the scenes started looking familiar, Kota looked at him with a smile. "How do you feel, Galen, my boy?"

A tear trickled down his face as he smiled. "Relieved. I feel like a burden has been lifted off my soul. By the force, Juno was right!"

"She usually is, boy. Now come on. We still have work to do."

As they walked, the path widened until it looked like a platform with dozens upon dozens of portals. "What are we looking at, general?" asked Galen Marek.

Kota's face was hard as they approached one door. It showed four Jedi attacking a man with a red lightsaber. One by one, they were cut down until only one Jedi remained, going blade to blade with the Sith lord. "I recognize them;" said Galen, "from PROXY's training modules. Those are four members of the Jedi Council and that's-"

"That's the Emperor. Those Jedi are Agen Kolar, Saese Tiin, Kit Fisto and Mace Windu;" said Kota, his voice filled with emotion. "That's where it all started - right there, boy."

Galen watched, up until a young Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker interrupted the fight. When Skywalker attacked Windu and saved the future Emperor, Starkiller gasped. "The records say that Skywalker was killed at the temple, fighting Darth V-" and it all became clear to him.

Galen and Kota looked at each other. "Anakin didn't die fighting Vader;" said Galen. "Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader."

Kota nodded as he looked around at all the other portals. They passed one after another and through one after another, they saw the death of the Jedi Order. "We can stop this;" said Galen. "We can save the Jedi Order."

"No;" said Kota, his voice firm, though still filled with regret. "We can't do that, Galen. There is a reason that the Jedi Order fell."

That caused the young Jedi to stop. "What?"

"The Jedi Order had become decadent and filled with arrogance. They thought they were invincible and their beliefs and ideology became more and more extreme. It's happened many times before. It happened during the war with Exar Kun and again during the war against Revan and his Sith Lords. Even after Revan's redemption, the Sith Triumvirate wiped out all but a very few Jedi. It happened once again during the Great Galactic War. Each time the galaxy came into severe conflict, the Jedi Order had to learn, in some cases the hard way, that they must maintain true balance. Going to far to the light and completely separating yourselves leads to that, right there;" and he pointed to one of the portals.

"They allowed a Dark Lord to sneak in under their very noses and take the highest office in the galaxy. If we try to save them now, the lesson will never be learned, Galen. The Jedi will survive through me and through you but this is one event that must happen if the force is ever to be brought back into balance."

Galen glared. "And you saw that in your vision too?"

"One of them, yes. That, and I have communed with the spirits of many Jedi who have passed on into the living force. Believe me, Galen, I wish we could jump through the portal and kill Palpatine before he ever gets that far, or better yet, find and kill his master. But unfortunately, not everything can be changed. There are some things that must happen. Search your feelings. What do they tell you?"

Galen was silent for some time before sighing and shaking his head. "Fine. Let's just keep moving."

They went back onto the walkway in search of their next portal. One they came to showed a desert planet, a Hutt with his entourage and a young woman with golden-red hair. "Here;" said Kota. "Do you sense it?"

Galen nodded with a frown. "What are we supposed to do here?"

"We convince the Hutt to let her go with;" stated Kota.

"How?" asked Galen. "We can't mind trick him."

"No, but I learned a long time ago that if someone wants something, convincing them to do it is a whole lot easier. Look at the girl, Galen."

She was beautiful - long golden red hair and a shapely body packed into a blue and gray dancers outfit that left very little to the imagination. "Reach out and touch the Hutt's mind. Don't try anything, just touch it."

Galen did - and sensed the desire there to have beautiful company. The only reason he was resisting was because he had more important things to focus on. The girl tried again, running one small hand down her delicious curves and striking a provocative pose. "Now, together, we'll reach out and tell him that it won't hurt anything to bring her along. Ready?"

Galen nodded and they both reached out, simply planting pictures of the woman dancing before him and serving him and whatever else he could want her to do. After deliberating, the Hutt laughed and conceded. "Good;" said Kota, "now, let's move on, shall we?"

