Ahsoka Returns – Chapter 7: Turbulence
Apologies for this delay … I've been hospitalized but now I'm back. This chapter sees events proceeding in the Galaxy as the New Republic tries to manage them.
Chapter 7: Turbulence
Batuu, Wild Space, Far SE Outer Rim, 4 ABY, 7 months, 15 days
At a local hospital, Javina Yeager had gone into labor and husband Jarek was there for her, holding her hand as their daughter was being born. The delivery was routine and soon the Yeagers were enjoying their baby girl, who entered life with a full smile on her face.
"Let's call her Jaketta …" Her mother offered.
"I like that." Jarek nodded. "Jaketta it is. And she's already got your smile."
The next evening, mother and daughter were ready to come home, and who should be there but Yeager's younger brother Marcus. After some quick catching up, Marcus asked his brother a pointed question.
"So now that the Empire is beat, do you know what you want to do?"
"I'm not quite done yet. I have a feeling there're some loose ends still to tie down."
Jarek offered him an ale and they continued their discussion outside as he set up a barbecue grill and got the fire started.
"So, little brother, what are your plans? I guess you're glad you didn't follow me into the Academy."
He shook his head, smiling. "That's the truth. But I'm becoming a fair mechanic. Seems like there's always work around and this planet's hopping."
Jarek nodded, twisted his lips a bit, and laughed. "Not the worst idea I've heard. Maybe we can open a small shop once I'm back."
Marcus was a bit surprised. "Oh? Where you headed?"
"Back to Yavin. I'm helping a guy I knew from before the Civil War. A bloke named Doza."
"Doza?"
"Yeah … he was an Imperial captain, who I studied under at the Academy. He's joining the Republic."
"Better late than never, I guess."
In Hyperspace, Hydian Way entering Outer Rim, 4 ABY, 9 months, 15 days
The starship Mira Bridger was carrying Ezra and Reema, with the droid SA-1R (Sara) toward Mandalore. The previous three months had seen them explore more areas around the Galaxy, all of which were just names on a map to Reema until they arrived. Heavily populated worlds such as Corellia and Brentaal in the Core, the mostly underground civilization of Sullust (due to the molten surface, the Sullustans had created their entire environment, complete with an artificial "sun"), the picturesque Naboo, with its lakes and rivers, and a brief stop on the forested world of Kashyyyk, the home of the Wookiees, which was finally free of Imperial occupation and the enslaved population were rid of the inhibitor chips that had governed their existence for years. It seemed there was much in the Galaxy to celebrate as the hated Palpatine had been driven from power, yet the results were not the same everywhere. With the Imperials gone, there weren't nearly enough forces to maintain order and some places bordered on lawlessness.
One such place was Centares, once a popular tourist destination, due to its scenic beauty and abundant resort properties. But the Imperials found it had large deposits of certain metals needed in ISD and SSD construction and then they also built a coaxium refining plant on the planet. When the Empire started to crumble after Endor, they started pulling out of various planets and sectors in an attempt to marshal their remaining forces to make a stand. Within two months, all ISD's that had been in orbit abruptly left, as did the stormtrooper garrisons. What remained was a chaotic situation, one that left itself open to various "solutions." Ezra and Reema were running it over in their minds, and counted themselves lucky to have escaped when they did. Just 24 hours prior, the following went down.
Centares, Maldrood Sector, Mid-Rim, 4 ABY, 9 months, 14 days
"Watch out!" Reema screamed, as a couple of thuggish men came up behind Ezra. The Lothalian was busy deflecting blaster shots with his green-bladed lightsabre and didn't see them.
The two of them had wandered into a less than ideal situation, when Ezra had the notion that he could perhaps purchase some coaxium on the planet. Sara had planted the idea in his head after they had left The Wheel space station – neither Ahsoka nor Luke were still there – and he had thought it might not be such a bad idea to add to their onboard supply. Upon landing, he and Reema asked around and a couple of Ithorians offered to take them to an underground dealer in the fuel. But it was an ambush, as they wanted to take the ship.
Reema drew her violet-bladed sabre and slashed hard at one of the would-be assailants. The other dropped back slightly, and she hit him with a quick Force push, causing the man to lose balance and fall to his knees. She took one step forward and quickly decapitated him as Ezra whirled around to see.
"What?" He exclaimed, clearly somewhat alarmed at his friend's willingness to kill. But there was no time to worry about that as new groups of men with blasters arrived and opened fire from opposite directions.
"Back to back!" Reema screamed, as she did a 180-degree spin and pushed her rear-end directly into Ezra's.
He quickly picked up on her strategy, as they both began to deftly direct the shots back at their attackers.
"We gotta get outta here!" Reema remarked. "Cover me."
