Star Wars: Vergence II, Epilogue

 EPILOGUE

D’Qar

“So, we didn’t accomplish what we set out to do. In fact, all of our lives are now worse than they were when we started.”

Poe wiped his mouth of crumbs and tossed his empty tray of rations onto the lunch room table. Finn and Rey sat across from him, having barely eaten at all as they stared at their trays.

“Now, instead of finding a map, we instead found out that the First Order has bigger brass bearings than we initially assumed and that an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith is back from the dead. The same Dark Lord of the Sith that I lost a lot of friends to.”

Rey looked up at him. “You’ve fought against this Darth Vorath before?”

“I mean, not personally,” Poe replied. “But I flew at the Battle of Borosk during the war against his little Sith Empire. Lost a lot of pilots there, including one who I had been pretty close to since my academy days.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s in the past now.” Poe leaned back in his seat, folding his arms over his chest. “Besides, I’m far from the only one who lost friends and loved ones in that war. Hell, we lost a lot of good pilots today. I can’t imagine what some of those guys in Rogue Squadron are going through right now.”

“Speaking of which,” a voice said behind him, “I was hoping to talk to you about that.”

Poe moved with a start and turned around to see a tall, lean man in his sixties standing in front of him. Eyes widening, he jumped out of his seat and snapped to attention.

“General Antilles. What can I—”

“Come on, Poe,” Wedge Antilles sighed. “You should know by now that it’s just ‘Wedge’ when it comes to me. Go ahead and sit back down; you’re going to want to anyway.”

“Um, okay.” Looking slightly abashed and confused, Poe sat back down at the table. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Well,” Wedge said, “seeing as we unfortunately lost their commander at Mon Cala, Rogue Squadron is in need of a leader. Now that Rogue Squadron is now officially affiliated with the Resistance, General Organa is hoping to find someone to fulfill that position as soon as possible.”

“Ah,” Poe said. “So you’re looking for a wingman.”

Wedge raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

“Every Rogue Leader needs their Rogue Two, right? I would be very honored to—”

“Oh, no.” Wedge grinned at him. “Lensi is staying on as Rogue Two. He’s a pretty good pilot; he survived both Battles of Coruscant, and that’s not a feat every pilot can attest to.”

“Oh.” Poe’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Then what are you—”

“I was going to ask if you would like to serve as Rogue Leader.”

Suddenly, Poe realized why Wedge had told him to sit as he nearly slid off his seat in surprise. He quickly regained his composure but failed to voice any coherent sentences, instead sputtering in confusion as he started at Wedge in bewilderment.

“Take some time to think about it,” Wedge said. “It is a very large responsibility; take it from someone who knows.”

He then gave Rey and Finn a curt nod before walking away from their table. Still flabbergasted, Poe slowly turned back around to face them, though his eyes were evidently elsewhere.

“Well,” Finn said with a smirk. “I guess today wasn’t a total loss for some of us.”

*  *  *

Tython

When Jacen Solo and the other masters on the Jedi Council finally received word from Toah Jarsan and his team, Jacen had been expecting to hear either one of two things: That they had found the map to the First Jedi Temple or they had failed to find it, an outcome Jacen would have accepted either way.

He was not at all prepared for what Toah did end up telling him.

“Luke Skywalker is alive?” he repeated, his mouth dry.

Toah nodded, his holographic image shimmering. “Leia tells me she has sensed him, and that she knows for a fact that it is him. She doesn’t know how he is alive again, but that there is no denying it.”

“Does she know where he is?” asked Kyle Katarn.

“She initially sensed him to be on Lothal, which we had just been,” Toah replied. “But she now believes he is on a planet called Damosus, somewhere in the Ojoster sector.”

“Let’s not waste any time then,” said Jacen. “Let’s go—”

“Not so fast,” Toah interjected, his expression turning grim. “There’s someone else on Damosus who has returned from the dead: Darth Vorath.”

The eyes of everyone present went wide. “Impossible,” hissed Master Saba Sebatyne. “He was vanquished at Coruscant. You and Master Skywalker saw to it yourselves.”

“I know,” Toah sighed. “I’m not sure how to explain it either. But I have sensed him. I know it is him.”

“We had felt a disturbance in the Force earlier,” said Master Kam Solusar. “It seems we now know the cause behind it.”

Jacen was silent for a moment, trying to process this newfound information. His mind kept flashing back to his trek into the Unknown Regions; to the vision he had received. He then lifted his eyes back to Toah’s holographic image, his expression grave.

“Where are you now?” he asked.

“We’re still on D’Qar. We just repelled an attack on Mon Cala by the First Order. Apparently they’ve already taken over the Tion Cluster, in addition to Lothal and the Ojoster sector. Leia wants to see what move the First Order makes next before devoting the resources to rescuing Luke.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Jacen said. “Let us know when a decision is reached so that we can provide some assistance. He is my uncle, after all.”

Toah nodded, smiling slightly. “I understand. I will let you know as soon as possible. May the Force be with you.”

“And with you, Master Jarsan.”

With that, Toah’s image dissipated and the gathered members of the Jedi Council were left to themselves. Stroking his beard, Kyle Katarn turned to look at Jacen, a grave look on his face.

“These Sith just never stay down for good, do they?”

“We’ve already lost so many Jedi to Darth Taral’s attack on Ossus,” murmured Tionne Solusar. “I’m not sure we have enough Jedi to spare for another Sith war.”

“There won’t be another Sith war,” Jacen said firmly. “Because we’re going to stop Vorath before he can start one.”

“Careful, Jacen,” Katarn said. “That kind of talk will put you on the fast track to the dark side. Trust me, I’ve been there myself.”

“I understand the dangers, Master Katarn. But if we’re going to deal with a reborn Vorath, then we must be thorough in order to ensure that he and the Sith never rise again.” Jacen sighed, his expression turning forlorn. “Otherwise, everything we have done — what Master Skywalker has done — will be for nothing.”

*  *  *

The Supremacy

Darkness surrounded Luke Skywalker as he sat cross-legged on the floor. The room he had been imprisoned in, which was barely large enough for a single person, seemed to have some sort of modification made to it that dampened his connection to the Force, making it difficult if not outright impossible for him to reach out and call out to his sister or his wife. He knew that Leia had heard him earlier, but the growing shadow that had been cast by Darth Vorath had prevented him from reaching out to Mara Jade. He could only hope that she had been able to sense him before everything went dark.

The door to his cell finally opened and he squinted his eyes from the sudden light. Through the cracks of his eyelids, he was able to make out a tall silhouette standing in the doorway, hands clasped behind their back. The light reflected off the golden robe they were wearing, making them glitter in the darkness.

