Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Rico: Sorry, I may not have made it clear. Nuclear weapons are not out of the question. Because of the more pressing Grysk War, there are only a small number of nukes allocated to use in Andromeda, and of those, most are specified for anti-starship use. Those that are meant for use planetside are very few in number, and can only be used in certain circumstances. Also, reinforcements are already coming (the 5th Panzer Army being one such group of reinforcements). And don't worry, we may see Marine units soon enough, although not too many, as a lot are seeing action in the Grysk War.

tristian5: Oh, no worries, and sorry if I came off too defensive or aggressive. And, to answer your question, the newest models of the Leviathan have slightly more powerful laser cannons, updated armor to protect known weaknesses of the original Leviathan variants, and upgraded targeting systems.

MangoWango21: No, the Hood will not be accompanying any other ships. Where I left off in Terran Alliance: The Odyssey is where we will pick up when the Hood reappears in this story.

MatbeK01: Oh, of course! You may remember me saying in an earlier chapter that Robert Irwin created a nature show dedicated to creatures from Andromeda. Fauna of Andromeda are a point of major interest in the Alliance, so zoos definitely have some creatures that they are able to safely and humanely keep.

dmccoy16: The Hood has, but the Alliance still thinks the Hood is missing/destroyed. The rest of the Alliance has no idea where Exegol is, or if it even exists.

Chapter 28- Reunion

(August 30, 2049)

As the sun nears the top of its climb over Ahch-To, on a ledge overlooking a small training field that Luke has set up. Luke is watching as Ben and Rey are conducting some lightsaber training together. Rey has been mastering lightsaber combat very well, but has proven herself a very aggressive duelist. Right now, Ben is trying to help her improve on learning Soresu, knowing even aggressive combatants need to fall back onto the defensive every once in a while.

Luke watches as Ben is carefully putting Rey through the maneuvers they had planned. Ben is taking the role of a more aggressive duelist to give Rey a better mindset to practice her Soresu dueling. Ben is using Djem So against her, knowing that's Jacen's preferred style as far as he remembers. Rey is spinning the Skywalker saber around in front of her, blocking all of Ben's blows. Luke smiles as he watches this.

It's been a few months now that he has been on the island with his son and his new apprentice. He can't help but feel incredibly proud of how far Rey has been progressing in her training very well. She has a natural affinity for the Force. She still has a very long way to go and a lot to learn, but she's progressing very quickly.

At last, Luke stands up and walks over to them. "Alright. That's enough,' he calls. The two clash their blades one more time before they finally lower their sabers and deactivate them.

Luke looks at Rey and smiles warmly. "You have come far, Rey. I am very proud of you and how well you have been learning."

"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Rey says as she inclines her head in respect.

Ben looks at his father intently and asks, "Dad, we've been here for a really long time now. We've learned a lot together, but…at this point, your ship is fixed, and there's nothing you need to teach me or Rey that can't be taught just as effectively elsewhere. And you and I both know that Mom is going to be worried about me being missing for so long. It's time for you to come home to Mom."

Luke looks at his son for a moment before he sighs and says, "I know. I'll admit, I've been putting it off as long as I could. I've been afraid to face your mother after being gone for so long."

"She may not get over it as easily as I did, Dad, but Mom wants you home. Even though she says she's given up hope, she wants you back home. It's easy to tell from the way she talks about you," Ben says to his father.

Luke is hesitant, but finally sighs and says, "Alright. I agree." He pauses, then says, "We'll finish our training for today. Tomorrow, we'll start heading home." He then looks at Rey and says, "Are you ready to leave and go to Naboo, and then to Earth?"

"Of course, Master Skywalker. I've heard enough about Earth, and I'm ready to finally see it for myself," Rey responds happily.

"Good. Then let's finish our training for today, and get ready to go home," Luke responds.

(August 31, 2049)

Luke sets down the crate in the main passenger bay aboard the Millennium Falcon. The crate he had just set down was filled with all of the sacred Jedi texts that had been stored on the island for millennia, which Luke had decided to take with him. Luke was taking all of the records and artifacts stored on the island, and the things he'd brought with him when he exiled himself to Ahch-To.

At last, they were ready to leave. It had been decided that Ben would fly Luke's X-Wing to Naboo, while Luke, Rey, and Chewie would fly to Naboo aboard the Falcon. They would then leave Luke's X-Wing on Naboo and Ben would board the Falcon for the journey back to Earth.

