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Chapter 4: Divergence from What We Know
Leia could see that her sister-in-law's mind was working faster than a nexu chasing a womp rat. The two women had exchanged stories, comparing notes on what had happened since the end of the Thrawn invasion. Oh how she longed to be in Mara's world, where she had a son and a daughter, both of whom were heroes. She felt for her dimensional counterpart, as she knew the pain of losing a son all too well, but she felt that a hero's death was better than how her own son had turned out. There was still hope for Ben, still good in him somewhere, but she just didn't know how to get to Ben. Still, losing a son to the dark side compared to losing a whole…universe? Dimension? These hyperspace accidents were confusing. Leia was certain she'd be on the verge of freaking out if she found herself in Mara's situation. Her diplomat training would've prevented an actual freakout, though her counterpart in Mara's dimension was apparently a fully-fledged Jedi. She could handle a few mix-ups.
"So," one of the Knights began casually after a while, the male one, his brown eyes looking at the Lieutenant. "Is there any way for us to get back to our dimension?"
Connix paused for a minute, brow furrowing as she thought about the question. "I cannot think of any scenario where someone has gone to another dimension and returned to their own, at least one that has been recorded throughout the years." She looked at him with regret in her eyes. "I'm sorry."
He frowned at that and remained silent for several moments. Leia wasn't sure how these Jedi were handling the news; she couldn't sense their exact emotional state. They were too guarded for that. He finally responded, though not in the way Leia expected. "Well, I didn't exactly have much invested in that dimension anyways. Just an entire Jedi Order."
His companion gave him a worried glance. "You make it sound like it's no big deal, leaving behind everything and everyone we've known."
"I'm saying that the future in our dimension was bright," the Knight, Noslen, as Mara called him, "I mean, the Vong war has been done for nearly ten years now, reconstruction is almost over, the only real threat to galactic peace was that Joiner crisis that Master Skywalker stopped. Here, while the Galactic Civil War is officially over, we have these crazy First Order guys trying to wipe out the New Republic, trying to recapture the essence of Palpatine in the process. Luke Skywalker is the last Jedi once again, maybe the Force is giving us a chance to help this galaxy, since ours is in good hands. Just think about it Kat! We could help Master Skywalker rebuild the Jedi Order here!"
Leia decided to interject on his conversation. "That's certainly a bold undertaking young man. The First Order is dedication to the destruction of the Jedi, and once they learn of your existence, I fear they will spare no expense in an effort to destroy you. You will be hunted."
To his credit, the young Jedi didn't seem fazed by the prospect. "It won't be any different than avoiding the Vong while they were occupying Coruscant. Not to mention once we find Grand Master Skywalker, we won't exactly be the focal point of their attacks when they have two Jedi Master Skywalkers to worry about."
"General Organa!" came a prissy voice from out in the corridor. Mara grinned as she recognized that voice. C-3PO, that annoying but loyal golden protocol droid, came rushing into the room. The red arm was new, but that was a story for another time.
"Not now Threepio," Leia said, waving him away.
"What's this?" Threepio asked, noticing the three Jedi in the room, "Mistress Mara, is that you?" His data mainframe had registered her as dead for years. For her to appear now was physically impossible.
"It's nice to see you too Threepio," Mara said, which further confused the protocol droid. All the data inputs he was receiving right now conflicted with the past memory banks.
"I don't understand," C-3PO stated dimly. He was running several protocols that tried to account for one who had been dead but was now alive. He didn't have many. Eventually, his processor overloaded and the droid's eyes dimmed. The protocol droid unconsciously began a subroutine that had been installed decades ago by a young slave boy on Tatooine in case of such an overload.
"I've known that droid for years, but this is a first," Mara said, peering at Threepio. "You haven't installed anything on him that could cause such a reaction, have you?"
"Nothing that would cause this," Leia answered, walking over to the protocol droid. "Threepio, are you okay?"
The droid's eyes lit up once more and Threepio startled everybody by shouting "Anakin is awesome!" At Mara's raised eyebrow, Leia simply shrugged. She was as confused as everybody. The droid glanced around at everybody, realizing what had happened. "I'm sorry Mistress Leia, I don't know what came over me. Have we gone back in time?"
Mara nearly laughed out loud. "Okay, I've known Threepio to say some really strange things over the years, but this one takes the cake."
