A/N: Thank you to anyone who's been reading this fic! (reviews will be very much appreciated)

LIBERATION FLIGHT

Chapter 2: No Longer Lost

'Poe, I heard you're still searching for Skywalker?"

"It's a job for the best pilot of the Resistance. And you, Valjean?"

"Will go after someone, for the sake of an old friend."

That had been the last time Jean Valjean had seen his protégé, Poe Dameron, and every day since then he had wondered if letting his friend go off on a mad quest was the wisest decision. 'Last I heard, Poe was on his way to Jakku, the refuse heap of the galaxy,' he thought. It was a mad mission, but certainly no worse than his more personal venture.

This was why he had taken his personal craft, the Chimera, instead of using the arguably faster Resistance ships. If he failed, there would be less risk of anyone tracing him back to his friends, thus leading them into danger. 'It isn't the Falcon though, but it is quite a skipper,' Jean Valjean thought admiringly as he surveyed his ship. The Chimera lived up to its name, being a cross between a corvette and a shuttle, and as a result was quite ungainly to the casual observer. Yet it was swift, enough to evade pirates and most importantly, keep up with Poe and the other pilots during missions against the First Order.

The thought of Poe had him shaking his head again. Last he'd heard, during a break between jumps, Poe Dameron had been lost on Jakku. Not only had his fighter been blown to bits, but his BB-8 droid was nowhere to be found. 'This would not happen if you'd just show yourself again, Skywalker,' Jean Valjean thought as he gritted his teeth. As matters stood, he had a better chance of calling out into the void for Poe and other lost comrades, than of ever finding the one person who could set this entire mess straight.

Then again, there was more chance of finding the missing Katana Fleet than ever understanding the ways of the Force, even for a once-Jedi like Jean Valjean, formerly of Commenor and now of nowhere.

The old man thumbed the comlink of his shuttle even as the display before him reverted from hyperspace into the cold blackness of the Kessel system. 'An interesting place I have had too much of,' he decided. This side of the galaxy boasted some truly beautiful planets, as well as several black holes and a few other rocks of misery in between. Valjean's gut tightened at the sight of a lopsided asteroid-sized planetoid that soon came into his line of sight. He would have known the old Kessel prison anywhere-and the sight of a small craft escaping its orbit.

He lost no time in angling his ship towards the fleeing freighter, even before the first squad of pursuing fighters left the prison planet's atmosphere. Such situations always required assistance, even if unlooked for. Jean Valjean immediately fired a couple of shots at the nearest fighter and blasted it apart, giving the cargo ship an opportunity to take a sharp turn left and escape into the shadow of the prison planet. 'Good call,' he thought as he went after the remaining four starfighters. Whoever was at the helm surely knew his or her business-or at least had tried escaping before.

He gritted his teeth as a burst of green came from the planet's surface, and an ion cannon bolt nearly caught the fleeing freighter. 'You have to jump to hyperspace now if you want to live!' he thought as he banked sharply away from the escapee, in hopes of further shaking the fighters. Much to his alarm the freighter seemed to be making no such move, but was now engaged in a dogfight against two of the fighters. A laser glanced across the freighter, jolting and searing its surface, but the hull of the ship was not breached. Jean Valjean quickly chased away the other two fighters, succeeding in having one caught in another blast from the ion cannon. Yet when he looked back the freighter had already taken out its last enemies, but was not making any move to jump. 'Something is wrong,' he realized.

Jean Valjean quickly keyed the comm of his ship. "Freighter B67, this is the Chimera. Do you need any assistance?" he hailed. He had no idea as to who was on the ship, but he could certainly sense life in it. Now was not the time to be asking about motivations or allegiances. He keyed the comm again. "Freighter B67, do you copy? Your ship has sustained some damage. Do you need assistance?"

After a moment the comm beeped to life. "Freighter B67 to Chimera. Thanks for the help, but we'll be fine-wait, what do you mean we're not fine?" a young female voice said frantically. "What happened to the hyperdrive?"

Jean Valjean sighed deeply. "Is your ship capable of jumping to hyperspace? The wardens will send reinforcements within minutes."

Some arguing came from the other side of the comm. "Are you with the First Order?" another voice chimed in.

"You don't just ask strangers about that!" a third voice groaned. "Azelma, give the comm back to Ponine, she's the one doing the talking."

Jean Valjean looked around and saw some fighters already leaving the planet. "Freighter B67, we don't have much time-"

"We're getting on board, please!" a fourth, high pitched voice cut in. "Please. We need to get out of the system at least."

"Very well then," Jean Valjean said even as he gently brought the Chimera to the apparently crippled freighter. As he got to his feet and made his way to the controls to dock the ships, he could feel the weight of his lightsaber at his belt. 'Hopefully I will not have to use it,' he told himself as he opened the ship's doors. "We have to make it quick. The escape was too easy," he said gruffly as he motioned for the four youngsters to hurry aboard.

"You think? Getting into the ship was the problem," one of the newcomers, the first one he'd spoken to, said as she stepped into the Chimera. She couldn't have been more than seventeen years old, if her height and build were any indicator, but her dark eyes told of far more suffering than that handful of years could possibly hold. Her dark red hair was tied back from her face, in contrast to the harsh prison tunic she wore.

