Location: Hyperspace on route to Naboo
Luke and his three companions quietly walked back up the Jade Shadow's ramp. Even before the hatch was fully sealed, their pilot had activated the repulsers and began accelerating away.
Luke had been magnificent! Luke had been incredible! Luke... Collapsed!
It was sudden but not wholly unexpected. This was their 3rd "intervention" since the Battle of Kesh, and it seemed like the greater the feat, the greater his crash afterward. Without saying a word, Tahiri gently put her arms underneath his and lifted him up off the deck. Simultaneously, Raynar Thul picked Luke up by his feet and legs and followed Tahiri's lead to Luke's quarters. Dena was already several paces in front of them, opening the door to his room so the that others could bring him inside. She waited by the door as they laid him on the bed and then, without saying a word, they exited the room.
Tahiri and Raynar thought it best that Luke be left alone and let the force nurse him back to health. Dena would have none of it, and the others stayed out of her way. It was her custom now to come in and administer a shot of bacta into his blood stream. She would also run a few scans to make sure that his vitals were headed in the right direction.
To the rest of the galaxy Luke had always been a symbol of hope and justice. After the Battle of Kesh, however, his fame reached new heights. No. Not fame...He wasn't some sports star, or hologdrama hunk.
He had done the impossible. He had neutralized the Sith threat, while, at the same time, saving the Sith and the other beings that called Kesh home. The Sith were now free to practice their dark arts, but were confined to a single planet; not unlike an endangered species reserve. In this case it was more like a dangerous species reserve. Darkness would be allowed to flourish but in an ever so controlled manner.
With fear of Sith reprisals taken off the table, The Galactisc Alliance went from being neutral observers, to the staunchest of Jedi allies within a matter of hours. At the request of the senate, Chief Wyn Dorvan ordered Admiral Nek Bwua'tu to devote whatever resources were necessary to maintain a permanent quarantine of the planet Kesh from the rest of the galaxy.
Even the Imperial Remnant sent a convey of ships to support the effort.
It seemed when the school yard bully was out for the count, everyone came out to play.
Not only that, but a week after the Battle of Kesh, the GA sent a formal request to the Jedi Council to return the order back to Coruscant.
Luke made this all possible. And that is why fame didn't do him justice.He was beloved. True, his powers were awesome, but it was also the man himself.
Luke wasn't flashy. In fact besides the ship they were currently on (which technically belonged to his late wife), he owned nothing of any luxury whatsoever. He was a minimalist, who seemingly owned only two outfits.
That spoke to his honesty. This man spent over 40 years battling and sacrificing every inch of the way, and had nothing to show for it, except for the scars that took up more and more of his body with every passing year. This resonated with people.
And hearing that Luke literally dove onto a trans-galactic Missile to save lives, made people sleep better at night. Younglings in schools galaxy-wide would now come home and sing to their parents the new song they had learned that day:
"Stars of the Night
Shining high and bright
Please make fast the flight
Of Skywalker's ship tonight."
This in turn would bring a tear to their parent's eye, because they knew... They really knew, that they wouldn't be the next Alderaan or Caamas or Honoghr or Emberlene. To them, such tragedies would stay in the past.
But would they? Would they really?
Kneeling at the side of Luke bed, Dena ran her fingers through his hair, seeing him in a way the rest of the galaxy never would. The cost of such great heroics, was only known to their little band. Luke was certainly not invincible.
She had come to realize, that although he could intuitively use the force to absorb or divert any threat facing others, he himself was vulnerable. One miscalculation, one lucky shot while his concentration was otherwise occupied, and it would be over for him.
As it was, sometimes the salvation of others completely drained him and left him as helpless as a newborn ewok.
Dena, Tahiri, and Rayner weren't just some groupies following the great "Skywalker Tour". If it weren't for them, Luke would still be on that planet laying there unconscious. They were a small group... They couldn't afford distractions because distractions led to mistakes.
And there was one distraction she had been able to avoid the past 6 months. But it took real effort on her part.Just when she felt true contentment and fulfillment in her life, she would see Luke like this: The epitome of unselfishness, just laying there needing her.
"Oh Luke, why do you make this so damn hard." She said in a barely audible voice.
Then after letting out a long sigh she stood up and left, not daring to remain in there another second.
Exercise! That would do the trick. That would get this conflict and tension out of her veins. But first she headed to the cockpit. There she would find their pilot and co-pilot.
The later needed no "checking up on" because
1 He was droid
2 He was a beloved and trusted droid
She knew R2 was just as devoted to Luke as anyone else; even more, perhaps. As she entered into the cockpit she was greeted by trills and beeps followed by an uncertain whistle.
"He's fine Artoo, it just took a lot out of him."
She answered the droid but was looking at the back of their pilot's head. Shadree was a curiosity, even among this band of misfits.
She wore a burgundy flight suit with an armoured breastplate, shin plates and wrist gauntlets. The outfit was completely androgynous but was at the same time highly functional. Her face was covered by a helmet that looked like something an orbital skydiver diver might wear; aerodynamic, it had visor band across it's top third, with an adaptive respirator that was placed where the mouth would be.