Leia also had a smile on her face. "Threepio, we haven't broken any laws of physics here.'
"Easy for you to say," Mara snorted.
Leia gave Mara a warning look before turning back to Threepio. "Regardless, I'll explain about Mara later. Why did you interrupt this meeting?"
Threepio brightened significantly at that. "One of our droid spies has reported a BB-8 sighting!"
Leia was back in her General mode almost immediately. "Where?"
"On a Mid-Rim world called Takodana," Theepio explained excitedly, "And it appears that Captain Solo is escorting the droid!"
"Han," Leia said quietly in a manner that told Mara that she hadn't seen her husband in years. She composed herself quickly and looked at Akbar. "Scramble Black Squadron. We need to get that droid before the First Order."
Mara glanced at Leia curiously. "What's so important about this droid?"
"It contains a portion of a map that'll lead to my brother," Leia answered without returning the glance. "The pilot I sent after the map returned safely, but lost his BB-8 unit in the process. Both sides have been looking for my brother for years."
"Yeah, well, when Farmboy doesn't want to be found, even I can't find him," Mara said, standing up. "Have your technicians finished the repairs on the Jade Shadow's hyperdrive?"
Leia glanced at Connix, who nodded. "Your hasty repairs were excellent, which meant the more final repairs necessary required near minimal effort." The young woman explained.
Mara nodded her head in approval. "Excellent." She turned to Leia. "I'm all for finding Skywalker, so I'd like to help out with this mission."
Leia smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. I'm sure the troops will love fighting next to a Jedi. Come on Threepio, we've got to move fast if we're to get there before the First Order."
"Yes General." The obedient droid followed her out of the room and Mara took that as a sign that they should get moving as well.
She motioned to the two Knights that had been dragged along with her into this mess. "Well, you two want to come along or not?"
Katerina smiled. "We're in, Master."
Takodana System, Resurgent Class Imperial Star Destroyer Finalizer
Kylo Ren had felt the disturbance in the Force when these light-siders had entered the galaxy. He had received the warning from Supreme Leader Snoke shortly afterwards. He could almost feel the individual presences of these beacons in the Force, these light-siders coming in and undoing the imbalance to the Force that the dark side always caused. Then the BB-8 sighting had came in and the First Order scrambled Ren and his Star Destroyer for pursuit. Now he sat in his quarters with his most prized possession, trying to immerse himself in the shadows once more.
"Help me grandfather," Ren prayed, gazing reverently at the distorted mask of Darth Vader. "Lend me your strength so that I may rid the galaxy of the light like you started so many years ago. Show me the power of the dark side!"
His reverie was interrupted by Captain Phasma's voice coming over his personal intercom. "Sir, we are ready to deploy the troopers for the assault on the castle. We await your command."
Kylo Ren stood, touching Vader's mask with two fingers as a sign of respect before turning to address the captain. "Have the men been equipped with anti-Jedi equipment?"
"There is one riot trooper for every two storm trooper," Phasma answered, "Each equipped with the latest betaplast shields and Z6 riot control batons, customized to deliver lethal force as necessary as per your request."
The grandson of Darth Vader nodded his approval. "Excellent."
"Are you expecting Jedi to be on this smuggler planet?" Phasma asked. It was a genuine question, not like the constant questioning Ren got from General Hux that could be construed as undermining his authority with some twisting. Phasma, despite her gruff treatment of soldiers and demands for excellence, actually cared about her troops and would raise objections whenever missions arose that would needlessly spend lives. She had confided in him once that it was but another technique to inspire loyalty in these troops, though Ren was still disgusted with the desertion of FN-2187.
"The Force is constantly shifting," Kylo told her. "The Supreme Leader believes we must begin to prepare for Jedi, so while I personally don't expect any Jedi to appear, we can never be too careful. I shall be out in a moment. Have my personal shuttle prepared for liftoff."
Phasma nodded. "Your will shall be done milord." With that, she ended the transmission, leaving Ren with his thoughts. He made an effort to delve deeper into the dark side, letting it flow through him. Even as he basked in the power, he could sense that the darker parts eluded him, as if repelled by the light that he knew was a part of him. It seemed that even the Supreme Leader's training couldn't help him access all the power that he knew was there. It was frustrating. Once again, Kylo turned to the mask of Vader.