“Luke Skywalker,” the figure spoke in a deep, rough voice. “It is an honor to finally meet you.”

Luke glared back at his visitor. “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.”

“You may call me Snoke. How have you been enjoying your stay?”

“What have you done to the others? Kane and my nephew.”

Snoke sighed, sounding slightly irritated. “They are in safe hands… for now. I intend on having a talk with your nephew, who is no doubt… distraught by some of the things Vorath has said to him.”

“And Vorath himself? Where is he right now?”

“That is none of your concern. I will be discussing certain matters with him later.” Snoke paused for a moment before reaching into his robe and pulling out a cube-shaped object. He stepped closer to Luke and held it up to the Jedi. “Do you know what this is?”

Without waiting for Luke to answer, he thumbed a button on the device which instantly displayed a map of the galaxy, yellow lines connecting the stars together. As Luke’s expression darkened, Snoke flashed a toothy grin.

“How did you get that?” Luke muttered.

“It was in the possession of your father’s clone. I believe your old friend Lor San Tekka, or someone connected to him, left it in his care.”

Luke sighed as he hung his head. “I knew I should have had it destroyed….”

“Perhaps you should have.” Snoke pulled the map to the First Jedi Temple away and tucked it back into his robe. “If it makes you feel any better, I have no intention on using it just yet. I have other things to sort out before I can concern myself with more frivolous matters.”

“What are you keeping me around for, then?” Luke asked. “What purpose do you have intended for me?”

Snoke chuckled. “It should be obvious, surely. I am more than certain that those who hold you dear to their hearts have sensed your rebirth, and would no doubt jump at the opportunity to rescue you… if they knew where you were.”

Luke suddenly found it difficult to breathe. “Where are you going with this?” he asked hoarsely.

“Think of all the people who would be coming to your rescue as soon as they knew where to find you,” Snoke went on. “Your sister. Her three children. Your own son. All blood descendants of the Chosen One himself. Your eldest nephew has been useful enough… but to have your entire family under my control? That is something Darth Sidious himself would be envious of.”

Luke gritted his teeth, his blue eyes blazing as he glowered at the Supreme Leader. “They will never fall to you. You can’t break them.”

“We shall see.” Snoke stepped back to the doorway, his rotting hand hovering over the control panel. “After all, you have been wrong about people before, Skywalker. Don’t be so sure of yourself.”

With that, he pressed the control panel and the door slammed shut, plunging Luke Skywalker into darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED

Star Wars: Vergence II, Chapter Eighteen

 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Retreat.

The Supreme Leader wanted him to retreat.

As he watched the Fellfire go down in smoke, a part of General Hux saw the wisdom in this command, though it was quickly overridden by his stubbornness to press on the assault. Ever since Mandalore, which he had been absent for, the First Order had yet to win an actual military victory against the Alliance or the Resistance. Yes, they had managed to subjugate Lothal, Damosus, and the Tion Cluster, but that was out of a lack of resistance rather than a presence of one. If he were to admit defeat here, at this critical moment, what impression would that leave to the rest of the First Order, especially to impressionable young officers such as those under his command? Worse, how would it affect his standing in the First Order’s command structure? Would he be demoted? Or would the Supreme Leader get rid of him entirely?

As Hux warred with himself internally, Captain Peavey cleared his throat before speaking. “General, what are your orders?”

Hux stiffened, his face twisting and untwisting itself. As much as he wanted to ignore the Supreme Leader’s wishes, something was preventing him from voicing it. No matter how much he tried to force them out, the words simply did not come. With an exasperated huff, he instead said the only thing he could say.

“Pull back and retreat,” he muttered.

Captain Peavey nodded and Hux could have sworn he saw a hint of twisted satisfaction in the older man’s eyes. As Peavey echoed his orders to the rest of the bridge, Hux fixed his gaze to the viewport as the Finalizer slowly turned away from the battle, green and orange firepower flashing by.

*  *  *

As quickly as it had begun, the Battle of Mon Cala was over. Any sense of victory on the part of the Alliance forces was bittersweet, however; they had lost a lot of good pilots and sustained a lot of damage to their cruisers, especially to those that were still in their shipyard docks. By comparison, the First Order had lost a single Star Destroyer and a handful of TIE fighters; had reinforcements not arrived and nearly box them in, they likely would have stayed and seen the battle all the way through… and perhaps even win.

As it stood, there was no telling whether or not the First Order would be back in full force, with even more Star Destroyers and fighters at their disposal. And if they did, there was no telling that the Alliance would be as lucky as they had been here.

Regardless of the advantage that the Resistance’s reinforcements had provided to the Alliance however, Admiral Nek Bwua’tu appeared to be anything but grateful during the debriefing with the rest of the fleet.

“As appreciative as I am of your timely arrival,” the Bothan admiral said to the assembled captains and commanders over hologram, “I must question exactly who you people are and why you are utilizing military class ships.” 

“They’re under my command, Admiral,” Vice Admiral Holdo cut in before any of the Resistance commanders had a chance to speak. “They are members of Princess Leia’s Resistance, of which I am a part of.”

Bwua’tu’s image turned to face her, his eyes narrowed. “Is that so? And when were you planning on informing us?”

“I didn’t think I needed to. The way I see it, the Resistance is an extension of the Galactic Alliance Defense Force and therefore an extension of my command.”

“The Senate does not see things the same way you do, Holdo,” Bwua’tu said coolly. “I’m sure you’ll realize that once you are tried before a military court.”

The fact that Bwua’tu had not addressed her by her rank did not go unnoticed by Holdo. She glanced at the holographic image of Admiral Niathal; the Mon Calamari woman had returned to her flagship Galactic Voyager after the battle had ended, along with the ensign Lysa Dunter. Niathal looked back at her with a stoic expression, eyes slowly blinking. Holdo was not expecting any support or defense from her, which was just as well; even if she did, the result of this conversation was going to be the same.

“Are you sure the Senate is going to care as much as you think they do, Admiral?” Holdo asked Bwua’tu, turning back to the Bothan. “After all, we did just save Mon Cala from subjugation. I’m sure Senators Gahan and Ri will be much appreciative of that and will inform the Senate of that.”

“The gratitude of two senators does not change the letter of the law,” Bwua’tu retorted. “That letter being that you acted on behalf of a military organization independent of the Alliance and without sanction from the Senate. You will be tried by a military court, Amilyn Holdo, and you will be found guilty.”

“I look forward to it,” Holdo said, smiling thinly. “But I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a little bit longer.”

