Here is the next chapter. I had hoped to have it out before the New Year, but I was not able to finish it. Between being tired from work and all the other stories I was just not able too.
They had been over the planet Niraun for about three weeks now. They were waiting on the Chiss to verify the Outbound Flight location. During the three weeks Luke, Mara, his father and Admiral Piett have had several meetings with Thrawn about the alliance Luke was hoping for. Thrawn seem to be for it, but the hold out was the Chiss government.
Luke hoped even if the Chiss government did not want to be part of any alliance that Thrawn and The Empire of the Hand did. At the moment he and his father were on their way back to the planet for a meeting with Thrawn.
"I believe he will be letting us know that he is willing to help. I'm not sure about the Chiss government." Anakin explained.
"The Chiss like to keep to themselves which I understand. Even if they don't want to have any alliance, I am hoping they will take me up on training their force sensitive children."
"I think they might, but they might want to watch and see how you go about your training first."
Luke brought the shuttle Piett loaned them down on the landing pad. There was a Chiss waiting for them to lead them to Thrawn. When they walked in the conference room Thrawn, Parck, Soontir Fel and Stent.
"Master Skywalker thank you for coming. I have spoken with the Chiss government. They have reported back they found Outbound Flight where you said it would be. I have also explained that you will be willing to help our sky walkers develop their abilities better once you have an academy set up."
"Are they willing to allow me to help your force users?"
"They have stated that they will wait on making that decision for the moment. I would harbor a guess that they might be willing to send a couple later. If you can help the sky walkers, then they might be willing to send more."
"I will teach any they are willing to trust me to teach. Hopefully in time you will have enough that some may be able to open an academy and take up teaching their own. I will of course welcome any that want to come even if the Chiss have their own academy."
"I believe my people are willing to agree to that. Now, for Outbound flight. They are planning an expedition to Outbound Flight. They have stated that they would like you to come and help with the mission. Because of my involvement I will not be going. General Fel will take a small contingent of storm troopers and join you."
"I will be happy to have General Fel along. It will be myself, my wife, my father and Ashoka for sure. Commander Rex and Countess Ursa might want to go also, I am not sure."
"What are your plans after you finish here?"
"I want to head to Wayland and see what Palpatine had stored there. There is also a good chance that Palpatine left a guardian to watch over the place. He or she will need to be dealt with."
Thrawn knew that there was one and Skywalker was saying it the way he did because Parck and Fel did not know about him and the future. He also knew that there was a cloning facility there but was not sure that Skywalker would agree with him using it. He would wait till there was more trust between them before asking.
"I will let you know when the expedition is ready. Once it is General Fel and his men will meet you on the Executer."
"We will be waiting, General Fel I look forward with working with you."
"Master Skywalker, I will see you in a few days."
L/M
Luke met with everyone that knew about them being from the future. He explained about what happen at the meeting.
"I would preferer if you were able to take some of my storm troopers."
"While I would like to have yours along, this might be a chance for us to build a working relationship with Thrawns people. It will give them a chance to see what we can do."
Piett nodded. "I will make sure that you have all the equipment you might need loaded on your ship. What do you want me and my ship to do while you are gone?"
"Return to the main fleet. I want you to collect Leia and head to the planet Honoghr. Palpatine has ensured the Noghri people have stayed enslaved by the Empire.
I don't know if we can save the planet or if it is too late. Palpatine has changed out the deacon droids with droids that keep the planet poisoned. I will have a message prepared for you and Leia to present to the Dynast. Hopefully we can save their planet. If not, we will need to help them find another."
"As for the trip to Outbound Flight. I will be going, and I assume Mara will not let me go without her. My father said he wanted to go as well. Does anyone else want to go?"
"I will go as well." Ashoka volunteered.
"I will need to head back to Knowest, or I would like to go as well." Ursa stated.
"I will be sorry to see you go. Once I have more time, I would like to visit to see what we can do to help your people if you wish."
"I will speak to Bo Katana about developing a positive relationship with the Jedi."
"Thank you."
"I am in as well." Rex told him.
L/M
"Luke, what of the girls. Do you think it will be safe enough for them on this trip?"
"As long as the Chiss don't do like they did last time than yes. We sprung this on them so they should not have had time to arrange for the Vergie to be along. If they do, we can make other arrangements."
Luke and Mara where in their quarters on the star destroyer. The girls were down for a nap, so they were trying to plan out the trip they were supposed to go on.
"I can always comm Thrawn and double check before we leave." Luke told his wife.
"Comm him, if they are then maybe I will stay with the girls on the Executer. I can help Leia out with the Noghri."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, as much as I don't like you going off without me, I don't want to leave the girls. They have only been back with us a short time. One of us should stay with them."
Luke nodded and headed out to make the call. Mara went to check on the girls. When Luke returned in an hour, he informed Mara that Thrawn checked with the Chiss government and there was no plan other than to head to Outbound Flight.
