Has it really been nearly a year since "The Art of War" concluded? I'm honestly amazed that I've made it so far with this particular project.I'm sorry for the long delay, but a mixture of writer's block, a need to plan the plot better this time and real life being a pain seemed to conspire against this story.

Good news is, I've already written the initial chapters, which means you can expect some steady and speedy updates for the next month at least. The first book was about the birth of the New Republic, and the official conclusion of the Galactic Civil War. I mainly wrote it as a sort of epilogue for Return of the Jedi. This book will deal with the rebirth of the Jedi Order and should pick some plot threads that were set up in "The Art of War".

I hope you guys enjoy it. If you haven't read "The Art of War", I believe this book should be accessible enough, although I would recommend reading the first story before diving in to get the full context. Happy reading!

"Power is a fragile commodity, albeit one most sentients seek in one form or another. However, It is most usually pursued as a means to an end. Sentients seek to control their lives through it, often without the wisdom to distinguish what can't, or shouldn't, be controlled. And if history has taught us one thing, it is that the only ones who can be trusted with power, are those with the strength to let it go."

- From the Qel-Droma epics by Jedi Master Nomi Sunrider.

Floating gracefully among the smaller Mon Calamari freighters, the Republic's Hammer and Kashyyyk's Fist had little to distinguish them from other Corellian Corvettes, at least to the untrained eye. But one familiar with the intricacies and protocols of the New Republic's naval forces would recognize the powerful turbolasers mounted below the ships' hammer-like fronts, and the hatches concealing the batteries embedded in both sides of each hull. And Yet, although they were powerful ships, those corvettes and their brethren were far from the only new model the nascent republic relied on.

For the diversity of The New Republic's fleet was yet another way the government distinguished itself from The Empire. While the latter often relied on the sheer power of capital ships, or the advantage of numbers when it came to starfighters, the Rebellion had needed to use more clever and cunning designs. Because unlike with the Empire, every ship had been, and still was, far too precious a resource.

From the dogfighting capabilities of the famed X-Wing, to the focused raw power employed by the B-Wings and Nova-class gunships, the Alliance's fleet had always been designed for precision strikes and felling giants. Although these days it had plenty of giants of its own, thanks to Mon Cala's supply of bulk cruisers and other large ships. And when all of those classes and models came together, there wasn't a battle they couldn't win.

And in a way, this diversity of ships reflected the diversity of their crews. Human, Rodian, Duros, Twi'lek...it didn't matter. The Rebellion had been about people from every species coming together to bring down a common enemy. And in the New Republic, all was welcome regardless of one's kind. Everyone was equal and everyone had the same chances. Ra'angar knew that from experience.

A tall Cathar with beige fur and a yellow-ish mane, Ra'angar had been a slave in the Empire's giant factory on Cymoon 1 when a group of rebels arrived to blow the place to the skies. Liberated alongside the others, he'd watched many of his fellow slaves fall to imperial fire that day, and would later choose to serve the rebellion alongside most of the surviving ones. They'd had nothing to their names and nowhere to go to, back then, and while that had certainly been an influence on their decision to stay, their rage had been the greatest incentive.

And, to Ra'angar's delight, there had been other Cathars with the rebellion. Slavery on Cymoon 1 had drained away any semblance of hope. As a prisoner there, he hadn't expected to ever know freedom again, much less find love. Yet, here he was now: a captain of the New Republic's navy, a husband to a beautiful female and a father to three cubs he'd give up anything for.

"One hour to Bothawui, Captain." the lieutenant-commander who acted as his right hand said with relief. A surprisingly eloquent Rodian, Taasu was good company to keep when one was off-duty. "I don't know about you, but I'm dying to sample some of the local cuisine."

Ra'angar bared his teeth. "My advice is to try the green cheese. And Grab some for the family. As much as you can."

"I'll take your word for it, Sir." the rodian said almost enthusiastically, and the Cathar stifled a chuckle. Taasu wasn't a glutton by any means, but he certainly appreciated the culinary arts more than anyone Ra'angar knew.

"Do you ever stop thinking about your stomachs?" Marit, the communications officer, said with a smile.