As Bwua’tu’s face twisted in confusion, one by one the Resistance’s cruisers and frigates began jumping into hyperspace. The holograms of their commanders dissipated with each departure, until only the three admirals were left remaining. While Bwua’tu sputtered in bewilderment, Holdo gave a slight nod to Captain Tarpfen and the Dawn of Tranquility began to angle itself towards the designated hyperspace point.

“We have a galaxy to protect, and that’s going to take a lot of hard work,” Holdo went on. “Once that’s taken care of, you can court martial me all you want, Nek Bwua’tu. I will gladly accept it at that point.”

With that, the two holographic images of Bwua’tu and Niathal dispersed just as the Dawn of Tranquility jumped to lightspeed, leaving the oceanic world it had just defended behind.

*  *  *

The Bestoon Legacy shuddered as it traversed through Damosus’ volatile atmosphere, powerful storms raging all around the planet. As the ship navigated its way through the storm, Kane Skywalker could feel a growing sense of intense darkness; a darkness he had felt before, no less than sixteen years ago.

There was no denying it at this point, as much as he wanted to. The man responsible for his creation, for his fall to the dark side, was here on this planet, having rose from the grave just as the man sitting beside him had. Glancing at the man in question, he could tell that Luke Skywalker had felt it had well as a dark grimace fell over his face.

No words were exchanged as the ship broke through the clouds and began to approach a wide field that at was at the eye of the storm. A small boy stood in the center of the field, lightning crackling from his fingers, while a masked man in black cowered before him. Sitting behind Kane, Ochi of Bestoon shifted to get a better view of the scene that was unfolding below.

“This has to be some sort of joke,” he muttered.

Neither of the Skywalkers said anything and Kane proceeded to land the ship in the field, not far from where the boy and the masked man were. As soon as the ship had touched down, Kane and Luke disengaged from their seats and rushed to the landing ramp, leaving Ochi behind in the cabin. They practically flew out of the ship and rushed out onto the field, with Kane igniting his lightsaber.

The boy noticed their arrival and paused in conjuring his storm to look at them, bloodshot eyes narrowing as he grinned wickedly at them.

“Skywalkers,” the voice of Darth Vorath emerged from the boy’s mouth. “How nice of you to join me.”

“I don’t how you are back from the dead,” Kane Skywalker said, raising his blade, “but I intend on sending you back.”

Darth Vorath chuckled darkly. “And kill a child in the process? I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything less from you, given who you are clone from.”

“Wait.” Luke grabbed Kane by the arm. “There has to be some other way to stop him.”

Kane stopped to look at him. “What would you suggest? You already know what he is capable of.”

Luke couldn’t help but shiver, but it was not because of Kane’s words. Not only was his appearance a dead match for Darth Vader, save for the white armor, but so was his voice. It made him feel like he and Vorath weren’t the only ones to have come back from the grave.

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “But we can’t just kill a child like that. There must be some way to force him out.”

Darth Vorath laughed, his voice ringing out all around them. “Ah, noble and righteous as ever. No wonder the galaxy holds you in such high regard.”

“I’m sorry, Luke,” Kane said quietly. “But you and I both know just how dangerous he is. He has to be stopped before he can wreak more havoc on the galaxy.”

Luke’s eyes widened in alarm. “What? No, stop—!”

But the clone of his father did not listen to him as he charged towards the boy, lightsaber raised high. Just as he was about to bring his blade down to slay the child, the boy flicked his wrist and Kane was hoisted off his feet. Dropping his lightsaber, Kane started to wheeze as he clutched at his collar, sickening crunching sounds coming from within his suit.

“I created you, Darth Nemesis,” Vorath said coolly. “I know all of your weaknesses, all of your failings. Don’t think for a moment that you can get the better of me.”

He then flicked his hand again and Kane went flying, colliding into the hull of a crashed shuttle just behind the boy. Luke looked over and saw a man and a woman huddled together in the shuttle’s shadow, fear plastered on their faces.

“I see you have met my parents.” Vorath’s voice snapped Luke’s attention back to the child through which the Sith Lord was speaking. “Or rather, this boy’s parents. The man is my son, created from a union between my genetic material and a woman named Lumiya. Does that name sound familiar to you?”

Luke’s expression darkened. It did indeed sound familiar; Lumiya had once been a Rebel agent named Shira Brie, whom Luke had flown with and even held feelings for during the war against the Empire. Those feelings were rendered moot when Shira turned out to be an Imperial agent and, after the Battle of Endor, reemerged as a self-declared Dark Lady of the Sith. The last time he had seen her had been at the clone Emperor’s palace on Byss, while he had been under the reborn Palpatine’s thrall.

Not waiting for a response, Darth Vorath continued speaking. “I’ll admit that this makes for a rather awkward reunion. Not only have you been reunited with the clone of your father and met the son and grandson of your once would-be lover, but you have also been reunited with your lost nephew!”

Luke raised an eyebrow at this only for his eyes to then go to the masked man. An invisible hand tugged on the mask in question and, although the man tried to resist against it, it was soon pulled freed from his head, revealing the face of a young man with curly dark hair.

“I know it has been nearly two decades from your perspective since you last saw him,” Vorath went on, “but surely you recognize Ben Solo, yes?”

Luke looked into the man’s brown eyes, filled with fear and loathing, and immediately saw the child of Han and Leia. His nephew. The one he had thought had died all those years ago.

But how…? Luke asked himself. How could he be here of all places, looking like… this?

“Must everything be spelled out for you, Skywalker?” Vorath said bitterly. “Who do you think was responsible for his abduction in the first place?” 

Luke’s eyes went wide as he gazed upon the boy serving as the Sith Lord’s vessel. “You…?”

“I would have been remiss to ignore the potential a child borne from the daughter of the Chosen One could have. I had my agents kidnap him and entrusted him in the care of my accomplice Snoke, while misdirecting you into thinking that fool Zsinj had been behind it.”

This got Ben Solo’s attention and the young man looked to Vorath. “Snoke worked for you?” he asked quietly.

“It was a loose working relationship,” Vorath admitted. “He was neither Sith nor Jedi, yet I could tell he was strong in the Force. He had taken up residence in the Amaxine Station, which had been all but forgotten by the rest of the galaxy, left to rot near its dying sun. I left the boy in his care while I focused on the rest of my plans, intending to return to him once I had secure my control over the galaxy. But then you and that Jarsan boy saw to it that I would never get the chance.”

Luke looked back over to Ben, whose eyes were wide with… distress? He wasn’t sure what word best described the emotion welling up in his nephew’s eyes, but he could tell that the other man was not taking this revelation well.

“You mean… all this time I’ve been the pawn of a Sith?” Ben said quietly. “A Sith whose legacy I’ve been tasked with destroying?”