The voices continued to speak, the voices of Jedi and Sith and of other force religions and ideologies that neither of them had heard of. They continued through until Kota put out an arm, stopping Galen. "Wait..." he said, a distant look in his eyes. "This way."

Galen followed him to another portal. The scene that played out in this one was grim. A man - a Jedi - stood on the top of a dome. It was a fuel container that the Empire used at its fueling depots. Clearly using the force, the man was using the force to hold back a massive inferno. Behind him, a group of people watched and one of them, a Twi'lek woman ran out to him. "Go out there and help him, Galen;" said Kota. "We are going to need him."

Galen stepped forward but hesitated. "Is it safe to change this event, General?"

"Yes - and we need to, believe me. Now go. Hold back the flames and, when he and his friends are clear, I'll pull you back through the portal."

Taking a deep breath, Galen stepped out onto the dome.

Kanan Jarrus knew that this was the end. He could almost feel the force calling him to let go when suddenly, the force of the explosion was lifted from him. He sensed a being of immense power in the force and turned his sightless eyes towards him. "Who are you?" he yelled over the roar of the flames.

"I am a friend, Master Jedi - and the Alliance is going to need you in the future. Go with your friends and I will hold back the flames."

"Kanan, who is- what the hell is going on?" asked the Twi'lek woman.

"Go;" said Galen, bracing himself against the increasing pressure and force of the inferno.

They ran to the gunship and Galen held back the flames. Suddenly, he felt himself yanked back through the portal. "I have you, Boy. You did well. We just gave the Alliance a huge edge. Kanan Jarrus was supposed to die at that fuel depot. Anyhow, let's get going. There's one more thing that we need to see before we get back to the universe."

"What are we looking for, General?"

Kota looked grim again. "Where our enemy is going to strike. I don't know what happened but-"

Suddenly, a portal appeared in front of them. It showed the Death Star near a beautiful blue and green planet. "Alderaan;" murmured Kota. "This is happening now."

As they watched, the battle station suddenly fired and, to their horror, blew the planet to smithereens. All around them, they heard the voices of the slain shriek and go silent. "We have to stop that;" said Kota. "Come on."

They hurried along the portal, looking for the a place to enter where they could prevent it. Suddenly, a hazy image appeared before them. "There is nothing you can do;" said the man. "I'm sorry. This is one of those instances where the force itself will not allow interference."

Galen scowled. "Why?"

The man smiled. "Would you go back and stop every atrocity? There is nothing that you can do. Some things are ordained by the will of the unifying force."

"Who are you?" demanded Kota.

"I am Master Dorak. I died on Katarr, my life devoured by the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus - along with several other master. Would you go all the way back to prevent that disaster as well?"

Kota frowned and looked away. "Shouldn't we try to save as many lives as we can?"

"The fact that you are here changing anything is a great risk, Master;" said Dorak. "Do you no realize that even these tiny changes you are making send ripples throughout the fabric of time? It may change nothing. It may change something only minutely. Or it may alter an entire event - past, present or future."

Galen's brows furrowed. "Has is that possible, Master?"

"The force is not bound by time or space but time and space are both bound by the force. This realm is proof of it. This is why the World Between Worlds was always such a closely guarded secret and why the ancient force users had it guarded so that no one would use it. Gentlemen, I urge you to go and return to your time. You have changed too much as it is by saving Caleb Dume's life and by convincing the Hutt to allow the assassin to join him."

Galen and Rahm looked at one another for a long moment before the latter said, "There is something else that we need to see, Master Dorak. We must know where the Empire will strike next."

"No;" insisted Dorak. "You must go."

Behind him, the portal back to Tython opened. "You know where the Empire will strike. It is up to you to stop them. Now go."

Again, the two Jedi looked at one another before bowing and saying, "As you wish, Master."

Turning, they both strode through the portal they had entered through.

