Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
First, I want to address something. Yesterday, someone, who literally had the KKK as their username, left an incredibly horrible and racist review on this story for some reason. I won't post it here, but it basically called for the return of slavery and death of black people. Let me be clear. I do not tolerate racism at all, and I have no patience for those who propagate it. I treat people of all races equally, and love people no matter their race. If you have a problem with that, then stop reading my stories. Now, the review thankfully got deleted, and it seems like he either deleted his profile or it got banned. But I wanted to make this point clear, and that if something like this happens again, feel free to report and blast anyone who makes such comments.
Enough of that lecture. Let's get to the chapter.
Chapter 46- New Beginnings
As the sun is setting over the land surrounding the city of Sundari, a group of people approaches the Terran Pegasus transport. The Deltas and Zulus that had accompanied Calvin and Ben to Mandalore had already boarded the transport and were ready to leave Mandalore. Now, the rest of those who would be leaving were reaching the transport.
Calvin, Ben, and Jaina had been brought back to their transport by Din Djarin and his personal guard. The Mandalorians were very sad to see Jaina go, as she had become a warrior and leader admired and loved by all on Mandalore, but understood that she was needed elsewhere. She had spent the trip back to the Pegasus bidding farewell to her closest friends she had made here on Mandalore.
As the speeder pulls up next to the Pegasus and slows down, Ben watches solemnly as Din removes his helmet, a very rare occurrence for the Mandalorian leader, and bends down slightly to address Grogu, who had come with the group. "Alright, buddy, it's time to go," he says.
Grogu looks dismayed, and says in his high voice, "But why go?" Grogu had grown old enough he could now speak, although his attitude and vocabulary was about that of an early teen.
"I know it's tough, buddy, but your place is elsewhere. I knew this day was coming. The Jedi are ready to welcome you back. You can't stay on Mandalore forever. You have a destiny beyond Mandalore," Din says. Ben had spoken at length with Din before leaving the palace about Grogu, and trying to convince Din to allow him to bring Grogu back with him to Earth so that Grogu could resume his training as a Jedi. Din had originally been hesitant, as he had grown used to having Grogu back with him for the last 8 years. But, eventually, Ben had won out. He had helped Din realize that with Grogu's long lifespan, he could help lead centuries worth of Jedi, and that his strength in the Force was great. Din had finally given in, recognizing also that if he was going to start leading his people to war with the First Order, it would be safer for Grogu to be back on Earth.
"Will I see you again?" Grogu asks.
"Of course, buddy. I'll always be here," Din says with a sad smile. He then rubs Grogu's head, and Grogu reaches up to touch Din's hand.
"Don't worry, Djarin. You'll see him again, and next time you see him, you'll be very proud of what he'll have learned," Ben says.
"I know. And I trist your parents with his safety," Din says, but clearly still struggling with letting Grogu go.
"Alright, Grogu. Let's go," Ben says after a moment. Grogu nods and allows Ben to pick him up, and the two board the transport.
Din replaces his helmet on his head, then turns to Jaina and Calvin. Jaina inclines her head in reverence to Din and says, "I thank you for all you have done for me, and for allowing me to return to the wider galaxy, Mand'alor."
"You have served me well, Jaina Solo. Now go and serve the galaxy," Din responds before adding, "This is the Way."
"This is the Way," Jaina responds. She then takes up her helmet under her arm and heads for the Pegasus.
Din now turns to Calvin. "Well, Adams. I will begin mobilizing my forces and beginning training exercises, as well as briefing my lieutenants once you have sent me those reports. I await the meeting with your Joint Command in the next few days," he says.
"Sounds all good," Calvin says. He then extends his hand and says, "It's a pleasure that we are able to fight alongside each other once more."
Din extends his hand to take Calvin's, and as the two grasp hands, Din says, "We've always been brothers in arms, Adams. It's about time we cooperated once more in battle." Calvin grins in response.
"I'll see you again soon, Djarin," Calvin says before he finally turns to board the transport himself.
Almost as soon as Calvin settles into his seat, the back ramp closes, and the Pegasus lifts off the ground. As it climbs into the atmosphere, heading for orbit, Jaina turns to Calvin. "Where are we going first? To Naboo?"
"No. I have somewhere else in mind first," Calvin says. Jaina waits for an explanation, but receives none, and soon enough, the Pegasus makes the jump to hyperspace.
(Unknown location, hours later)
As the Pegasus comes out of hyperspace, Calvin smiles as he watches the Resistance's fleet come into view. The fleet had gathered in the Outer Rim while Leia planned their next operation. The ships of the fleet are arranged in a circle formation, with the Rebel Dream in the center for protection.
"Take us in," Calvin says before he heads into the back, again taking his seat next to Jaina. "We're almost there. Starting our approach," he calls out to everyone in the passenger bay.
