Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter. Hope you guys like this one.
So, this will cover the forces of the Alliance returning to Terra.
Let's get to it.
Guest DCDGojira: Yes, Yoda spoke to Ahsoka about that as well as Obi Wan. You'll just have to wait and see how the second story starts.
Kommando Kronk: No, the Terran Star Forge won't be completed until the early 2000s.
CT7567Rules: Waxer and Boil did, but they'll be remaining in the Andromeda Galaxy, and will end up assisting the Rebellion later on. Haven't decided if Katooni and her friends survived. As for Ahsoka finding a love interest, undecided. Aayla and Kit, not likely.
Chapter 74- Back Home
Adams smiles as he watches Earth come into view out of the viewport. It's been over half a year since he last saw his home planet, but it feels like its been years. And it feels good to be home.
Admiral Vilikov walks up to Adams. "President Bush has requested you to come meet with him at the White House, along with all the surviving Jedi," he says.
"Thank you, Admiral. I'll inform the Jedi immediately and make my way down to the planet's surface," Adams says before walking off.
Adams makes his way to the chamber where all the surviving Jedi are waiting. As he walks in, Mace Windu looks up at him and asks, "Captain Adams? Have we arrived?"
"Yes, Master Windu. And President Bush has asked to speak to all of you, as well as me. If you will please come to the hangar when you are ready, I will be waiting for you to head down to Washington," Adams says. He then inclines his head respectfully before turning around and walking out.
Adams makes his way down to the hangar, where an LAAT is waiting to take him and the Jedi down to the White House to meet with President Bush.
Adams is only waiting for about 15 minutes when he sees all 9 surviving Jedi that came with the Terrans walking over to him, along with Barriss Offee, who is wearing cuffs. Adams smiles and says, "Good to see you didn't take too long. Come along, friends. President Bush is waiting for us." He then boards the LAAT, and the Jedi follow him onto the LAAT.
Once the last of the Jedi is aboard, the doors shut and the gunship lifts off, flying out of the Volgograd's hangar bay. Once out of the hangar, it heads down towards the planet below.
The ride down is very quiet, with only minor chit chat between Adams and the Jedi.
Only about 15 minutes later, the gunship comes down and lands on the White House lawn. As the doors open, soldiers from the Old Guard rush up to the gunship weapons at the ready, ready for escort. As the Jedi and Adams disembark from the gunship and start walking towards the White House, the soldiers form up around them and escort them into the White House.
Right inside the door, President Bush is waiting for them. As they walk in, he smiles and says, "My friends. Welcome." He looks among the Jedi and asks, "Where are Masters Yoda and Kenobi?"
"They elected to remain in the Andromeda Galaxy," Mace says.
"Well. I had certainly hoped to see them again, but in any case, I am glad you all are here and yet alive. Please. Follow me," Bush says before turning and walking in the direction of the Oval Office.
Once they reach the Oval Office, Bush says, "Everybody, take a seat." The Jedi all take seat on the couches and chairs as Bush takes his seat behind the Resolute Desk.
"Well, first of all, I would like a quick briefing from you, Captain Adams, on the evolving situation in the Andromeda Galaxy," Bush says.
"Mr. President, as you know, Anakin Skywalker has fallen to the dark side and become a Sith. It is my belief, according to what I have gathered, that Emperor Palpatine manipulated Anakin using his secret wife, Padme Amidala, and their unborn children. From what I understand, it sounds as if Anakin believed his wife was in danger, and Palpatine made him believe only the dark side could save her. In any case, Anakin attacked and massacred the Jedi in the Jedi Temple, while Palpatine issued an order to clone troopers across the galaxy, causing them to turn on their Jedi Generals, and any of our forces who attempted to defend the Jedi," Adams says.
Adams pauses for a moment, then says, "We have confirmation of 26 Jedi who survived the attack, with several dozen more likely survivors we have no firm confirmation of. A Terran strike force, led by Colonel Hall, retook the Temple and rescued many precious artifacts from it. Colonel Hall and Colonel Rommel then accompanied Masters Yoda and Kenobi to find and kill the Sith, but both failed, although Anakin was gravely wounded. As we understand it, he has been cybernetically rebuilt, and is now half machine. We have confirmation that the new Empire is expanding its control over the galaxy, bit by bit."
Bush nods slowly. "Very well. I am in talks with the rest of the Council of Five to coordinate our official response to this, and our path moving forward. However, one thing that will not change is the building up of the Terran Jedi Order. And it is for that reason that I have asked you 9 Jedi here today," Bush says.
"You wish to know if we will join your Terran Jedi Order?" Mace asks.
"Yes, and no. My main wish is to know if you will continue to assist us in training the Terran Jedi Order. You will be free to join if you wish, and all of you who do will comprise the first roster of the High Council of the Terran Jedi. If you do not wish to join, I do ask that you continue to help us train new Jedi. If that is not something you wish to do either, than you are free to do whatever you wish. You have been granted asylum in any country on Earth. If you do not wish to join our Jedi Order or to train them, you will be free to follow any life path you wish," Bush says.
The room is silent before Mace speaks up, "My duty as a Jedi remains. I intend to make sure the Terran Jedi Order does not stray, and remains on the path of the light. I will join the Order, and help to train new Jedi."
Plo Koon then says, "I will as well."
"As will I," Ki Adi Mundi says.
"I will as well," Luminara says.
"So will I," Aayla Secura says.