“I cannot speak as to what Snoke’s current intentions for you are now,” Vorath replied. “My death no doubt liberated him from any obligation he felt towards me and he was free to shape you into whatever he wanted you to become.”

Ben pounded the ground and it was at that moment Luke recognized what he saw in his nephew. It was the same thing he had felt when he had learned that Darth Vader was his father; that the story Ben Kenobi had given him had not been the full truth.

It was what anyone would have felt once they found out they had been lied to.

“I am no Sith,” Ben Solo growled, grabbing a fistful of grass and soil. “I am no one’s pawn. I will not be deceived any longer!”

Vorath smirked. “You might want to tell him that, then.”

A large shadow fell over them all and Luke looked up to see a massive, wing-shaped vessel descend from the sky. Sixty kilometers in width, it was far more massive than any Super Star Destroyer he had seen before; even larger than Darth Vader’s own Star Destroyer. He saw Ben Solo stiffen in fear while Vorath broke into a fit of laughter.

“Oh, this is going to be very interesting.”

Luke frowned at him. “You’re not going to try and stop it with your Force storm?”

“Why would I? I want to see how this is going to play out.” The boy’s face twisted into a smirk. “I’ve been dead for sixteen years, Skywalker. I should be allowed to have my fun.”

Star Wars: Vergence II, Chapter Seventeen

 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ochi of Bestoon grunted as he was thrown into the cockpit of his own ship. As he struggled to right himself up—not helped by his newfound lack of feet—Kane and Luke Skywalker rushed past him and seated themselves at the controls of the Bestoon Legacy. He grabbed onto the side of a chair behind the pilot’s seat and hoisted himself up onto it, peering over Kane’s shoulder as he buckled himself in.

“You’re really pushing your luck, Skywalker,” Ochi muttered.

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised you haven’t killed us yet,” Kane Skywalker remarked.

“Kind of hard to do that without a hand and two feet. Besides, I still need you alive to get that damn map from you.”

Sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, Luke Skywalker looked between the two of them, his face still awash from confusion. No doubt he was wary of Kane for the Vader-esque armor he was wearing, though from what Ochi had gathered from their brief conversations, they were already familiar with one another.

“I’m really looking forward to getting caught up to speed,” he muttered.

“And I’m sure we’re all looking forward to hearing how the hell you are still alive,” Ochi retorted.

“Good luck with that because your guess is as good as mine. Last thing I remember is becoming one with the Force after helping Toah fight Darth Vorath.”

“I’m afraid your efforts may have been rendered moot,” Kane said quietly.

Luke frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

Kane said nothing at first and the Bestoon Legacy started to head up towards Lothal’s sky. Ochi noticed that there appeared to be fewer Star Destroyers surrounding the planet, though it made little difference; his ship had clearance codes that would get them past the blockade and on to wherever it was they were heading. Once they were past the fleet, Kane started to punch in coordinates into the navigational system.

“I’m afraid you are not the only one who has found a way to defy death.”

While Kane allowed Luke to take the time to contemplate over his words, the clone of Vader pulled the hyperdrive level and the Bestoon Legacy jumped into hyperspace.

*  *  *

“Admiral, we’re getting overwhelmed,” a Bothan officer called up from the crew pit of the Welmo Darb. “I’m not sure how much more we can take.”

Admiral Nek Bwua’tu eyed the officer from where he stood on the bridge of his flagship. “I’ll be the judge of that, lieutenant,” he said coolly. “Return to your station.”

The young officer bowed his head and returned to his tasks. Bwua’tu then brought his eyes back to the viewport, watching as the five Star Destroyers drew closer and closer to Mon Cala’s defense line. There was a certain sort of irony, he liked to think, about using an old retrofitted Imperial Star Destroyer against these newer Resurgent-class models. He doubted it would remain amusing for much longer however, as the Welmo Darb shook from the weight of the First Order’s assault, TIE fighters zipping by to perform strafing runs.

The indicator for the bridge’s holoprojector chimed and Bwua’tu ordered another officer to turn it on. Within moments, the holographic image of Admiral Cha Niathal was standing behind him on the bridge, her bulbous eyes narrowed.

“This battle is turning into a lost cause, Bwua’tu,” the Mon Calamari woman said. “Any reinforcements from Coruscant aren’t going to arrive in time, if there even are reinforcements on their way.”

“What do you suggest we do, Admiral Niathal?” Bwua’tu asked, looking over his shoulder to look at her. “Abandon your home planet to the enemy?”

Niathal seethed at his words. “I am not suggesting we do anything,” she said stiffly. “I am merely providing you with my assessment of the situation.”

“An assessment I did not ask for,” Bwua’tu replied, turning back to face the viewport. “Proceed with the defense of Mon Cala until further notice. If there are any changes to our plans, you will hear them directly from me. Is that clear, Admiral?”

“Yes, Admiral,” Niathal answered in a low tone.

“Dismissed.” Bwua’tu waved his hand and the hologram dissipated into particles. Silence reigned over the bridge as the Bothan admiral continued to observe the battle.

*  *  *

“Toah! Toah, what’s wrong? Come on, get up!”

Rey shook her teacher’s unconscious body, yet the older Jedi failed to stir. Master Nira Maren was on her knees beside him, waving a hand over him. Rey wasn’t sure if the Mirialan Jedi was trying to use some Force ability to wake him up, but in any case it wasn’t working. She looked over to Mara Jade, who was watching Toah with concern yet her green eyes appeared to be elsewhere.

“Can you help him?” she asked the older woman, desperate for any kind of help.

Mara seemed to hesitate before answering. “I think I know what might be causing this.”

Rey nearly leapt to her feet. “What?”

“Ever since Lothal, I’ve been sensing some sort of growing darkness; like a storm gathering. At first I thought it was just the First Order… but now I realize it might be something else. Just before he passed out, I saw something flash in my mind….”

She trailed off and Rey resisted the urge to grab the other woman by the arm and shake her. “What is it? What did you see?”

A haunted look fell over Mara’s eyes. “I saw the man who took my husband away from me. The man who took so many of our loved ones from us.”

“Darth Vorath,” Nira murmured, her eyes widening.

Rey looked between the two of them. “Isn’t he supposed to be dead?”

“Yes,” Mara said. “And yet somehow… somehow I sense that he has returned.”

“So what do we do about it?” asked Finn.

Mara glanced at him. “First we have to get out of this current situation,” she said, gesturing to the battle outside. “Then we can worry about Vorath.”

“I don’t see how that’s happening any time soon,” Finn said. “Short of some miracle, I don’t think—”

“Wait,” Chek Urhed interjected, pointing out the viewport. “Some ships are dropping out of hyperspace.”