As soon as Juno had heard the call from Starkiller, she flew down and picked them up before taking them back out and plotting the first of the many jumps to lightspeed it would take to get out of the Deep Corp, the region of black holes that Tython was nestled into. Once she had made the jump, she left PROXY on the bridge and headed to the lounge. Kota and Starkiller were talking quietly but Juno could tell that the younger Jedi had a great weight lifted off of him. When he saw her, he smiled and said, "Hello again Juno, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Galen Marek."

Juno broke into a huge, beautiful smile and said, "I know who you are, Galen, but I'm glad you found out. I can tell it's giving you some peace of mind."

She embraced and kissed him. Kota growled, "Alright, I'll be on the bridge. You to go ahead and celebrate. PROXY and I will keep getting us out of the Deep Core."

Galen and Juno smiled meaningfully at each other and headed towards the cabin they had begun to share.

Nal Hutta - the Spaceport of Bilbousa

Ezra Bridger leaned back in the booth across from the Lasat Garazeb Orrelios. Everyone was in place and Hera and Chopper would be there to pick them up within the hours. In his ear piece, he heard Sabine murmur, "We're all set, Ezra. As soon as Hera gets here, we're gone."

Ezra nodded, sipping his drink. "Aren't you still a little young to be drinkin' kid?" asked Zeb.

"On civilized worlds, I am. But this is Nal Hutta. We're far from civilization out here."

The big Lasat chuckled and took a drink from his own tankard. "Careful with that stuff, Ezra;" said Sabine Wren. "Hate for you to be drunk when Hera gets here. She'd take you behind the boarding ramp."

"True;" chuckled Ezra. "Don't worry. I'm not drinking that much. All set, Kanan?"

There was not response. "Kanan, you there?"

"Meet me near docking bay Thirty-five Cresh, Ezra. I may need your help with something;" Kanan Jarrus responded.

Ezra frowned but could tell by the urgency in his master's voice that this wasn't the time for questions. "On my way;" he said.

Zeb gave him a nervous look and Ezra shrugged as he headed for the door.

When he met Kanan, he was relieved, and even more confused, to see that his master was perfectly fine. "Kanan, what's going on?"

"Tell me what you see down there;" said his master.

Ezra looked down an alley and saw several beings curled up on the ground around a fire what appeared to be the out shell of an artoo unit. "Homeless people?" said Ezra, very confused.

"Now reach out with the force;" said Kanan. "What do you feel?"

Ezra closed his eyes and did as he was told. Immediately, he felt it. "One of them is strong with the force - quite strong actually. The small figure huddle back from the others."

"Go to her. Talk to her. I'll draw the other ones away by offering to buy them food."

Ezra wrinkled his nose. "They may want spice more than food, Kanan."

"Maybe. Let's go."

When the approached the beings, four of various species, they lifted their hands. "Spare a little money for food, citizens?"

"Come with me, fellows. I'll be you each a meal now and a little more for later too;" said Kanan.

Immediately, they were up and following him. Once they were out of sight, Ezra pulled a couple ration bars from one of his utility pockets and sat down. "Hey there;" he said to the huddled figure. "You hungry?"

Yellow eyes glowed from beneath an old and warn military blanket. Slowly she sat up and considered him. She was a female Iridonian Zabrak and was perhaps a few years older than he was. With a kind smile, he offered her one of the ration bars and she took it. "Thank you;" she said and tore the packaging open.

"What's your name?" he asked as he pulled the canteen from his belt as well and offered it to her.

She looked at Ezra suspiciously until he looked around furtively and leaned in. "I'm a Jedi;" he said, showing her his lightsaber hilt. "I can tell you're-"

She lunged and hugged him suddenly. "I thought Vader's assassin had killed of the rest of the Jedi, like he did my master."

Ezra was quite surprised - and also quite aware that she wasn't wearing a whole lot of clothing on the top half of her body. "Yeah - well, he missed a few;" Ezra said breathlessly. "My master was the one who just led the others away. Would you like to come with us?"