As he looks around the passenger bay, Luke feels himself overwhelmed by nostalgia as the memories of all his past times aboard the Falcon. He feels a sad smile come over his face, knowing that any future times aboard the Falcon will all be without Han.

He hears footsteps behind him and turns to see Rey coming up behind him. "We're ready, Master Skywalker," she says.

"Alright. Let's go," Luke says.

Luke and Rey make their way to the cockpit, where Chewie is already working on powering up the ship. Rey slides into the captain's seat, as Luke had agreed to let her fly the Falcon off of Ahch-To. He was easily capable of doing so, but he decided to let Rey fly as the memories and pain of losing Han was still too raw.

Meanwhile, a few yards away from the Falcon, Ben is in the cockpit of his father's old X-Wing. Ben didn't usually fly X-Wings, as his personal fighter was a Mustang he had owned for a few years now. However, he was fully qualified on the X-Wing.

"Alright, R2. Let's get this in the air," Ben says. They had decided to have R2 fly on the X-Wing, as he wasn't really needed aboard the Falcon. Of course, given how long the X-Wing had sit in the ocean, they were a little concerned about something going wrong, even with the repairs Chewie and R2 had made to the fighter.

Ben flips a few switches and hears the whine of the engines as they power up. He watches as all of the dashboard systems come online. He looks through all of the displays before he reaches out to grasp the control stick. He feels a smile cross his face as the X-Wing lifts smoothly into the air.

Glancing to the side, Ben sees the Falcon also lifting off the ground. He exchanges a wave with Rey, who waves in return. Ben then pushes up the throttles, and the X-Wing begins to pick up speed, climbing away from the island, the Falcon right behind him.

The two ships climb up and out of Ahch-To's atmosphere. In the Falcon, Luke gets to work setting the coordinates for the navicomputer while R2 does the same thing on the X-Wing. In a few moments, both of them are ready to go.

"Alright, Rey. Navicomputer is programmed and hyperdrive is ready," Ben calls over the radio.

"Same," Rey calls.

"Alright. Let's jump to lightspeed in 3, 2, 1," Ben says over the radio, and within a second of each other, the two ships jump to lightspeed.

(September 8, 2049)

Outside the viewport, Ben and the others watch as Earth comes into view as the Falcon drops out of hyperspace. From one of the two passenger seats behind him, Rey leans over Ben's shoulder and looks through the viewport at the planet before her.

"Wow. That's Terra. I've heard whispers about it before I met you, and heard plenty from you, but it's amazing to see it in person," Rey mutters.

"Just wait until we show you around," Ben says.

Ben then flips the switch to contact the space traffic control platform in low Earth orbit. "Terran STC, this is Ben Skywalker aboard the Millennium Falcon. Requesting clearance to enter atmosphere and proceed to landing at my family home in Virginia."

"Mr. Skywalker, Terran STC. Glad to have you back. Clearance granted, maintain current course," a controller responds.

Ben holds the Falcon on a steady course and descends towards the planet. As he enters the atmosphere, he can feel a slight shudder through the ship.

Ben holds the Falcon on a course down towards the Atlantic until they reach an altitude of about 20,000, when he levels off and turns, setting a course for Virginia.

A short time later, as they cross the Virginia coast, Rey tries to scoot a bit closer to the viewport. She stares out in amazement at the vast sprawl of cities and towns across the east coast amidst all the forests and wide open lands in between. "Amazing. I've never imagined anything like this," Rey mutters.

"Just wait," Ben responds with a grin on his face.

Ben holds the Falcon on a course over the north of Virginia. As he nears the border with West Virginia just north of Winchester, he looks over the landscape, identifying the landmarks he's familiar with to guide him.

It's not long before he spots his home up ahead. A somewhat small property right on the edge of a forest that Kelly had bought due to its separation from the city and proximity to nature, which she said helped her feel more in tune with the Force. On the side of the house is a small landing pad Kelly had put in to park their personal ship and allow for other ships or helicopters to land.

Ben carefully flies around the side of the house and stops the Falcon in midair over the landing pad before lowering it onto the ground. As the Falcon settles onto the ground, Ben looks out of the viewport and sees his mother coming out of the house.

Ben turns to look at Luke, who is staring at Kelly with a mix of so many emotions Ben can't even identify them all. Ben lets Chewie finish shutting down the ship as he stands up from his seat and faces Luke. "Alright, dad. Let's go see mom," he says.

Luke takes a minute before he nods slowly and gets to his feet. Ben leaves the cockpit first, Luke following him, with Rey bringing up the rear. They head through the corridor to the back and reach the boarding ramp.