"We need to see if they will let us sleep on the Escape instead of taking quarters on the Chiss ship."
"Have you thought about where everyone is going to sleep?"
"Yes, we of course get our room, Rex and Anakin can have a room. Ashoka may need to sleep in the starboard cargo hold. We do have a comfortable medical cot in there. The data storage units are separated to they can be kept at a colder temperature. So, we can heat the rest of the hold up for her. Then the girls can have the last room."
"I'm worried?" Luke told Mara.
"Why?"
"That we are changing things to fast, that we won't be able to predict what will come. Also, that those who like Rogue squadron don't get the chance to become what they were."
"You mean like those who joined when Corran did." asked Mara.
"We trust in the force." Mara stated. Mara and Luke busted up laughing. "Did I really just say that."
"I know it is usually me telling you that."
"Relax Farmboy, things will work out."
L/M
Luke watched as the Executer jumped into hyperspace. Mara had spoke with Thrawn when he contacted them later. He had told them he could not get any answers from the Chiss government. Mara and Luke talked and decided that Mara and the girls would remain in the Super Star Destroyer.
"It never gets any easier son."
"I know. We decided to error on the side of caution. She doesn't want to be away from the girls right now. I can't say I blame her. I don't either but one of us needs to be here."
"You had to do this before also, right?"
"Yes, when we came back and lost our son in the process. We hadn't seen him in months before either. It was hard on her while we were separated from the girls. After Palpatine was defeated, we had hoped to spend a great deal of time with them. Other than the possibility of the Vergie this trip, all should be safe. We had hoped that we wouldn't have to deal with them, but Thrawn doesn't know what the Chiss have planned."
"Come on son, let's go meet the rest of the expedition."
Luke turned the ship around and engaged the hyperdrive and they were away. Fel and his storm troopers were in their own ship following behind them. They had a few days trip, so they all got comfortable.
L/M
The Executer came out of hyperspace near Endor. The rebel alliance now known as the New Republic, had opted to remain around Endor for the moment. At least till a better location could be determined. They were still doing a few raids on the Empire and some scouting missions near Coruscant.
"Admiral we are being hailed by Home One, they are requesting clearance codes."
Mara, who was on the bridge, walked over to a terminal and sent her codes. A minute later Mon Mothma appeared on screen.
"Master Skywalker, I was surprised to receive your codes. Have you already finished all you missions?"
"We were able to retrieve Commander Bridger. He and the Ghost crew should be on Lothal now. We have an agreement with Thrawn for the moment. Luke and I believe we will have a formal alliance by the years end. We are unsure if the Chiss will be willing to enter an alliance but they are willing to at least have open communications with us and are helping with the search for Outbound Flight. Luke and a small team are in rout to meet with a Chiss expedition force to see if there are any survivors of Outbound Flight."
"I am surprised you are not with them?"
"We are unsure if it will be safe for the girls, and I did not want to be apart from them. I am here to collect Jedi Organa Skywalker and then head to the planet Honoghr. We are hoping to help them. It has come to our attention that Palpatine has done something to the planet to enslave its people. We hope to help them."
"Very well, I will have Leia head over to your ship. How long do you think it will take?"
"I don't think it will take long. Once we are finished there we will return to the fleet and wait on Luke to return. His mission will take longer so we should be back before his team are."
"OK, once we are all back together, we all need to get together and figure out how to take Coruscant. There are those who want to strike sooner than later. They feel the longer we take the harder it will be to take the planet."
L/M
Luke brought the Escape out of hyperspace short of the Chiss ship they are meant to meet. Fel's ship came out just after them and pulled up alongside the Escape. They then received a transmission. Luke let Fel handle things while he pulled a little behind Fels ship.
"Master Skywalker we are cleared to dock. I also got clearance for us all to sleep on our ships."
"Lead the way General."
Anikin walked in the cockpit with Ashoka and Rex. Anikin took Mara's seat while the other two took the two back seats.
"How long to Outbound Flight from here?" Ashoka asked.
"If I remember right, it will take us a couple days to reach the place it crashed on. Once there hopefully the Chiss commander will land right away. Once we reach the planet surface, start reaching out for survivors."
"Do remember how many force sensitive children there were last time?" Anikin asked.
"No. I never knew. The survivors wanted nothing to do with the New Republic last time. They ended up joining the Empire of the Hand."
"Do you think they will do the same this time around?" asked Rex.
"I see no reason they would not. The problem will be getting them to leave their home. The ruling council were some of the original survivors and they didn't want to leave. They might want to just continue as they were before they crashed."
Luke piloted his ship aboard the Chiss ship. It looked like he remembered and wondered if it was the same ship as before.
L/M
Luke and his party walked down the boarding ramp and waited for Fel. When the General joined them, they set out to meet their host. When they walked into the receiving room Luke saw Formbi, Drask and Feesa.