The force sensitives in their midst wouldn't have allowed someone they didn't trust to control something as vital as the ship. That was good enough for Dena. Or it should be...
It wasn't her loyalties that gave Dena pause, rather it was her mental stability. Her self loathing wasn't as fierce as it was months earlier, but it was still there. It was in the way she held herself. It was in the tone of her voice.
"You did good back there Shadree!" Dena said in a matter of fact voice.
There was a long pause, and then without turning around to look at her, a highly distorted voice replied: "Thank you Dena."
She stood there for another few seconds trying to read the back of her helmet and then left the cockpit. As she walked past Luke's quarters, she kept her eyes, fixed on the floor, ignoring the impulse to gaze longingly at the door, ignoring the pull to check on him one more time. She feared if she went in there, she would...she would...
A minute later, Dena joined Tahiri and Rayner in the Lounge of the luxury yacht.
"Dena! What's wrong? You feel... very agitated."Rayner asked.
Her Cheeks where flushed, her eyes were sharp and somewhere along the way, she had lost her tunic and was now sporting the tank top she alway wore underneath. Ignoring Raynar, she made a beeline right for Tahiri, who was resting on the couch with her bare feet on the opposite arm rest.
She walked right up to Tahiri, and invoked a tone that brooked no argument: "Let's go!"
Tahiri just looked at her for just a moment, before turning to Raynar.
"Could you please give us a moment?"
Raynar just smiled and said: " I'll go check on the engines."
When the door swooshed shut behind him, Tarari asked in a semi whiney voiced: "Can't we just throw some girl talk on the situation? I finally got comfy!"
Dena's reactionary laugh contained no mirth. She pointed her finger to the side of head and replied through gritted teeth:
"My Brain is full of stupid girl talk!"
She then caught herself and attempted to start again:
"I'm... Tahiri... I'm sorry. I just need... not to think right now.
Ah so this was about the whole Luke/Dena Drama.
In some ways those two were like an old married couple: Finishing each other's sentences, and both serving as the perfect counterbalance to the other.
At the same time it was like 12 year olds at their first school dance: Awkwardly painful and even harder to watch. They didn't want to get involved because they didn't want to distract the team. "Maybe it would be less distracting if they just go it over with" she impulsively thought to herself on more than one occasion.
Tahiri felt sympathy with her situation. She had the greatest respect and admiration for Luke, but she would never in a million years have "Those" kind of feeling for him.
It wasn't about his age. Yes, he was 65 but a very young sixty five. Actually she had noticed that after their mysterious interaction at the monolith, Leia Han, and Luke had looked about about twenty years younger; probably the the result of interacting with the force in such a raw form. No, and it wasn't about looks. Luke would forever have that boyish charm enhanced by those soulful blue eyes.
The fact was, her brain had long ago filed away men like Luke and Han in the "Dad" folder. She could never see him in "That" way. But if anyone had experienced raw deals in the romance department, it was Tahiri.
She was feeling a bit drained from helping Luke back on that alien planet but she was part of a family. A special family! Everyone had each other's back, and Dena... Dena had everyone's back. If Luke was the Dad of this family, Dena had slipped seamlessly into the role of Mom. And sometimes Mom needed to be taken care of too.
She got up and walked toward Dena. "Ok, I can give you 15 minutes, then I need to resume my date with the couch. She stopped walking about 5 feet from Dena. Then using the force she pulled her lightsaber from her side.
The hilt smacked her palm, and then half a second later it was activated and held firmly by a two handed grip.Dena likewise unclipped Luke's Lightsaber from her belt and ignited the famous green blade.
Dena had no force sensitivity, but Luke had seen fit to intrust his lightsaber to her for reasons only he knew. So Raynar had thought it only responsible to teach her some rudimentary skills in swordsmanship, at least, so she could make use of it without decapitating herself.
Dena called out "Challenge!" to signify her role as the attacker, thus putting Tahiri on the defence.
She started with a powerful overhead strike which Tahiri blocked. She then followed up with a series of short, side angled parries. Dena let the glow of the energy blades burn her frustration away. In the sizzle and snap of the beams colliding, she let her countless arguments and reasoning bleed out of her.
15 minutes later, she deactivated her weapon and just stood there breathing heavily and sweating profusely with her eyes closed. After a second or two she contorted her lips to blow aside a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. She then took in one more deep breath, and opening her eyes, she let it out in one long exhale.
Tahiri, who seemed to be somewhat amused at Dena's little "display" grinned and asked:
"So? Did you get it out of your System?"
With a sigh of reacquired contentment, Dena replied:"Thank you Tahiri. You are too good to me."She then proceeded to give the other woman a hug. A very sweaty hug
With an expression of pure mortification Tahiri responded: Eeew! Dena that's just... Yuck!
Yes, they were a true family, and all was well under the roof. Luke rested in his room, Shadree and R2 steered the boat, Raynar ran engine diagnostics, and Dena and Tahiri shared a very sweaty sister-like hug.
There were, however, other groups in the galaxy that also functioned as a family. Their aspirations were decidedly much less noble. Even now they were working hard to tackle the new problem that the "Order of Balance" presented...