"As will I," Kirak Infil'a says.
"Me too," Simms says.
"I will help you if you need it. But, to be honest, after what I have been through, I wish to live another life," Serra Keto says.
"Me too," Marseph says.
Everyone then looks at Barriss. Barriss is quiet for a moment, "I'm sorry. I do not feel like I can accept a role in the Terran Jedi Order. I wish to live a life away from the Jedi."
Bush nods. "Very well. Miss Offee, you must understand how the Terran Alliance sees you after your bombing of the Jedi Temple. Given that the Jedi Order was going to be willing to give you a second chance, so will we. However, it does not come unconditionally. You will receive three years of probation, in which your actions will be monitored to ensure you do not pose any further threat. After that, you will be free to pursue anything you wish," Bush says. Barriss nods humbly.
Bush looks around at them. "We have already arranged for you to be quartered in a hotel here in DC while you look for new accomodations. I will also promise that any house purchase, or car purchase, you wish to make will be fully financed by the government. For those of you who said yes, you will be free to join Master Kit Fisto in his training efforts as soon as you wish," he says.
"Thank you, Mr. President," Plo says.
Bush nods, then says, "Also, we in the Council of Five have made several decisions recently regarding the Terran Jedi Order in addition to the changes we already made to the Code. They are mainly small procedural changes about how the Jedi will operate. However, the one I wish to mention to you is that was have decided that in addition to the 12 Jedi members of the High Council, a representative of the Terran Alliance will also be appointed to the Council. This representative will always be a member of the Anti-Sith Assault Team. And you, Captain Adams, will be the first man to serve in this position."
"I cannot say I am surprised, nor am I necessarily opposed," Mace says. He himself recognizes that a few months ago, he might have objected, but the events of the last week have humbled him a little.
"I thank you for your support of this," Bush says.
Bush then looks at Adams. "Captain Adams. There is someone here to see you. If you'll head outside, my wife will take you to see them. I still have some things to speak to our guests about," Bush says.
Adams nods, standing up and saluting Bush before turning and walking out. As he walks out, he sees First Lady Barbara Bush waiting for him. She smiles at him and says, "Follow me."
Adams follows Mrs. Bush through the halls of the White House, wondering what's going on. Then, she stops at one door and opens it, then gestures through the door.
Adams walks in, and stops short at the sight of his wife Eliza and son Calvin standing in the middle of the room. He stares at them for a moment before saying, "Eliza?"
Eliza smiles at her husband and says, "Sweetheart."
Adams stands still for a moment longer before running up to his wife and throwing his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "I missed you so much," he says.
"I missed you too, babe," Eliza says with tears in her eyes. Adams holds her tightly for a moment longer before pulling away so he can give her a kiss.
The two hold their kiss before Adams feels a tug on his leg. Pulling away from his wife, he looks down and sees his two year old son looking up at him. Adams smiles and stoops down, picking up Calvin and holding him on his hip. "Oh, buddy. I've missed you!" he says.
"I miss you too, Daddy!" Calvin says.
Adams smiles as he puts his free hand around his wife, kissing the top of her head. Despite everything that's happened, things are good in this moment.
(Kashyyyk)
Lieutenant Colonel Phuc Nguyen makes his way through the trees of Kashyyyk, trying to avoid being seen an Imperial LAAT flying overhead. It's not much further to the hiding place.
Finally, he reaches the entrance to the cave system and makes his way in. Emerging in the main cave, he sees all 371 men of the Vietnamese regiment deployed to Kashyyyk that were not able to get off the planet. They had helped both Yoda and Luminara Unduli to escape the planet, but had left themselves trapped on the planet. Since then, the men have been on the move, avoiding Imperial troops, as the Imperials know that there are still some Vietnamese troops left on Kashyyyk.
One of the lieutenants in the group looks at Nguyen and asks, "Are we really stuck here, sir?"
Nguyen nods. He then raises his voice and says loud enough for everyone in the cave to hear, "Everyone, listen up!" Once he's sure everyone is paying attention, he continues, "What all you have been worried about is true. We are stuck here on Kashyyyk, and we have no way home. The Starfleet has retreated to Terra, and all Terran forces are pulled out of the galaxy."
There is murmuring through the crowd. Nguyen then speaks up again and quiets everyone, "We will not give up. The Republic turned on us. The men we thought were our brothers in arms betrayed us. And the Wookiees we've fought to protect are being suppressed by the very soldiers who were fighting to save them a week ago. We may be stuck here, but the fight is not over. We will take the fight to the Empire. We will fight back however we can, and make our country proud!"
The men all thrust their fists and weapons into the air, bellowing in answer, determined to avenge their fallen brethren and take the fight to the men who betrayed them.
And, I'll end there.
I hope you guys liked the meeting with President Bush, and what I chose for each of the Jedi survivors to do. I haven't decided what I'll have Barriss doing in the sequel, but you'll find out once I get to that story.
I also hope you like me finally introducing Adams' wife and son. If you've visited the wiki for this series, you'll know about Adams' wife and son, but this is the first time I actually included them in the story. I thought it was about time.
So, some of you may have already suspected I would go this path with the Vietnamese would I first mentioned some were left behind on Kashyyyk. The Vietnamese insurgency on Kashyyyk will last all the way through the next story, and we'll see the final survivors finally rescued in the second story.
So, we only have one chapter left in this story. It'll be up in a few hours. Until it is up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!