Everyone turned to see a group of assorted frigates and cruisers — none of them Star Destroyers to their relief — warp out from the blackness of space and converge towards the battle between the Alliance and First Order forces, opening fire on the latter.

“Looks like Coruscant responded after all,” Finn said.

Mara shook her head. “I don’t think Coruscant sent these ships.”

“What makes you say that?”

As he said this, a Corellian freighter that Rey swore she had seen before flew in to join the Alliance fighters in taking down TIE fighters.

“Call it a hunch,” Mara said.

*  *  *

“General! Unidentified ships have just jumped out of—”

“I can see that!” General Hux snapped, standing on the bridge of the Finalizer. “Concentrate fire on the defense fleet! Redirect the Conqueror and Subjugator towards those ships!” 

As the crew carried out their orders, Captain Peavey glanced at Hux, appearing offensively calm about the whole situation. “I count well more than five ships among their reinforcements, General,” the older man said evenly. “They seem to have us outnumbered.”

“Numbers mean nothing,” Hux snarled back. “We still have them outmaneuvered. They will fall in no time.”

“You said the same about the ships defending Mon Cala,” Peavey pointed out. “And yet they have yet to fall.”

Hux glared at him. “Do you intend on making further remarks, Captain? Or would you like to make yourself useful?”

Peavey clamped up and turned away from him, though Hux did not miss the look of disdain that momentarily flashed on the other man’s face.

That’s what I thought. Straightening his uniform, Hux barked out to the rest of the crew, “Press on with the assault. Victory is within our grasps.”

*  *  *

“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Poe exclaimed as he flew alongside the Millennium Falcon, weaving their way through the swarms of TIE fighters. “Thanks for the timely rescue, Captain Solo.”

“That’s two you owe me, kid,” Han Solo gruffly replied over the comm. “Now shut up and fly.”

Still grinning to himself, Poe opened his channel to the rest of his fighters. “You heard him, Rogues. Let’s turn the tide against these Imps.”

“We’re with you, Black One,” responded Rogue Eight. With the loss of their leader, the remaining fighters in Rogue Squadron had flocked to Poe as their leader, even though technically he was no longer a member of the Alliance Starfighter Corps. Perhaps after this battle, the Senate would brand them as actual rogues. Poe found it difficult to see the downside in that. After all, the Resistance could always use more fighters.

As the X-wings resumed their fight against the TIEs, Poe received multiple reports over his comm. Gold Squadron had just completed another successful bombing run on the Fellfire, disabling its vital systems. If they kept this up, with the additional help of their reinforcements, the remaining four Star Destroyers would be taken out in no time.

An excited warble from BB-8 prompted Poe to let out his own cheer. Thankfully, his comm was muted so that no one could hear him (or reprimand him).

*  *  *

Toah jolted awake and shot up only to be gently pushed down by a pair of hands.

“Easy,” Nira Maren said soothingly. “You’re safe. We just need to—”

“No.” Toah pulled her and Rey’s hand off of him. “I’m not safe. We’re not safe. Something terrible has happened.”

“We know,” said Mara Jade. “We’ve sensed it. Darth Vorath has returned.”

“We need to get to Damosus.” He struggled onto his feet, still feeling light-headed. “That’s where he is. It’s just off the Hydian Way—”

“We’re not going anywhere until the battle is over,” Mara said. “Some reinforcements have arrived but those Star Destroyers aren’t letting up.”

“I’ll go then.” Toah stumbled for the exit. “I have to. I have to stop him.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” Mara flicked her hand and Toah tripped over his feet, landing face-first onto the deck. This earned a harsh reprimand from Nira while Rey rushed over to him.

“I’ll go with you,” she said quietly. “I can help you—”

“No.” Toah shook his head as he got back up. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous and stupid,” Mara said dryly. “Do you seriously think you can take on someone like Vorath all by yourself, Jarsan? Or has Farmboy’s righteousness rubbed off on you?”

Toah stopped to give her a strange look. “Farmboy?”

Mara sighed as she rolled her eyes. “I mean Luke.”

“Whatever the case is, I can’t just sit by and do nothing, knowing that he’s out there. Call it stupid all you want, but I have to stop him. Alone, if I have to. I’ve already done it once.”

“And leave us here to die?”

Mara’s words cut straight through Toah, enough to bring him to a full stop. He took a moment to collect himself, taking a couple deep breaths, before turning around to face the rest of the room. Faces of concern looked back at him. He closed his eyes but quickly opened them again; when he closed them, he saw those pinpricks of red in the darkness again.

“You’re right,” he finally said. “I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s just… I don’t want to believe he’s back.”

“None of us do,” Nira said softly. “But if he is, then we will defeat him together. We are stronger together than we are apart.”

Chek Urhed chuckled from where he sat. “I’ve taught you well, it seems.”

Toah allowed himself a small smile. “There’s a reason she’s on the Jedi Council and I’m not, even though I’ve been at this long than she has.”

“Hey,” Finn said, drawing everyone’s attention back to the viewport. “It looks like they’ve taken down one of the Star Destroyers.”

Toah looked to see that, indeed, one of the Destroyers was up in flames and falling to pieces as explosions wracked its flames. The four remaining Star Destroyers weren’t faring much better, with two of them suffering heavy firepower from the frigates and cruisers that had just dropped out of hyperspace.

Under normal circumstances, he would have felt elation at this. But knowing what darkness awaited them, he found it hard to muster the energy for celebration.

*  *  *

Light-years away, aboard his throneship, Supreme Leader Snoke was growing frustrated.

A wrench had been thrown into his plans. He had sensed Darth Vorath’s return from chaos, as well as Luke Skywalker’s own inexplicable resurrection. Bad enough that one of the greatest Jedi in existence had returned, but now Snoke had to deal with a competing dark side power. He knew that Kylo Ren was still on Damosus, where Vorath had emerged, but he knew that his apprentice would be no match for the ancient Sith. Nor did he expect General Pryde to deal with the resurgent Dark Lord in a succinct manner.

Complicating matters even further, the assault on Mon Cala was not proceeding as he had hoped. Somehow, the Alliance had received unexpected reinforcements, allowing them to turn the tide against General Hux’s forces. This would not do; he could not afford to lose even five of his Star Destroyers at this stage. He would have no choice but to call off the attack. He had no doubt General Hux would attempt to resist against this command. If that turned out to be the case, then Snoke would happily leave him to his demise.

Having completed his observations, Snoke dismissed his Attendant and the purple-cloaked humanoid departed with the Sith oracle stone. Opening a channel to the Supremacy’s captain, the Supreme Leader ordered him to set a course for Damosus. Once he felt the Super Star Destroyer moving to jump to lightspeed, he prepared to send a message to General Hux.