With that, the Coruscanti whirled around and ran headlong into one of the groups, still directing blaster fire back at them as she came closer. Most of them decided to retreat, save one unfortunate, whose neck felt a severe tightening. Reema had stopped in her tracks and was extending her left hand outward, making a claw-like gesture and squeezing motions.
"Tell me who you're working for!" she yelled. By this time, Ezra had driven off the others who were shooting at him, and he watched in awe at her ability.
"Black Sun." The man sputtered out.
"Oh, really?" Reema spat back. "Then you can deliver a message. Don't mess with us!"
She gave one last Force choke motion, then let the man drop to the ground. He had lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Ezra, let's go!"
The two of them ran for the elevator that would take them back to the surface, and were just able to board it before new assailants were after them and had started shooting. As they rode up together, Reema and Ezra looked at each other, catching their breath.
"What in the Force happened?" She panted out.
"I don't know … it's almost like … they knew we were coming."
When they emerged on the surface, there was more trouble. A speeder had stopped and three more men got out and had blasters drawn. Again, without even the slightest hesitation, Reema drew her sabre and charged them. Ezra quickly backed her up and they were able to overpower the group.
"Let's go!" Reema yelled, as they jumped into the speeder. Ezra took control, and they quickly headed back to the landing site of the Mira Bridger. Upon arrival, they saw Sara standing guard, along with a number of dead bodies from various species – Ithorian, Sullustan, Rodian, human, even a Twi'lek – that were strewn here and there. The droid seemed most relieved to see them, as she greeted them.
"Master Bridger and Master Andujah! I have the ship prepped for lift-off. There is no time to lose!"
The two Force users hustled on board quickly as Sara pulled up the gangplank. They ran to the flight deck and quickly got the ship aloft.
"Let's set course for Mandalore," Ezra stated. "I've an old friend there that I'm looking forward to seeing."
Reema simply nodded, then got up and walked behind him as the ship made the jump to hyperspace. She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to massage him, gently at first, then working deeper.
"That feels great …" He murmured.
"Glad you like it …" She replied softly, then kissed the back of his neck and smiled.
He turned around and they stared into each other's eyes. He thought for a minute … then asked, somewhat tentatively, "How did you learn to do that choking thing?"
She smiled sweetly. "Just something I picked up. How about that droid of ours? She's seriously fierce."
"I know … good thing she's with us." Good thing you are too.
Mandalore, Mandalore Sector, N Central Outer Rim, 4 ABY, 9 months, 17 days
Mira Bridger dropped from hyperspace after a difficult journey that was far from direct, but finally made contact and was given a landing clearance. It seemed the planet's leadership well remembered Ezra's role in helping them battle the Empire some years earlier. Upon landing, the ship was greeted by a group of Mandalorians. Ezra and Reema came forward and exchanged bows.
"Greetings, and welcome to Mandalore. Lady Wren awaits you."
Ezra chuckled. "Lady Wren? Sabine?"
"Her mother, Lady Ursa Wren. She will fill you in."
They gestured, and Ezra and Reema followed. The group boarded a speeder and Sara was left to tend to the ship. A few minutes later, they had arrived at a grand residence, which appeared to be something between a mansion and a palace. As they got out, they were led inside via the main entrance. The visitors were asked to wait in a receiving room for a few minutes, then Lady Wren entered.
"Hello, Ezra …"
"Good afternoon, Lady Wren. It's good to see you."
"And who is your companion?"
Reema stepped forward and curtsied. "I am Reema Andujah of Coruscant. Ezra saved me a few months ago and I've been traveling with him ever since."
The lady smiled. "Welcome to Mandalore. Might I assume this is your first visit?"
"Yes. It is. This looks like a nice place – at least from orbit," Reema chuckled.
Ursa Wren returned it with an open laugh. "That's a fair assessment. We've had our share of troubles, but we have a proud history."
Ezra then asked, "Is Sabine here?"
"As a matter of fact, she is. When she heard that you had arrived, she was quite pleased. Few Mandalorians have done more than my daughter to help free us from the tyranny of the Empire. She should be joining us soon."
After a few minutes, Sabine emerged, not wearing her usual armor, but instead an elegant gown and robe. She walked straight to Ezra, reached out her arms, and the two embraced.
"So good to see you. I was so worried."
She turned to Reema, "And you must be his new friend."
"That's right," Reema chuckled. "He's told me all about you, and Hera, and the others on the Ghost. I'm sorry you lost Kanan."
A few minutes passed as Ezra and Reema explained various things to Sabine and the three sat down to a delicious gourmet dinner. Sabine came to realize Reema's Force ability as the Coruscanti performed some amusing tricks with the silverware and some pieces of fruit. In some ways, it was a subtle way of showing Sabine that she and Ezra had some things in common. Reema also detailed some things from childhood.
