Epilogue

It was over, this time it really was…

In an unexpected move, officials from within the Grand Governor's own cabinet handed him and six other co-conspirators over to the New Republic for trial. Whether that was an act of legitimate good faith, or just an attempt to disavow their own involvement I assumed we'd never know for sure. I didn't really care one way or the other, I wasn't going to vacation to Becro 5 anytime soon regardless.

What intell Karrde could gather seemed to paint a fairly straightforward picture though. The Grand Govoner's had a private vendetta and helping him with it hadn't been presented as optional. I guessed there were more than a few in the government of Becro that had lost many a sleepless night in fear of inciting a war with the Jedi and the Republic. Lucky for them, both groups were more than a little tired of war with anyone. Doubly so since it was Leia and I that would have to ultimately decide how far to press our charges.

We were in agreement that those directly responsible should pay for their crimes, but carrying on our own vendetta against the innocent people of Becro 5 wasn't an option. We'd both seen firsthand how the common people suffer the most for the crimes of the elite. As far as we were concerned the event was well and truly over.

That's not to say there weren't factions within the bureaucratic circles of the New Republic that deemed this outrage too much to bear. I can be sure they'd have even more to say if they'd known what had happened between Mica and me. But as it was, it was deemed strictly a matter of Jedi concern. Since no students had been harmed charges wouldn't be pressed against Mica himself, his disciplinary action would be handed down from the New Jedi Order, not the politicians back on Coruscant.

In this case, it took a lot of convincing to make the kid stick around and resume his training after his severe reprimand was over. He was all too ready to be carted off to the first prison that would have him. But I saw myself in him, I saw the potential that a lifetime of regret would only waste…

A few in the order offered private objection to Luke's decision on the matter, but they ultimately bent to his reasoning. The Jedi of old would have feared we were being blinded by our emotions, that the boy presented too big a risk to be trained. But I knew Luke saw something else when he looked at Mica…

He saw his father, and he wondered what would have been different in his life if the old order had already been the new. Mica, in his own way, presented Luke and the rest of us with our most difficult, but most important challenge yet. Putting all that talk of new balance to work in someone's life who needed it desperately.

A comparison of Mica to Vader wouldn't have set anyone's mind at ease even if they'd known the truth of Luke's past. Quite the opposite in fact, but I trusted Luke's judgment implicitly. This was the test of the entire merit of this new order. A challenge I was determined to help Luke meet…

With a sigh, I tried to let go of the events of the last few weeks and find some sort of peace in the present moment. Inhaling deeply I felt the cold crisp air meet my lungs. Pulling my cloak tighter around my shoulders I braced myself against the drifting snowflakes overhead. I'd never been much for the cold, but this frozen rock felt sentimental somehow…

From a respectful distance, Luke and I watched Ranjer kneeling at his grandmother's graveside. His grief was tangible in the Force, but there was more than that, we also felt his sense of acceptance, his sense of renewed purpose. Below all the layers of pain was also…joy in a way. A bitter, but equally sweet feeling when he thought of the times they'd spent together.

If I'd let myself I could have gone back to thinking about Migo. To wondering if Luke would have managed to find the same sense of peace if I'd taken my last breath on that planet. Unsurprisingly, the feeling wasn't lost on Luke; he reached to squeeze my hand. From his spot cradled in Luke's arm, Ben seemed curious about the reason for so many heavy and unexplained emotions. But being the ever-wise little boy that he was, he didn't make a fuss to find out, just waited like another respectful observer.

In time Ranjer stood, a feeling of peace washing over him. But the greatest thing was the sense of belonging I felt radiating from him as he walked toward us. From the way he walked to the way he held his head, he was already a Jedi. I smiled softly, feeling some sort of motherly pride.

The reason for his grandmother insisting that he not wait for her to die before starting his training seemed so clear now. She wanted him to have a place in this galaxy, even if it meant she would have to say goodbye a little sooner than she wished. I assumed the same good intention was what had motivated parents to surrender their children to the old order at such a young age. While I didn't entirely agree with the practice, I did understand the intention behind it.

It was something I'd learned so quickly having Ben. Parents would give up anything just to make their children's future a little more welcoming. In a difficult galaxy like this one, that wasn't an easy thing to do…

"I'm ready," Ranjer whispered softly when he reached us.

Luke put a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, let's go back to the ship and warm up a bit."

With a compassionate but unintelligible mumble, Ben reached out to Ranjer, asking to be held. The both of them had spent a lot of time together with Luke and me gone so often. In his own way, I thought Ben wanted to comfort his friend.

Smiling softly Ranjer took him in his arms. "I'm alright, please don't worry…"

The look on Ben's face reminded me so much of Luke it was almost strange. I knew right then he'd be the same sort of compassionate person someday.

Once back on the Sabre, sufficiently hidden away from the cold, I let my thoughts start to wonder again. Down the passage from the cockpit, I could hear the sound of Ben's laughter as Ranjer tried to help him forget the uneasy emotions of the day. I figured in his own way, Ben was doing the same thing for him.

There was something about the scene, the present moment, and all the meaning attached to it that I could have cried. But I didn't. No, instead I stiffened my face and pretended Luke couldn't hear the emotion ripple as loudly as a sob. After so many years, I figured I'd never fully stop trying to play the tough act. For all the good it did, of course.

He turned in his chair, cocking his head slightly to the side. That farmboy smile on his face said he didn't want to pry, but I knew better. I always had.

"Have something to add, Skywalker?"

"I was just thinking…" he mumbled coyly. "How much Ben reminds me of you."

"You're kidding…?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "The hair I can understand but…"

"Not his hair," Luke clarified in his most sentimental voice. "I see it in almost everything. The way he can relate to people so honestly… His earnestness… I can't help it. He just reminds me so much of you."

I leaned back in my chair, shooting him a look of disbelief. "You can really see all that in a baby?" I asked, somewhat hypocritically.

"Well," he whispered sweetly. "It's easier to notice since I see it so clearly in you."

I was touched, he could feel that right away, but I still crossed my arms defensively anyway. "Okay, Luke, what's your angle? This level of flattery has to have a motive."

He laughed softly. "No, you're just not used to an honest compliment. I keep hoping you'll get used to them someday, but it hasn't happened just yet…"

"Sorry about that," I mumbled, trying to hide that I was a little embarrassed about it. "I can't say I've had a lot of practice before I met you. Besides," I added playfully. "My old teacher used to say I was a very slow learner."

"I never said that, Mara," he clarified with a smile.

"No, maybe you didn't… But I think I did call you stuffy and conceited once. You remember that?"

He sighed, looking slightly crestfallen at the memory. "Yes, I hoped you didn't mean it at the time."

I turned back to the Sabre's controls as I prepared for launch. "You knew I didn't mean it. We might not have been bonded and all that back then, but you could always read me like a data screen, Skywalker. That's what annoyed me so much back then." I tossed him a playful smile. "It still does, if I'm honest."

His smile softened as his thoughts seemed suddenly far away. Thinking back on those rocky days during my training certainly gave us both a lot of things to get lost in. Spending so many years being caught between disliking and loving my Jedi Master, certainly wasn't doing things by the books.

I felt the Sabre lift off as I pointed her toward open space.

"We broke every rule in the old order, didn't we, Farmboy?"

I felt his hand rest atop mine; his feelings drifting back to Mica, back to his father…

"I think…" he said softly. "That was the point."

Hearing the sound of Ben's laughter was enough…

Enough to convince me just how right he was…

FIN