A wrench may have been thrown into his plans, but Snoke intended to remove it. His plan would succeed; he would make sure of it.

And the entire galaxy would pay the price.

Star Wars: Vergence II, Chapter Sixteen

 CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“All wings, report in.”

As the members of Rogue Squadron called in with their designated call signs, Rogue Leader Tyreez Vitrus stared ahead at the five Star Destroyers that lay ahead, TIE fighters flying out from their hangar bays. It had been sixteen years since he had last faced these fighters as enemies, flying as a hotshot Latero pilot during the Battle of Coruscant. While he had matured and mellowed out greatly since then, helped in part by the horrors he had experienced during the Glorian War, he had not lost his fighting spirit. As the approaching TIEs began to close in on them, his heart pumped with adrenaline as the last of the Rogues reported in.

As soon as Rogue Twelve had said their designation, Tyreez gave the next order: “Lock s-foils in attack position. Split up and flank them on all sides. I’ll lead Flight One; Rogue Seven, you lead Flight Two.”

“Copy that, Rogue Leader.”

Splitting up into two groups of six, the twelve X-wings evaded the black-plated TIE fighters as they came roaring in, energy cannons ablaze. With Rogue Two on his wing, Tyreez pulled his T-70 X-wing around and opened fire on the TIE fighters, scoring one in the wing and sending it careening into its own wingman, destroying them both.

While the part of Tyreez that was still a reckless hotshot wanted to revel in this victory, the better part of him took over and reminded him that this was only just the beginning. Sure enough, green laser bolts zipped past him as another TIE fighter came roaring up behind him. His astromech droid R7-GD warbled in alarm and Tyreez banked his fighter to the right to evade the TIE fighter’s barrage of plasma bolts.

“Easy there, Geedee,” he said to his astromech. “We’ve got this. It’ll just be like that time at Denab, yeah?”

Geedee responded to him with a series of beeps that were translated on his screen.

“I know those were Glorian fighters and not TIEs. Still not much of a difference.”

Geedee politely informed him that it made a lot of difference.

“Yeah, well, what do you know?” An explosion behind him told him that his wingman had dealt with the TIE fighter that had been chasing him. “Thanks for the save, Two,” he said into his comm.

“Any time, Lead,” replied Lensi. “Still a lot more where that came from.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tyreez muttered. Opening his channel to all fighters, he said, “Rogues, form up. Time to execute the Mynock maneuver.”

“Aw, yeah!” said Rogue Five. “Time to show these guys who—”

A fireball lit up in the corner of Tyreez’s eye and the comm went dead. The boy couldn’t have been older than nineteen; what pained Tyreez even more was that he couldn’t even remember the kid’s name. He usually only knew people by their call signs unless he had known them for several months or years, and the kid had only been recruited a few weeks ago. What kind of squadron leader couldn’t remember the names of the men and women under his command? A lousy one, Tyreez realized. A very lousy one.

“Lead?” Rogue Seven’s voice broke through his train of thoughts. He was struggling to think of what her name was. “Are we still executing the Mynock maneuver?”

“Uh, yeah.” Tyreez used one of his four hands to rub his face. How did he even end up in this position? For nearly all his career in the Starfighter Corps, he had just been another wing in whatever squadron they had assigned him to. At Coruscant, he had been Gray Four. At Denab, he had been Scimitar Seven. Why High Command had decided to make him commander of Rogue Squadron, one of the most elite units in the Corps, he still struggled to understand. He couldn’t even remember his teammates’ names, for stars’ sake!

“Lead, on your left!” Rogue Nine cried but the warning came to late. A strafing run from a lone TIE fighter clipped his wing and he went spiraling out of control. Geedee’s screeches came through as scrambled aurebesh on his screen, though he at least got the gist of what the astromech was trying to say.

As he struggled to regain control of his fighter, Tyreez saw the hull of a First Order cruiser rapidly coming into view. No amount of praying or last-minute miracles was going to get him out of this one. Those only happened to ace legends like Wedge Antilles or Tycho Celchu. Not standard pilots like him.

He could only hope that people would remember his name after he was gone. 

*  *  *

From the safety of his own X-wing, Poe Dameron saw Rogue Leader’s fighter go up in flames as it crashed into the side of a First Order cruiser, leaving little more than a dent in its wake. He sighed to himself as he forced himself to focus on the battle at hand as he pulled his fighter back into the action.

While he, Snap, and Jessika joined the remaining Rogues in picking off TIE fighters, Tallie Lintra and her squadron of A-wings paved a path for Aftab Ackbar and his squadron of Y-wings and B-wings to begin their bombing run on one of the five Star Destroyers. The Dawn of Tranquility only had enough bombers to take out one of the Star Destroyer’s shields and, if they survived that run, take that Destroyer out. It probably wouldn’t do much to turn the tide… but it would be a start at least, hopefully buying them enough time for reinforcements to arrive from Coruscant.

If reinforcements arrived….

“More TIEs coming in hot,” Jessika said over his comm. “There just isn’t any end to them.”

“They’ll have to run out of them eventually,” Poe replied. “Just stay on my wing and we’ll get through this.”

“Copy that, Black One.”

“Black One, this is Gold Leader,” came Aftab Ackbar’s voice. “We’re beginning our attack run.”

“Copy, Gold Leader,” Poe said, steering his fighter towards an oncoming swarm of TIE fighter. “Tallie, do what you can to hold off any fighters that come their way.”

He did not wait for anyone to respond as he accelerated his fighter towards the incoming swarm of TIEs and unleashed hell upon them.

*  *  *

Lysa Dunter wasn’t sure if she liked their odds of victory.

While the First Order had five Star Destroyers at their disposal, the Alliance only had the Dawn of Tranquility and two other cruisers in operational order, with the others either under construction or still in their docks at the shipyards for repairs. She doubted the latter would be ready in time to defend Mon Cala by the time the Star Destroyers inevitably overwhelmed them. There was also no way for them to jump to hyperspace and the comms were being blocked by the enemy, preventing them from sending additional calls for help to Coruscant. Luckily, Captain Tarpfen had managed to get a message out in time, though stars knew if anyone had heard it.

Vice Admiral Holdo was sitting in her command chair, observing the battle. Captain Tarpfen was barking out orders. Admiral Niathal was on a comm call with Admiral Bwua’tu, who was commanding the Star Destroyer Welmo Darb. As per Bwua’tu’s preference for utilizing smaller cruisers rather than massive warships as command ships, the Welmo Darb provided little relief for the Dawn of Tranquility as it went up against five Star Destroyers. The last of the three functional cruisers defending Mon Cala — Niathal’s flagship, the Galactic Voyage — was also doing little to inspire confidence. As it stood, the Battle of Mon Cala was looking to be a short-lived one.