"If it wasn't for the Force, I'd probably be dead a long time ago," she stated playfully. "Sabine, are there current Force users on Mandalore?"
"None that I'm aware of now. But there were in our history. Duchess Bo-Katan could name some of them."
"But Ezra," Sabine said, turning to him. "Something exciting happened. Ahsoka Tano has returned."
His eyes grew big upon learning this. "Really? That's great … I'd missed her so much. Where is she now?"
"I don't know exactly. When I first saw her, she had arrived on Lothal. Together, we went to Ryloth and met with Hera and her father. There was an Imperial ship still there, but we had a plan to blow it up."
Ezra laughed. "Just like you … how did it go?"
"Rather easy, which was a real surprise. It seemed like very few of the Imperials were aboard. We ran into some but Ahsoka quickly took care of them. She became quite powerful while she was away."
Ezra thought this over, then turned to Reema, who was somewhat lost, not being familiar with the various names.
"Ahsoka was once in the Jedi. She's older than the three of us and she was teaching me about the Force."
Reema then asked, "so when was it you last saw her?"
"It's been about six years. I was gone about four myself. We were on the planet Malachor. Vader had arrived and she protected Kanan and I from him, by getting into a duel with him. We assumed – wrongly as it turned out – that she'd been killed by him."
"But now Vader is dead, instead." Reema remarked. "I suppose that makes Ahsoka the most powerful Force user in the Galaxy now."
"You might be right, come to think of it." Sabine turned to Ezra. "Because the Emperor is dead too. Duchess Kryze confirmed it."
Ezra then asked, "so, is Mandalore going to join the New Republic, and send someone to represent them in the Senate?"
"I'm not sure. The Duchess wants to hold a referendum soon about that. But I don't think the votes will be there. We are a proud people with an independent mind. We had withdrawn from the Old Republic a while ago. I doubt many want to join this one."
"I'm not sure I would blame them," Reema said, quietly. "If you could see how horrible Coruscant is now. I don't think this new republic is really all that great. That's just one woman's opinion, though."
Sabine smiled at her. "Many Mandalorians would agree with you."
The three of them continued to chat, and it seemed Reema and Sabine were hitting it off well. When Ezra went off to his room, the Mandalorian took Reema aside.
"I couldn't help but notice a certain … chemistry between you two. Do you like him?"
"I do. I will be honest with you. But … was there ever …"
Sabine laughed. "Not so much. We argued more than we agreed. Some might have thought that meant more than it did."
Reema smiled. "I appreciate your honesty. Ezra and I have similar childhoods. It was rough for me, but I learned so much and that's how I survived."
"You seem very strong. Ezra was lucky to meet you. But please … take care of him."
"Sabine?"
"Mm, hmm?"
"What can you tell me about this … Ahsoka?"
"She's … very powerful. Kind of short and thin, but she's a fighter, almost a legend. It will be interesting to see what she wants to do. I was quite lucky to be the first person she saw when she returned."
Reema simply nodded. "Well, thank you, Sabine. You've given me some things to think about."
"Good night, Reema."
The two young women embraced quickly, and Reema entered her room and got ready for bed.
The situation in the Galaxy: 5 ABY, 0 months
Six months had passed since the meeting on Lianna between Imperial Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax and Santhé-Sienar chairperson Valles Santhé, and the latter's small gift for Chancellor-designate Mon Mothma had been sent. For the most part, the New Republic had, by this time, started to stabilize itself. After Endor, Palpatine's remaining loyalists perpetrated vicious attacks on worlds such as Naboo (the Emperor's birthplace) and called into question the overall success of the Rebellion. These included inducement of havoc on the climate of the planets involved, putting the survival of the populations in grave danger. Each of these threats was nullified, and within three months of the victory at Endor, it was possible to talk of peace and the establishment of a new government for the Galaxy.
Many once-turbulent areas of the Galaxy had started to stabilize and the Imperial remnant – what was left of it – had disappeared into the Unknown Regions of the Galactic West. Important Imperial strongholds – the key hyperspace junctions of Corellia, Eriadu, and Lianna, along with key armaments and population centers such as Kuat and Brentaal – had all made peace with the New Republic and agreed to hold local elections to send members to the newly reconstituted Senate on Chandrila.
But general peace was still not yet at hand. Left unaccounted for were at least a thousand Imperial Star Destroyers and two remaining Super Star Destroyers – the Ravager and the Arbitrator – while three of the SSDs had been surrendered to the New Republic. A fourth craft, the Annihilator, had somehow fallen prey to a united group of pirates, numbering some 35,000, who now made their home on the 18-km long vessel. Also missing was the Eclipse, which had been the personal ship of the presumed-dead Emperor Palpatine.