Tasuu snorted. "You wouldn't say that if you had our taste buds. Humans can't–"

The Rodian was interrupted as the ship lurched. And the lines of hyperspace seemed to vanish instantly to reveal the vast expanse of star-filled space, interrupted only by the sight of an Interdictor-class Star Destroyer flanked by two Imperial-class ones.

Ra'angar gave a soft growl at the sight, and he could practically feel the tension spread across the bridge. "Status Report!" he growled.

"All systems operational, Captain." said Davik from his station."Their batteries are trained on us."

The Cathar captain turned to the weapons officer. "Tell the gunners to prime the cannons and batteries."

"They're not hailing us or answering our hails, Sir." Marit said "I don't think they're accepting surrenders."

Ra'angar growled again. He knew their firepower was too much for him to take on with only two corvettes, and the freighters were unarmed. He needed to act fast to save as many lives as he could.

The ship rocked again as a turbolaser blast was absorbed by its shields. "Helm. Take evasive action." The Captain ordered before turning to Marit. "Get me lieutenant Dren on theKashyyyk's Fist.And tell the freighters to turn around and attempt to make it to the edge of the gravity well. We'll try to hold off the star destroyers."

A look of fear flashed over Marit's face, but was quickly replaced with determination. The young woman knew that this was a fight they may not survive. But she also knew what she'd signed up for. They all did. Ra'angar more than anyone. So he steeled himself and directed the battle to his best ability, fighting like it was his final skirmish.

And, sadly, it was.

Grand Moff Ardus Kaine's life-size hologram towered over Admiral Daala, which wasn't surprising given her small frame. A tall man with a handsome face that didn't betray his age, Kaine was a patriot that Daala admittedly enjoyed working with.

"The operation was a partial success, Governor." she said stoically. "We managed to capture half of the freighters with our tractor beams, but it seems we'd underestimated the firepower and resilience of their new corvettes. Our Interdictor sustained some heavy damage, but the two Imperial-class destroyers are fairly unscathed. The two corvettes were destroyed."

"I expect better from you, Admiral." Kaine said matter-of-fact-ly."Nevertheless, those supplies should help sustain us until we're ready."

"Understood, Sir." Daala said "What would you have us do with the prisoners?"

"Execute the grunts. Bring back the officers for interrogation." The Grand Moff ordered "I'll expect a full report of the operation on my desk within an hour of your arrival. Kaine out." he said before the hologram vanished, leaving Daala to sink in her chair and ponder her dark thoughts.

She'd gone from leading her own fleet, to being one of the many pawns of the five Moffs hiding in the deep core. They had all this power, yet Gideon was still content to wait. And Daala couldn't blame him. Xerath's impatience had doomed him, and The Rebellion was now stronger than ever. It would take decades to defeat them unless they managed to seize control of the "New Empire" somehow.

But Gideon supposedly had his own plans and weapons that could turn the tide. And while Daala hated not being privy to them, she had no options but to trust him and the rest of the five. Even though it sometimes felt like it was them against the entire Galaxy.

But if the rebels could do it, then so could they. She was certain of that.

Jedi training was apparently never easy, and Leia often wondered how hard Luke's was, based on his stories of Master Yoda. A small, green thing that Luke had met on a swampy planet strong in The Force, the little troll had apparently put her brother through hell and back during those few months. But she could tell that her brother still missed his teacher dearly, now more than ever.

"Greetings, Padawan Leia." TX-1 said as she activated him. "May I recommend practicing soresu on difficulty level four today?" the droid suggested.

"That works TeeEx, thank you." Leia said before activating her lightsaber, and the purple blade came to life with a snap-hiss. Some quick tampering with the device strengthened the energy field around the plasma, turning the blade into "training mode". And TeeEx's own sparring rod came to life as he took an opening stance.

A spindly droid with a single eye and a concealed vocabulator, TX-1 was a Jedi swordsman droid that Luke had managed to purchase with Lando's help a while after The Battle of Hoth. Ever since then, TeeEx had acted as Luke's sparring partner and lightsaber instructor. Her brother credited him with filling in the gaps in his formal lightsaber training, and Leia found him to be a more than worthy opponent on most days.