As she continued to man her station, Lysa once again found herself rubbing the diamond ring on her finger. She wondered if she was ever going to see Tiom again; to hear his laugh, to feel his arms around her. She also wondered if she was ever going to see her family again. They had not exactly parted on the best of terms; the few conversations she had had with her mother and sister had been brief and blunt, and she couldn’t even remember the last time she spoke to her father. It was his disapproval over her engagement to Tiom that had led her to turn her back on being Syal Antilles and becoming Lysa Dunter instead. No one on the bridge of the Dawn of Tranquility even knew that she was the daughter of Wedge Antilles, save for those who had access to her official records.

She swallowed hard, tears threatening to escape her eyes. It was only now, with Death’s door rapidly approaching, that she was starting to regret the things she had said. If she could turn back the clock and take those things back, she would do it in a heartbeat.

All she could do now was to focus on the present and pray that she would live long enough to correct the future.

*  *  *

Toah Jarsan watched the battle from a viewport in a room aboard the Dawn of Tranquility. Although, he, Rey, and Mara Jade had experience in flying ships, Admiral Holdo had turned down their offer to join Poe and his fellow pilots in the battle and ordered them to remain on the ship. Seeing no point in defying Holdo’s command on her own ship, the Jedi — along with Chek Urhed — had decided to watch the raging battle from afar. Finn had also joined them in the room, shifting uncomfortably in the seat he had chosen.

“We really ought to be out there,” he said, not for the first time.

“I agree,” said Mara. “But I’m not sure how much help we would be. We’re vastly outnumbered here.” 

Toah frowned as he watched the chaos unfold. A squadron of bombers — mainly Y-wings and B-wings — had managed to take out one of the Star Destroyer’s shields but had been forced to pull out after its turbolasers took out a quarter of their fighters. X-wings and A-wings were all scattered in disarray as they tried to avoid certain death from their TIE fighter foes, which were moving faster and deadlier than Toah had ever seen from a standard Imperial fighter. Clearly the First Order had made some upgrades to their wares since taking over what had remained of the Imperial Remnant.

“Can’t we… I mean, can’t you guys use the Force to turn the tide or something?” Finn asked.

“Battle meditation is a Force technique that few Jedi have been gifted with,” Nira Maren explained. “I don’t believe any of us here is capable of it.”

Toah could tell that Finn was asking something else, but the ex-stormtrooper’s words became muffled as Toah felt himself falling into a haze. An icy chill wracked his body and his breathing became quicker, heavier. His thoughts became a black swirl, with the only thing breaking them being two pinpricks of red light, resembling eyes.

His throat became dry and scratchy; it was almost impossible to swallow. He opened his mouth to speak or scream, but no sound came out. Shadows began to envelop his vision as he lost his footing and fell backward into the abyss. He could barely hear the others calling his name as he slipped into unconsciousness, dark laughter ringing like a bell in his mind.

*  *  *

After what had felt like an eternity, the storm on Damosus had started to subside, albeit only slightly. The pressure on Kylo Ren’s chest finally lifted and he shot up to his feet, reaching for his lightsaber only to find it nowhere nearby. As he scanned the field for his weapon, his eyes fell on the small boy that had attacked him, his frightened parents cowering nearby. The boy’s dark eyes were stung with red and the area around them had a sunken look to them, discolored with purple. When the boy spoke, it was not with a voice that Kylo would have expected from such a young child but rather the voice of someone that sounded as old as the stars themselves.

“So,” the mouth of Kalon Sendor moved as it spoke the words. “This is the heir apparent of Darth Vader. How disappointing.”

The voice itself was enough to give Kylo Ren paused, despite how comical it may have been for it to come from a young boy. It sounded powerful and strong, reminding him of Snoke if not someone even greater than the Supreme Leader.

“You are Snoke’s student, are you not?” the boy went on. “I must say, his teaching leaves much to be desired.”

Kylo Ren tilted his head. “You know the Supreme Leader?”

“I am familiar with him,” the voice answered vaguely. “I understand that he was involved in an attempt to bring me back to life, though I am uncertain as to whether or not he was also responsible for the thwarting of that attempt.”

Kylo’s eyes went wide behind his mask. “Impossible,” he murmured. “It can’t be….”

The voice chuckled. “Evidently, it is very much possible.” The boy spread his arms. “Darth Vorath, in the flesh. Or rather, the flesh of my grandson. I had hoped to use my son’s body as a vessel, but he proved to be too weak. This will do for now.”

“But… how? The Mindspear containing your consciousness was destroyed.”

The boy sneered at him. “Are you too blind to sense it? There has been an awakening; a vergence in the Force. And through that vergence, I was able to crawl out from the depths of Chaos and return to the realm of the living!”

Kylo Ren looked again and finally spotted his lightsaber laying nearby. He reached out with the Force to summon it only to be pushed down once more by an invisible hand.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Darth Vorath chuckled. “As amusing as it would be to watch you attack and be summarily beaten by a child, I have better things to do with my time.”

The boy he possessed raised his hands to the sky and the storm started anew, fresh lightning raining down upon Damosus.

“I have an empire to rebuild. And no one — certainly no spawn of Skywalker — is going to stop me.”

A wicked grin split across the boy’s face, revealing stained yellow teeth.

“I hope your Supreme Leader is taking notes, boy. This is how you conquer a galaxy.”

Star Wars: Vergence II, Chapter Fifteen

 CHAPTER FIFTEEN

If there was one thing General Hux hated, it was having his orders overruled. Even when it was the Supreme Leader himself that overruled them.

What made it especially frustrating was the mixed signals it sent him. For the past year or so, he and the rest of the First Order had been given orders to locate a map that would lead to the first Jedi Temple or something along those lines. While Hux cared not for mystic orders like the Jedi, he nonetheless desired to find this map so that Supreme Leader Snoke would recognize his worth in the First Order. When Ochi of Bestoon had told him the map was here on Lothal, Hux thought for sure it would have been in his possession in little to no time at all.

However, not only had Ochi failed to recover the map, but the Supreme Leader had contacted Hux and ordered him to recall the Fellfire, which had accompanied Ochi, and send it back to the blockade. Ignoring the fact that he had no idea how Snoke had even known about Ochi’s plan involving the Fellfire in the first place, Hux had half the mind to call Snoke back and demand to know the reasoning behind this overruling… but he knew that would have not ended well for him.