Once, there had been over 20,000 ISDs but some 90% of these had been destroyed in brutal ship-to-ship battles over the past year. These were caused by infighting between high-ranking officials (Moffs and Grand Moffs) and military officers (Admirals, Captains, and the like), as the loss of central authority in the Empire had led to squabbles in nearly every sector of the Galaxy. While Palpatine was in charge, there was no shortage of ambitious men and women who had carved out spheres of influence and vied for his favor. With him gone, it was open season, but this played favorably into the hands of the Rebel Alliance, which picked up the pieces after the battles were over. The New Republic would take custody of about 1000 of the ISDs, leaving the rest somewhere with the disappeared Imperial remnant.
The newly installed Chancellor Mothma had moved adroitly to get buy-in from the quorum of senators who had been seated and these represented at least 66% of the governable sectors from the Mid-Rim into the Core. The planet Coruscant was still very much in crisis, so Chandrila would serve as the Galactic capital for at least the first two years, with the plan still to be worked out what would happen after that. The Galactic Outer Rim, however, was a different matter entirely. This is where the various pirate and syndicate groups had wound up and worlds such as Falleen, Dathomir, and Tatooine remained as wild as ever, while the Hutt Space and Corporate Sector remained more or less self-governing.
An exception to this pattern of disorder was the ultra-modern, affluent, and well-defended world of Lianna, home of the armaments maker, Santhé-Sienar Corporation. The Liannese agreed to send representatives to Chandrila and for the most part were openly supportive of the New Republic. Likewise, the Southern Outer Rim world of Eriadu – a junction of seven hyperspace lanes and the onetime home of Imperial Grand Moff Tarkin – was also supportive and the Eriaduans and Liannese seemed to be political allies as each had made the calculation that more might be gained inside the new regime than by opposition to it.
A key vote on the newly proposed Constitution was scheduled, and the Chancellor had called in the Senator from Lianna, Willis Dragoo, to her office on Chandrila.
Chandrila, Core region, 5 ABY, 0 months, 7 days, 10 hours
The Senator arrived, looking somewhat regal, as was the custom among the Liannese, wearing elegant dark velvet robes, with gleaming boots. The Chancellor was in a muted silver-gray color and rose to greet him. He bowed deeply, then deftly took her right hand and kissed it.
"Madam Chancellor, it is a distinct honor. What may I do for you?"
Mothma smiled, then gestured to a conference table in her office.
"Willis, you are looking well. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me." As she took a seat, she added, "We are at a key juncture. We're going to need a two-thirds vote to approve the new Constitution and I know how important it for Lianna to agree to it, given the influence your world has over that entire region of the Galaxy."
Senator Dragoo, a reasonably tall man of about 1.85 metres in height, with an athletic build, joined her at the table.
"Mon. You have my total commitment. Lianna is interested in helping to create the peace this galaxy needs."
Mothma continued to smile, and responded. "That is welcome news, Willis. A while back, I received a lovely gift from Valles Santhé, wishing me well."
He laughed. "Valles is ever the ingratiator. But most of Lianna holds her in very high esteem. She is the leading supporter of various charitable efforts and our reach-out to the other sectors in our region."
"Oh, I don't doubt that. She seems to be weaving quite a web, as it were," Mothma laughed. "But might you know, at this time, how Senator Wynchell of Eriadu stands on the matter? I'm going to need his vote as well."
Dragoo laughed in return. "Almosso? He's probably in the yes column. Lianna and Eriadu tend to have converging interests. In fact, Madam Chancellor, this seems as good a time as any to conduct this vote. We have got most matters in hand at this point in the Galaxy. I'd say we've made a good start."
No sooner had the words left his mouth, when a loud siren had sounded from outside the Senate office buildings. The scream of TIE fighters could be heard as well. Outside, a squadron of at least fifty fighters had started firing on the government buildings. The Chancellor picked up her com device.
"What in the Force is going on out there?"
Captain Wedge Antilles responded. "Madam Chancellor … two Star Destroyers are in orbit around Chandrila. We are under attack!"
Lianna, 5 ABY, 0 months, 7 days, 15 hours
Valles Santhé was in her office atop the Santhé Tower, when the reports from Chandrila had come in. She quickly contacted Admiral Rax.
"Is it accomplished, Galli?"
"Yes, milady. We have left things in a general state of confusion and panic. Many buildings have been destroyed and abandoned."
"What of casualties and damages to our side?"
"Minimal, Valles. The place was basically undefended. We caught them with their pants down." Rax chuckled.
She cackled in response. "Excellent … where is Admiral Sloane at this time?"
"Milady, she is presently en route to Jakku, with the Ravager and several ISDs. We're going to make a stand."
"Perfect!" Valles shouted, forcefully. "Now we move to Phase Two."
To be continued …