Ben and Rey head down the ramp first, Luke staying aboard the ship for a moment. As they come down to the ramp, they see Kelly is standing near the base of the ramp.

"Ben!" she exclaims as she sees her son, and rushes forward, embracing him tightly. After a few moments, she pulls back and looks him over to reassure herself he's okay. "When I heard what had happened with Starkiller Base, and that you had gone off on your own, I was so worried about you."

"I'm alright, mom," Ben reassures her. He then turns and gestures at Rey. "Mom, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. This is Rey. She lived on Jakku until recently. She's the reason we were able to win. And, well, she's pretty special."

"I can tell that," Kelly responds, who can already sense Rey's strength in the Force. She steps forward and pulls Rey into a hug. "Welcome, Rey."

"Thank you," Rey says, accepting the hug gladly. After a few moments, they pull apart, and Rey says, "Ben has told me so much about you these last few months. He has spoken so highly of you. I've been looking forward to meeting you at last."

"I'm always glad to meet a new friend of my son's," Kelly says with a smile, side glancing at Ben as she does so.

"Mom," Ben says to get her attention. As Kelly looks at him, Ben says, "Chewie's on board shutting the ship down and checking the ship over. But…we brought somebody else. Somebody who's eager to see you."

Ben and Rey both turn back to the boarding ramp, and Kelly follows their gaze. Then, her eyes bug out of her head as Luke comes into view, slowly coming down the ramp, looking at her. Even though it's been 7 years, and Luke now has a full beard and more unkempt hair, and he looks like he's aged more than 7 years, Kelly immediately knows it's Luke.

Luke walks up to Kelly and stops just in front of her. The two stare at each other for a few moments before Kelly mutters, "Luke."

"Kelly," Luke responds softly.

There are a few more moments before Kelly whispers, "I was starting to think you'd never come home." Then, a tear rolls down her face and she embraces Luke.

"I'm sorry, Kelly," Luke says, holding his wife tightly.

After a while, Kelly finally pulls back, but still holding onto him. She looks deep into Luke's eyes and asks, "Why did you leave, Luke? Why did you leave me for so long?"

"I'm sorry, Kelly. I didn't want to leave. But, no matter what anyone says, what happened with Jacen and everything…it was my fault. It was my fault because I was too arrogant and I hadn't learned enough. I hadn't learned what it meant to truly be a Jedi. I had to leave, to find the first Jedi Temple, if I wanted to train a Jedi again. I didn't want to stay away for so long, but my X-Wing couldn't take off again. I had to wait for someone to come to me," Luke says.

He pauses, then says, "I left because I felt it was for the greater good. But that doesn't mean I enjoyed making that decision. I knew it hurt you for me to be gone, but I thought it would be for the best in the end. But that doesn't mean it didn't hurt me. I'm sorry I left for so long. And I promise, I'm home again to stay."

Kelly is quiet for a few moments before she reaches out and touches his face. "I won't deny, I am angry you left for sling. But I also understand. We have a lot of things to work out together…but I'm just glad you're home now." She finally lets the tears begin to flow, and she kisses Luke for the first time in 7 years before embracing him tightly again. Luke returns the embrace, holding his wife tightly, his heart warmed that he is finally home.

A few feet away from them, Ben and Rey are both just watching the reunion. The two share a look, knowing this may take a while before Kelly and Luke are ready to talk or look at anything besides each other, but perfectly happy to wait, knowing this reunion is long overdue.

And, I'll end there. I hope you liked the reunion between Kelly and Luke. I didn't want to make it too long, but I hope it wasn't too short. I also didn't want to write out a long rambling conversation between them. Of course, I'm going to write a lot more in future chapters about Luke and Kelly trying to rebuild their relationship after Luke's exile.

Also, I just wanted to bring up something really quick. I've recently gotten some threatening reviews from people who want me to do random things they want me to, and threatened to try and get my stories and even my profile deleted if I didn't do what they wanted. I don't give in to bullies on principle. While I don't expect this to go anywhere, rest assured that if such a thing ever happens, this site is not the only place I write. I'll soon be transposing every story I've written that I haven't already to Wattpad, and I have other backup plans for if my account ever gets deleted for whatever reason. But rest assured, I have no plans of abandoning this site. I love all of my loyal readers and the amazing stories I've read on this site, and don't intend to let bullies take over this site.

Alright. Next chapter will be up soon, and until it is, please leave a review and stay tuned!