The pilots guide the Pegasus on a slow approach to the Rebel Dream. Two X-Wings from Poe's squadron fly in to escort the Pegasus to the flagship, already having been made aware of the transport's arrival. The Terran pilots wave to the men in the X-Wings before refocusing on their landing approach.
The Pegasus flies smoothly into the Rebel Dream's hangar, where Leia is waiting with Finn for their arrival.
Once they feel the shuttle touch down, and the engines beginning to power down, the people in the passenger bay unstrap themselves and begin to get to their feet. It doesn't take long for the rear door to open, and Calvin leads the group out.
As Calvin walks out of the Pegasus, Leia smiles at him. "Good to see you again, Calvin," she says.
"Good to see you too, Leia. But I'm the one really here to see you again," Calvin says before he turns back to the Pegasus, right as Jaina comes walking down the boarding ramp.
Leia's eyes widen as she sees her daughter for the first time in 8 years. Calvin had not told her that he had found Jaina, or would be bringing her along. Although Jaina has of course grown since Leia last saw her, Leia recognizes her in an instant. "Jaina?" Leia asks aloud.
Jaina stops short and stares in shock. She had not expected this journey to be one to reunite with her mother. Now faced with her mother again, she is unsure of how to react or what to say. For several long moments, the pair stand there in silence.
Finally, Leia steps forward, slowly walking up to Jaina. Jaina feels scared of the sudden reunion, and part of her wants to stumble back, but her body refuses to move. Part of her wonders if her mom is using the Force to hold her there, but realizes this feeling is not the Force, just frozen in fear and uncertainty.
Leia finally reaches her daughter, then gently reaches up a hand to touch Jaina's cheek. Finally, she speaks again and says, "Jaina…you've grown so much…you're so beautiful…you've come so far since I lost you."
"Mother…" Jaina says in a soft voice before she drops her helmet and embraces her mother. Leia smiles brightly as she embraces her daughter in return. The mother and daughter hold each other tightly, neither wanting to let the other go.
Calvin and the others watch as the two just hold each other. After a few moments, they decide to leave the mother and daughter to their reunion and walk away to other parts of the hangar.
Left to each other, Leia and Jaina hold each other for a long time before they finally separate. Looking into each other's eyes, it takes them a moment before either of them can speak. Jaina is the one to speak first as she almost whispers, "Mom…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what happened, and I'm sorry for leaving. But, I couldn't stay. After what Jacen did, and I couldn't stop him…I had to leave everything behind. I had to find myself, and pay for my shortcoming that let this happen."
"Jaina, you cannot blame yourself for what Jacen did. He made his own decisions. His fall to the dark side is not any one person's fault. But if your choices helped you to discover yourself, and become better than you were before, then I support those choices," Leia says.
Jaina doesn't answer, and instead just embraces her mother again, glad to be reunited with her. Then, she asks, "Mom, where's dad?"
(Earth, Tel Aviv, Israel)
In his office, Director Carl Bishop is waiting for his next meeting. This meeting was not on his agenda for the day, as he wanted to keep it top secret.
A knock is heard on his day. Bishop raises his head from the paper he was reading. "Enter," he calls out.
The door opens, and a young man in his late 20s enters the room. Shutting the door behind him, the young man walks up to Bishop's desk and greets him, "Director Bishop."
"Galen, sit down," Bishop says. The young man nods and sits down.
Bishop takes a moment to consider how to properly word this assignment for one of the Alliance's top spies. Galen Andor is the son of Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso, named for Jyn's late father, Galen Erso.
Galen was the Terran Alliance's top spy. He had been trained for this mission since he was a teenager, learning under his father and mother and several other instructors in the ways of espionage, sabotage, and all forms of combat. Although he was young, he was often assigned to lead missions with agents much older than him and sometimes more experienced.
"Galen, I'm calling you here today because I am giving you a special assignment. The Joint Command is beginning preparations for an eventual counteroffensive against the First Order. Although this offensive may still be years away, the preparations must begin now if it is to be successful."
"Crucial to our preparations for this counteroffensive is developing an integrated intelligence network that can report on the movements and capabilities of the First Order, as well as sabotaging their infrastructure and logistics network. I am hereby assigning you to lead a task force in this effort. You will work to develop this intelligence network and begin sabotage operations behind enemy lines to stall the buildup of the First Order's capabilities and prepare the galaxy for our eventual counteroffensive."
Galen is quiet for a few moments before a confident smile crosses his face. "Count me in, Director," he says with a sly smile.
And, I'll end there.
I hope you liked the reunion with Leia and Jaina. We will see more of them together, I promise. And I hope you like what I have planned for Jaina in this story.
Also, I thought it was high time to introduce Cassian and Jyn's son. I've mentioned him before, and thought it was time to introduce him. We'll see him a few more times, and his work will be critical to the eventual counteroffensive against the First Order.
Now, the next chapter is going to kick off an arc that I'm very excited for, and will dive into some deep lore, and really begin to connect a lot of elements from past stories into this one. It'll be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review, and stay tuned!