The droid descended on her rapidly with a djem so move, and pride swelled in Leia's chest as she blocked with ease. Djem So was a variety of Shien, the fifth form of lightsaber combat. One of the more aggressive forms, it largely relied on converting defense into offense, and required putting physical strength into the slashes and swings. In contrast, Soresu was a defensive form that emphasized grace and steadfastness. Luke would often say that the key to the third form was the footing, and had drilled that into Leia extensively.

The droid, who had a strange training blade for a right hand, came at Leia again and again. And each time Leia attempted to fend him off long enough to find an opening, to varying degrees of success. The sparring session continued for thirty minutes before Leia lost her wind. Tempted by the cool shade of a particularly beautiful tree at the edge of the clearing that hosted the temple, she allowed her sparring partner to power down and went to sit down on the grass.

Leia didn't often get the time to visit Luke on Yavin IV, but whenever she did, the Alderaanian made the most of it. Jedi training was not easy, but Leia certainly found it satisfying. At first, the meditative practices hadn't gone smoothly for her. Being an important political figure in a newly-formed galactic government often left her feeling restless whenever she was away from the constant fires she had to put out. But with time, and patience, as her connection to The Force grew, she began to understand Luke's lessons more and more. The feeling of being connected to everything made her feel like she was back home. Like Alderaan was still there in some form. And it made the spiritual aspects she struggled with just a little easier. Of course, Luke seemed to excel in those.

Overcome by boredom, she reached into her satchel and retrieved the holocron her brother had given her. A mixture of fear, conflict and curiosity swirled in her mind as she toyed with the cube. A part of her feared what she may find in Colonel Tano's holocron, and another wanted to see it because it might help her understand. Steeling herself, she reached out with The Force and activated the device.

"These are the journals of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker." said the hologram of a handsome young man with keen blue eyes and dark blonde hair. "Today's battle saw some heavy casualties among the snub fighter pilots."he paused"I'm not taking it well. I was out there with them, and perhaps I should've led them better. My former Master says there's nothing I could've done given the way we were outnumbered,...but I'm not so sure."

"This war is dragging far longer than we thought it would." he continued dejectedly "And The senate doesn't seem to care as much as it should. I don't think they view the clones as sentient beings, with all the rights that come with that. And I've grown tired of seeing so many of those good men fall. Seeing so many of my fellow jedi fall." he took a moment to compose himself, and in that moment, he seemed so much older than the boy he was. "There are days on which I want to follow my padawan's lead and leave the order. Leave this war and everything behind me.But I can't let everything be in vain. I know our cause is just. Dooku and the separatists have to be stopped. I have to see this through."

Nearly overwhelmed by her confusion, Leia deactivated the device before drawing a deep breath.

There was no doubt that he'd been a monster. One who'd murdered innocents, including children. Attacked his own pregnant wife. Tortured his daughter and the man she loved, alongside who knows how many. Served the most evil man The Galaxy had ever known. He'd been the face of her nightmares ever since that fateful day on the Death Star.

But everything and everyone said that before his turn - before Vader- he'd been a good man. A most loyal friend. A good teacher. A man who valued life and fought desperately to save it every chance he got- although evidently too desperately as time went. And no matter how hard Leia tried, She couldn't reconcile the man in that recording with the most feared man in the Galaxy. Was that how Luke had felt during that year after Bespin? Those months during which he'd carried that burden alone? Just what had he sensed that caused him to walk to Darth Vader and tell him that he could find redemption? It was a notion so insane, only Luke could believe in it. And it was even more insane that he'd been correct.

"I thought he'd be uglier, you know" her husband's voice startled her out of her reverie, and she turned around to see Han looking at her with a sympathetic look and a smirk on his face. "You saw that?" she asked.

He nodded as he lay down on the grass next to her, hands clasped together behind his head to form a cushion. "Gotta say, It was a lot easier when we could just hate him." he said grimly, and Leia nodded in turn, looking into the distance.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of his small room in the Temple of the Massassi, Luke Skywalker sank into the depths of The Force as his meditation became almost trance-like. As a novice, Luke had struggled with meditation. He'd been restless and impatient back then, unable to fully appreciate its benefits. But as his connection to The Force continued to grow, the young jedi found himself enjoying it more and more. The feeling of sheer oneness with everyone and everything was difficult to describe, but it always seemed to lead him somewhere new.