"Help me channel my anger Grandfather!" he begged, gripping his lightsaber tightly. "Lend me your rage for this battle!" With that, he strode out of his quarters, eager to find the droid that would hasten the end of Skywalker.
Aleemian System, Planet D'Qar
"Our spies have located First Order forces mobilizing," Leia said, addressing the pilots of Black Squadron in the hanger. They were ready to move out, the starfighters ready to launch, each pilot dressed in the standard orange flight suit. "So you should be prepared to engage their forces if they've beaten us there."
"No worries General," the confident voice of the pilot that had accosted Mara in space when she'd first arrived rang out. Poe Dameron was his name, or so Mara had been told, and he was supposedly the best pilot among this ragtag group. "We can handle anything the First Order throws at us."
"Maybe so, but this is a retrieval mission first and foremost," Leia reminded him. "Master Jade and I will be accompanying you in the Jade Shadow"
"Jade Skywalker," Mara corrected automatically. She could understand Leia wanting to protect her from the fanatical First Order, who would no doubt do everything it could to keep the name of Skywalker from becoming a beacon of hope in these dark times. Yet despite that threat, Mara refused to hide. Once she found her husband, it would be time to announce to the universe that the Skywalkers are back, but she refused to hide from her own allies.
Leia smiled, understanding Mara's intentions through the Force. "Fine, Master Jade Skywalker." There was some nervous tension in the pilots, which was understandable for those faced with the possibility of battle, but Mara could sense there was more to the nerves than that. "Any questions?"
"So you believe her then?" one of the male pilots asked, "Is she really Luke's long lost wife?"
Leia nodded. "I will elaborate on that later, but for now we have a droid to retrieve. Let's move out." Amid the chorus of agreement and the sounds of fighters powering up, Leia followed Mara towards the Jade Shadow. The ramp extended downwards at Mara's touch and the two women boarded. The two Jedi Knights Mara had brought with her were already aboard, waiting for their Master to board. The former Emperor's Hand noticed Leia's gaze taking in as much of her personal starship as she could.
"Mistress Leia, please wait for me!" came the voice of C-3PO. The golden protocol droid came scurrying up the ramp as fast as his legs could carry him. "I may be able to be of assistance! Our droid spy is keeping an eye on Captain Solo and BB-8 right now and is providing live updates to me."
"Come along then Threepio," Leia said, motioning the droid to take a seat in the Jade Shadow's passenger seat. Mara sat down in the pilot's seat and started the engines, the preflight checklist having been completed earlier.
"Takodana, eh?" Mara asked as Leia sat in the navigator's chair. When Leia nodded in acquiescence, she just eased the Jade Shadow off the ground, a squadron of X-wings right behind her. "Sounds lovely."
"I just hope Han's alright," Leia said simply, waiting the atmosphere turn into the darkness of space.
"So, what happened between you and Han?" Mara asked. "You mentioned him leaving after your son turned to the dark side." She couldn't say the name Ben just yet. It was still too much to ask from her. "Why would he and Luke just…abandon the New Republic?"
"Who can honestly say for certain?" Leia responded. "Guilt, grief, an inability to handle the pressure of failure, it could be a combination of those things."
"Inability to deal with the pressure?" Kat repeated, unable to keep the ire out of her voice. "That doesn't sound like the Grand Master Skywalker I know. I mean, if he couldn't handle the pressure, he would have given up after Bespin and the Empire would still be ruling the galaxy!" At Leia's questioning glance, the young Knight explained. "I studied history during my time at the Temple."
"Yes, but I think you're going to have to forget most of our old history and learn this new one," Mara pointed out. "From what Leia's told me about what happened after Thrawn's invasion, it's been a challenge for everyone."
"General, this is Black Leader. We're ready to follow you into hyperspace!" came the voice of Poe Dameron over the com.
Leia leaned over and spoke into the speaker. "Copy that, we're jumping in five, four, three." Mara reached over and grabbed the hyperspace lever. "Two, one!" Mara pulled the lever and the Jade Shadow vanished into the stars, followed closely by a squadron of T-70 X-Wing snubfighters.
I know, I know, I promised action last chapter, we'll definitely get it next chapter, Scout's Honor!
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Until the next chapter my friends!
From your Nutty Buddy,
The Eagle Nut