"Were you the pilot?" Jean Valjean asked. "That was rather enterprising of you to take that ship."

"It should have worked out better," the girl said before nodding to her three companions, as if to reassure them. She looked keenly at Jean Valjean. "Who are you?"

Before Jean Valjean could say anything, he heard a beeping from the cockpit. "Strap yourselves in. We have a jump to make," he instructed before hurrying back into the pilot's seat. There were four strangers on his ship, but they were young and most likely well armed. He was certain he could manage, even for a little while. He nodded to the redheaded girl. "I need a co-pilot."

For a moment suspicion passed across this stranger's face, but a knowing smile reached her eyes as she slid into the second chair in the cockpit. "You've got weapons. Gavroche and Cosette can be the gunners," she said.

The name was like a bell on Valjean's ears. 'Of course I have seen that face before,' he thought as he looked back at the four newcomers. Three of them were obviously related: though one had red tresses and two had darker hair, they still had the same slightly long nose and freckles. The fourth though was different, with golden hair and blue eyes. Her pensive yet calm mien was unmistakable; he had last seen the likes of it only several months before.

He had caught up with her again in a tapcaf in the middle of nowhere, just like all the times they had ever met up. Once again he had asked her the same thing: "When?"

Fantine only shook her head once more. "You know why I will not. She's not safe with me."

"A girl needs her mother," Jean Valjean argued. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"Seven years ago."

"A holo does not count, my friend."

The blonde woman let out a ragged breath. Although she was only thirty-seven, she already seemed bent and ragged-clearly from too many nights of pining. A wrinkle creased the corner of her mouth as she struggled for words. "With the Thenardiers she has parents. A home. It may not be much, but it is better than taking her with me into all these missions."

Jean Valjean sighed deeply. None of her reasons, however solid, ever rang true. She was always stubborn in that way. "They cannot train her. It's only a matter of time till she will catch on to her abilities. She's your daughter, and she took after you."

"A war is no place to train a young apprentice, Jean," Fantine said, putting her hand in his. "She will only be discovered if she comes with me. I will not have her at my side, only to give her up to Snoke. I am not letting her turn out like Kylo Ren."

The mention of this rogue made Valjean shudder, as well as bite back the other suggestion he had hoped to make. It would not do to drag the Solos or Luke Skywalker into this personal problem. "Well what will you do?"

"All I need is a little more time. Then I will look for her," Fantine resolved. Her blue eyes glimmered as she met Jean Valjean's own. "If you find her first, bring her to the Resistance. It will be safer for her there, and surely we will meet someplace."

He nodded, knowing his friend was not one to be gainsaid. "I promise."

"Thank you," Fantine whispered as she pressed his hand and then unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. "I will leave a message for her. You will give it, with this lightsaber."

"You need a weapon."

"I cannot take it with me in the Hosnian system. I need my cover."

Jean Valjean swallowed hard as he took the lightsaber. "I'll do my best."

Somehow that best, whether it was ingenuity or the work of the Force, had led him to this odd pass. 'Though why at Kessel, of all places?' Jean Valjean wondered as soon as the ship had made the jump to hyperspace, and the youngsters had been properly settled. Then again, he figured he shouldn't have been so surprised considering Cosette's companions. "Where are your parents?" he questioned the trio.

"They wouldn't come," the oldest, Eponine, replied. She gave him a tight-lipped smile. "They helped us escape though."

"You mean Papa wouldn't," her sister Azelma corrected her. "He won't leave without his friends."

This mention of old Thenardier's gang of spice runners and bounty hunters made Jean Valjean taste bile in the back of his throat. "We'd better hope they don't come after us soon," he muttered. Yet perhaps there will not be reason for it. There is no longing, no pain in these youngsters' voices, only that grimness of those in flight. These are children who have not had a home in years.

"That depends where we're headed," the boy named Gavroche said. He gave Jean Valjean a winsome grin. "Who are you anyway?"

"Someone who is here to help you," Jean Valjean said as he turned his attention to checking the coolant levels. That explanation would suffice.

Cosette shook her head. "You're a Jedi. I didn't think there were any left."

Jean Valjean closed his eyes. Of course she would guess. "Rumors travel even to Kessel."

"I know," Cosette insisted. She shrugged at the questioning looks her friends gave her. "You always thought it was fancy."

"It is. The Emperor had all of the Jedi killed, except for Luke Skywalker-and he's gone too, if he was there at all," Eponine said, crossing her arms. "Everyone knows that."

It was all that Jean Valjean could do not to laugh. The Empire, and now the First Order had done its work well. "So it would seem," he said before continuing to check over the ship. As he expected the young Thenardiers only exchanged sceptical looks, but Cosette remained silent.

He waited till hours later, when the youngsters had finally gone to sleep, before pulling out of a jump and checking on the messages and communications sent to him. He swallowed hard on finding one straight from General Organa herself. "This is a surprise, General," he greeted, only to be surprised by the click of the call coming in through to real time instead of being recorded. He sighed as he saw the familiar lined features of this warrior-woman. "What do you need me for?"