He could sense his sister's nearby presence. It was powerful and clear. More honed with every day that passed as she made strides in her training. Ahsoka Tano's presence was distant, but strong and tempered. Like that of a seasoned practitioner of the Jedi arts. His friend Mara Jade's presence was somewhat muted, like that of someone who hadn't embraced the presence of The Force yet.

And there were many others that he could sense but not recognize. Some were force sensitives who didn't realize their true nature. Others were survivors of the jedi purge who'd decided to find a different path during the dark times. And Luke could only hope that some of those distant stars would find their way to him. But as the currents of The Force continued to carry the young jedi, his conscious mind drifted back to his own jedi training on Dagobah.

"Capable of Great things, the Jedi are." His teacher had said one time as they sat around a campfire. "Great power we have. hmm. Tempting, it can. People seek to control what they shouldn't, when have power, they do. Learn, you must, that control.…is but an illusion."

"But you're always telling me that I must learn control." Luke noted, confused by yet another of Yoda's paradoxes.

The green little troll snorted. "No. No. Control over yourself, you must have. Learn how to act, or not act, When the opposite, you desire. Mastery of The Force comes only with Mastery of oneself. But to control others, a Jedi does not seek. To desire control over what can't or shouldn't be controlled, is a path to the dark side."

Luke pondered his teacher's words."But aren't we trying to do just that?" he asked "We try to defeat The Empire and The Sith. To control the Galaxy's fate and lead it somewhere better."

Yoda sighed. "Remember the dragonsnake king, do you? Hmmm. Too powerful, he was. Disturbed the natural order of the swamps. Much like him, are The Sith. To restore the natural order of things, you must always seek. Never to impose your own will."

"Surrender my own will to learn the will of The Force." Luke recited the lesson, wondering if he'd ever be able to actually live by it. It was not easy wisdom to apply.

"Master…..what was my father like?" he asked, hoping Yoda wouldn't dodge the question this time.

His teacher seemed to grow distant, as if lost in the past once more. "Hmph. A Great Jedi, that one. Cunning warrior. Stood out among his fellow jedi. And More loyal than anyone else, he was." the strange alien sighed "But darkness was inside him. And Hard was his head. Just like you!" he said before whacking Luke's head with his glimmerstick, eliciting a pained "ow" from his padawan.

Amused, Luke retreated from his memory and expanded his consciousness even further. He would often find himself missing his teacher, even though they hadn't always seen eye to eye. Yoda had been wise and kind, and Luke could tell by the dull pain he would often sense in the ancient being that his teacher's wisdom had come with a heavy price. But his teacher had mastered his pain and loss, showing strength, courage and optimism that Luke sometimes envied.

The young jedi was about to end his meditation when he felt a vision creeping into the edge of his consciousness. Curious, he followed the vision to a familiar looking world - a seedy haven for smugglers, bounty hunters, criminals, and everything in-between. Other images flashed before him; A young tholothian girl with sad, deep blue eyes, brown skin and milky white tendrils protruding from her scaled skullcap……

With a gasp, Skywalker opened his eyes. He couldn't entirely make sense of the vision, nor could he recognize the young girl in it. But it was clear that The Force was leading him to Nar Shaddaa. Which actually tracked with his intentions for his next move.

A series of beeps interrupted his thoughts before the blue and white astromech rolled into his modest quarters. Luke's binary wasn't particularly strong, but he could tell that his old friend was agitated.

"Oh, look what you've done now, Artoo. I told you Master Luke wouldn't like having his meditations interrupted." Threepio said, having caught up to his counterpart. "I'm terribly sorry, Master. But I'm afraid it is quite urgent." He said, ignoring Artoo's indignation.

"It's okay, Threepio." Luke said, fighting back his amusement. "What's going on now?"

"It's Chief of State Mon Mothma, Sir." the droid said gravely, and Luke could suddenly feel the tension in the air. "She has sent a message saying there's been an...incident."

Authors Note:

Hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. I elected to give Leia a purple lightsaber because that was the color Carrie Fisher wanted. A lot of moving pieces here, and I hope the next chapters don't disappoint.

If you've enjoyed this, or didn't, please leave your thoughts in a comment. Likes/Dislikes/thoughts...it will mean the world and inspire me to keep writing.