"Master Skywalker, I welcome you and your party. I am Aristocra Chaf'orm'binttrano but you can call me Aristocra Formbi. This is General Prard'ras'kleoni but you may call him General Drask. He is the military commander."
"Thank you for having us, Aristocra Formbi. This is General Fel, Master Ashoka Tano, my father Jedi Skywalker and Commander Rex."
"I welcome you all, if you follow us, I will give you a brief tour of the ship. We will be on our way in a few minutes, and it will take a couple days to reach the location of Outbound Flight."
When the tour was finished, they all headed to an observation lounge and watched as they entered hyperspace. It seems the
Chiss did not have time to contact the Vagaari or did not plan on confronting them at the time. He would need to talk with Thrawn later about it. The Vagaari would need to be dealt with at some point in time.
L/M
After 2 days of travel, they had arrived at the location of Outbound Flight. After General Drask had a scan of the area done he had the Chaf Envoy land next to the only ship of Outbound Flight that could be seen. The Chiss had a docking tub extended and once it was secure a large group assembled
The three Jedi all closed their eyes as they reached out with the force and sense the survivors. They could feel several untrained force users and one that seemed trained. This surprised them since in the old timeline there was not any surviving Jedi.
"There are people located in two of the lowest ships. I can feel a few hundred at least." Anikin told the Chiss.
"It is as you said then, Master Skywalker." Formbi conceded. "We must make contact so that we can start the relocation process."
"Aristocra Formbi, while I agree with you, they need to be relocated I would suggest approaching them with it with some caution. After all, for some of them this has been the only home they have known." Luke cautioned.
Drask look like he wanted to argue but Formbi beat him to replying. "I will take that under consideration. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Yes, when we approach them about it, we can point out while it has been there home it is also well with in your territory and the planet, they landed on is not as safe as other planets where they can live. Offer to help them find a place or even offer to help them repair this ship so if they want, they can continue."
"Are you not hoping they will return with you?" Drask asked.
Anikin answered, "That is our hope, but they left the Old Republic because they were tired of the corruption of the old government. With a war going on still, they may want to continue to explore or find a new home in the unknown regions."
"We can offer to let them come back with us. Lothal is one place we can offer them. I am not sure if it will join the New Republic or not and if it does maybe they could have a few ideas on how we could rebuild the Republic. They did see a lot of the faults of the Old Republic."
"Till we speak with them we will not know. Aristocra Formbi, we can cut threw the hull for us to enter faster with out lightsabers if you like."
"Let us gather any supplies we may need. Then we may proceed."
L/M
The Executer was over the planet Honoghr. Mara and Leia with a guard had landed on the planet a couple days ago. They had proven to the Dynast of Palpatines treachery. Mara had explained that She and her husband had a vision of the treachery and came as soon as they could to see what they could do to help the Noghri people. They had been meeting over the last couple days and now just retirned to the ship
The shuttle Mara and Leia where using had just landed back in the hanger. As they came down the ramp Admiral Piett was waiting for them.
"Master Skywalker, I hope your trip was a success."
"Admiral, it was. They are in the process of collecting all the deacon droids and fixing them to do as they are supposed to. The gift we left them of the droids to help save the planet was also well received."
"That is good to hear. Will we be able to save the planet?"
Liea replied, "It is too early to know for sure but hopefully we will be able to. The problem is we don't have many resources to help them."
"We spoke to Mon Mothma, and she will dispatching a small ship. It will be tasked with helping. If they can clear a good section of land than they should be able to safely start to replant vegetation. We left them with a good start on seed so they could start growing food." Mara informed the Admiral. "They are also offering us aid in defeating the rest of the Empire also, even though we told them that was not why we were doing this."
"Any help we can get will go a long way. I know of their skills, and they could be of a great use to the cause."
"They are sending a ship with some of their worriers to join us. They will be here in an hour. Once they are aboard then, we can rejoin the main fleet." Leia informed the Admiral.
"Master Skywalker, what then is the plan?"
"We will need to speak with Luke about that when he gets back from his mission."
"Very well, if you would like to return to your quarters to freshen up I will meet the Noghri when they arrive and get them settled in. Then I will set course for Endor."
"Thank you, Admiral." Mara looked at her two daughters that went with them. "These two need a shower as well as myself."
The Admiral looked at the two girls. "I assume they had some fun." He asked as they headed out of the hanger.
"Yes, they made several friends among the Noghri children. I think it helped that we trusted the Noghri people enough that I brought them along."
The Admiral nodded and everyone either continued on to their rooms or to continue their duties. An hour later the Exicutor was back on its way to Endor.
It has taken longer than I hoped to finish this chapter. I have been working on it for a while now. I hope you all think it turned out alright. The next chapter might be a bit. It will have the conclusion to the Outbound Flight part of the story. I'm not sure what I will have the survivors do. I you have an idea feel free to send me a reply to this chapter.