"It is not me, it is everyone else," Leia Organa replied in a firm tone, but still there was warmth in her smile. "Head straight to D'Qar. Where are you?"

Jean Valjean took a moment to check the coordinates. "Near Akiva." It was a good way from D'Qar but he was sure to make the jumps easily. "What has happened?"

Leia's eyes flashed with a look of sorrow. "We have just confirmed reports that the First Order has used a superweapon on the Hosnian system. There are no survivors."

These words stabbed into Jean Valjean's mind, forcing him to grip the console. "When?"

"Twelve standard hours ago." Leia took a deep breath. "Come back. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Jean Valjean glanced to where the four rescued youngsters were curled up in two bunks. "Yes. Somewhat." He saw some movement in one of the bunks, prompting him to quickly end his call. "You should rest," he said.

Cosette shook her head. "I can't." She looked at Jean Valjean for a moment. "Something is wrong."

Jean Valjean nodded, knowing better than to lie to her face. He owed her at least that much. "There has been terrible news, of a First Order attack on the Hosnian system."

"So it's true," Cosette whispered. "That's why we left. We didn't want to be next."

Jean Valjean sighed; he couldn't put it past the First Order to decide on a way to wipe out its 'unmentionables' in one go. "How long were you on Kessel?"

"Six years."

"And where were you before that?"

Cosette counted out on her fingers. "Thyferra, then Folor, and then other places. I've lost count. We tend to move all the time." She looked enviously towards the ship's console. "I wish I could fly. I just never could pick it up."

"Each to his or her own," Jean Valjean pointed out. He watched as the girl sat down and rested her chin on her hands. "Where are your parents?"

"I don't know. I never met my father, or at least I don't remember-" Cosette trailed off. "My mother is out there. I know it."

'Was,' Valjean almost said but he bit back this terrible word tugging at his lips. He looked at Cosette for a few moments, wondering if like him, she had also felt this sense of disquiet. "I knew your mother. She is a friend of mine."

Cosette sat up straight. "How?"

"I travel. She travels." He got to his feet and went to a side panel, where he kept some datacards in a special compartment where most searching equipment could not pick up on their presence. It took him a moment to find the datacard in question, which he then pressed in Cosette's hand. "It might be a coincidence-maybe she might have known-but she told me to give this to you," he said before indicating a console where she could play the message. He hung back to give her some privacy, but a nod from Cosette was enough to prompt him to stay near.

It took a few moments for the recorded transmission to stop flickering, and show a hologram of Fantine sitting at a table. 'My darling Cosette. It's me, your mother. I know I should be telling you this in person-and I promise I will someday—and I'm sorry I can't be here. I'm sorry I haven't been there for all this time, my love. Nothing I can do or say can possibly make up for it, even if everything I have done has always been to keep you safe. I wish I could have seen you grow up into the lovely, amazing young lady I am sure you are. I wish I could hear your voice again and hug you like I used to, when you were little.

If you're watching this, I presume you've just met my friend Jean Valjean. Go with him to the Resistance. You will be well cared for there-and there I will find you. I'm sure of it. Learn all you can from him. He has much to teach you'

For a moment the hologram flickered, as if Fantine had thought of turning off the transmission. Then after a while her image became clear again. "I think you've known for some time that you are a little different. I don't know what the Thenardiers will tell you, but this I will tell you now-the stories I told you as a little girl are real. There are Jedi Knights. And I am one too. I am sorry I haven't told you yet about my past, and of the abilities you have. But you're not just a bright little girl. You're special. You'll understand more when you're older and when I see you, but for now all I can tell you is this-trust your instincts. They are more right than you know.

I will see you soon, my darling. I promise.'

At last the hologram image faded out entirely, leaving Cosette sitting alone in the chair. In the light it was evident that her cheeks were wet. "I won't," she whispered. She looked at Jean Valjean. "Was she in the Hosnian system too?"

"Yes. Her last mission was there," Jean Valjean said, feeling the words grow thick in his throat. He got up to open another compartment next to the one where he kept the datacards, and brought out the lightsaber. "She told me to give this to you."

Cosette's eyes went wide as she saw the weapon. "Why?"

"She always knew," Jean Valjean said. He paused when he saw the hesitating look in her eyes. "In either case it should go to you."

"What use would I have for it?" Cosette choked out. "Me...to use it?""

"Do you feel you should?"

"She would have wanted me to."

'But what is it that you want, or what lies ahead?' Jean Valjean wanted to ask. He was not one to believe too easily in prophecies anymore, not after everything that had happened. "If you wish, I will keep it for you, in the meantime."

Cosette nodded after a few moments. "We have to go to the Resistance though. Even if my mother won't find me there anymore-I don't want to die. I don't want them to die."

Jean Valjean looked to the three Thenardiers, still dozing in their corner. "To D'Qar it is then," he muttered. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for your loss, Cosette."

"Thank you," she whispered. She wiped her face before looking at him. "Thank you for telling me."