As she finished her ration bar and looked at the other one hungrily, she answered, "Where are we going?"

"Back to Yavin IV. The Rebel Alliance is trying to coordinate an attack on the Empire's new super weapon the Death Star. You can come with. You'd be a real asset and my master could probably teach you too."

Slowly, she nodded and stood to her feet. Ezra cleared his throat again, disciplining himself not to look at her well toned, well shaped body - but then he noticed the weapons on her hips. They looked like lightsaber hilts, but with strange cross bars sticking out to the side. "Are those lightsabers?" he asked in a whisper.

She nodded and said, "I was a Jedi padawan of Master Shaak Ti for several long years. But then she was killed and I fell to the dark side for awhile. But then, the man who killed my master, he came back and he was... different. Even after I tried to kill him, he let me go."

Ezra nodded slowly. "What's your name?"

"Maris Brood;" she answered this time.

In his ear, Ezra heard from the others that Hera Syndulla had arrived and they needed to get out of there. "Come with me, Marris. We'll get you some real food aboard ship. We're getting out of here and out of Hutt Space."

Maris's face lit up and she said, "Thank you so much! Lead the way."

All the others were gathered around Hera, who was animatedly telling them something. "What's going on?" asked Ezra as they walked up.

"The Death Star was destroyed;" said Hera excitedly. "It arrived in the Yavin system and a flight group of thirty fighters, X-wings and Y-wings, went up to meet it. All were killed except two X-wing pilots and a Y-wing pilot but they managed to destroy the Death Star!"

Ezra's eyes widened and he whooped before being shushed by everyone around him. "Right;" said Hera, "let's get aboard before the whole garrison gets here - the Imperials' or the Hutts'."

As they hustled aboard, Ezra said, "Everyone, this is Maris Brood. She was a Jedi apprentice until one of Vader's dark siders killed her master. I'll introduce you to everyone else later, Maris. Let's get outta here. I'll take the dorsal gun."

They hurried and Hera took off immediately. It was the smoothest take-off they'd ever had and they were in hyperspace without incident. All of them gathered in the lounge and Ezra introduced each of them. "Alright Maris, that is Hera Syndulla, our fine captain, pilot and mechanic. She's also a General in the Rebel Alliance;" he said, indicating the lovely green-skinned Twi'lek in a flight suit.

Hera smiled and said, "Welcome aboard, Maris."

"That big fellow is Garazeb Orrellios. He's a Lasat and our best gunner;" continued Ezra.

The big fellow gave Maris a friendly smile and inclined his furry head. "That's Sabine Wren of Mandalorian Clan Wren, an artist with paint, blasters and explosives. Give her just about any weapon and she can use it up to and including a lightsaber if necessary."

The blue haired girl smiled and waved with two fingers on one hand while her other rested on a helmet. Motion to a tall male human with grizzled hair, Ezra said, "That's Alexsandr Kallus. He used to be ISB before defecting and becoming the agent known as Fulcrum. When he was found out, we rescued him and he's one of us now."

"A pleasure to meet you;" said the agent with a lopsided smile.

"Lastly, this is Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi Knight and my Jedi teacher;" said Ezra, pointing to a man with a clean shaven face and short hair.

Over his eyes was a cover of some kind. After a moment, he strode over to her and removed it, revealing the angry pink scar and the two milky orbs. "Hello, Maris Brood;" he said with a smile, "a pleasure to meet you. I can tell you are strong in the force."

Maris took his proffered hand. "Yes, Master Jarrus."

Kanan shook his head with a chuckle. "No need for that, Maris. Tell me, do you with me to finish your training?"

She hesitated for a long moment before nodding. "Yes, Master. I would - but you already have an apprentice."

Kanan nodded. "Yes I do but during these dark times, the Jedi are forced to adapt or die out. The old rules must be cast aside. I will train you both, as the Jedi of ancient times did. Welcome to the Specters, Maris."