In any case, he had taken his shuttle back up to the Finalizer to await the Supreme Leader’s next orders. Despite the incident caused by those Jedi and Resistance agents that had escaped, Lothal was safely under the control of the First Order, with Governor Jalvon having publicly pledged her loyalty to the First Order. The rest of the sector would fall in line in no time at all, and with the Galactic Alliance deprived of its head, so too would the rest of the galaxy.

As he stepped onto the bridge of the Finalizer, Hux found the captain waiting there for him, a curious expression on his face.

“General,” Captain Peavey said. “The Supreme Leader is broadcasting to all First Order channels.”

“Put him on,” Hux ordered.

The captain complied and within moments the giant, holographic image of Snoke’s head was filling the bridge, his disfigured face regarding the entire crew.

“Generals,” the Supreme Leader’s voice boomed, “I must commend you for your successful operations. With your designated sectors now under our full control, the rest of the Outer Rim Territories will fall to us in no time.”

Hux refrained from rolling his eyes. Great minds think alike, he supposed.

“As you may know by now,” Snoke went on, “the Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance has been… removed. The Senate is scrambling to find a replacement. I already have enough loyalists placed within their ranks to ensure that Luewet Wuul’s successor will be… sympathetic to our cause.”

Hux already knew this. This was the plan all along of course: to transform the Galactic Alliance into an extension of the First Order itself before making the full transition. He wasn’t sure why Snoke was repeating this information… unless, of course, he had more to say than just that.

As if reading his mind (which the Supreme Leader most likely was), Snoke then said, “However, there is a new factor at play. One that I had not initially foreseen but should hopefully not delay our plans any further. General Pryde has already been given the full details and will be addressing the situation shortly.”

Hux shifted uncomfortably, frustrated with the vague tone in the Supreme Leader’s voice. Did this have anything to do with why Snoke had overruled his command? Because of some mysterious factor that he refused to explain?

Hux stiffened as he felt Snoke’s eyes fall on him. “As for you, General Hux, I have decided to call off the search for the map. It is no longer of priority.”

Clearing his throat, Hux asked, “May I ask why that is the case, Supreme Leader?”

Snoke did not answer him and Hux wondered if he had even heard the question. “Proceed with the next phase of operations,” the Supreme Leader said instead, “and await further orders.”

With that, the holographic image dissipated, leaving the bridge of the Finalizer in silence. Captain Peavey glanced at Hux, patiently waiting for him to speak.

After a moment, the General took a deep breath before saying, “You heard him. Proceed to Mon Cala.”

*  *  *

“So… what were you two doing on Lothal?”

Toah Jarsan was roused from his trance by Rey’s voice. His body still shivered from the chill that had fallen over it, though it had subsided enough for him to concentrate. He noticed that Rey and Nira did not appear to have sensed the same thing he had, though they had sensed his disturbance second-hand and were regarding him with concern.

Mara Jade and her son sat across from them in the main hold of the Jade Sabre, wearing their own expressions of discomfort. Mara reached under the table to squeeze her son’s hand before directing her attention back to the three Jedi.

“We were looking for something on Lothal that would help us bring back Luke,” she said.

Nira raised her eyebrows at this. “What kind of thing?”

“I don’t know. We were both drawn to the planet, to the spot where the Jedi Temple once stood. We met Kane there, who had been drawn there as well, though he was unable to help us much. We’d been hanging around the capital city since then, hoping to find some answers. We were just getting ready to give up and leave when the First Order showed up.”

“How long had you been on Lothal until that point?” Rey asked.

Mara eyed her carefully. “Less than a year.”

“And where had you been before that?”

Mara chewed on her lower lip. “Why do you want to know?”

“You’re the wife of Luke Skywalker, aren’t you?” Rey looked over to the teenage boy sitting next to Mara. “And you must be his son.”

The boy, who had to be about ten years younger than Rey, ran a hand through his curly red hair. “I try not to make it super obvious….”

“So where have you been in the past… however many years? Master Jarsan and Maren didn’t recognize you right away. That must mean you aren’t active Jedi anymore.”

Mara smirked wryly as she glanced at Toah and Nira. “She’s very perceptive, isn’t she?”

“She does have a point, though,” Toah said, rubbing his face as he tried to focus on the here and now. “I don’t think anyone’s seen you in the sixteen years since Master Skywalker’s death. Where have you been this whole time?”

Mara took a moment to answer him, as if trying to decide what to say. “This might be something that should wait until I get a chance to speak with the rest of the Order. I’m not really one who likes to repeat herself.”

Toah sighed. “Understandable. How long before we get to Mon Cala?”

“Shouldn’t be long now.” Mara rose from her seat. “I suggest you all stay on alert. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.”

“No,” Toah murmured, his gaze wandering off towards the distance. “We’re definitely not.”

*  *  *

The Dawn of Tranquility, Mon Cala system

“Captain! An unidentified ship just dropped out of hyperspace. It’s requesting permission to dock.”

Captain Tarpfen strode over to the Mon Calamari officer that had just called for him, peering over shoulder to look at her monitor. Admirals Holdo and Niathal stood nearby, not meeting each other’s gaze. They had put their feud on hold until they heard back from Coruscant in the wake of Chief of State Luewet Wuul’s death, though the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a vibroblade.

“Has it provided any identification?” Tarpfen asked.

“Its registered under the designation ‘Jade Sabre,’” the officer replied. “Its clearance codes are old, but they check out.”

“Three X-wing fighters just dropped out behind it,” said a Duros officer sitting beside her. “They’re trying to hail us.”

“Answer them,” Tarpfen ordered.

The comm officer complied with the command and the voice of a human male spoke over the intercom.

“Dawn of Tranquility, this is Black One. Commander Poe Dameron at your service.”

Tarpfen allowed himself to relax, a small smile touching his thin lips. “Commander Dameron, this is Captain Tarpfen. What brings you out here to Mon Cala?”

“Long story, captain. Requesting permission to dock so we can talk things out further.”

“Permission granted, captain. Proceed to hangar bay A-97. We look forward to meeting you.”

After ending the call, Tarpfen turned around to face the admirals again, cocking his head to the side.

“Shall I greet them personally or would one of you like to do the honors?”

Holdo glanced at Niathal. The Mon Calamari admiral said nothing and continued to stare out the viewport, as she had been for the past hour or so.

“I shall head down to greet them,” Holdo finally said. “I doubt they’re looking for an icy welcome anyway.”

Niathal did not respond to the remark and remained where she stood as her human counterpart departed from the bridge.

*  *  *

After docking in the hangar bay of the Dawn of Tranquility, the landing ramp of the Jade Sabre lowered to disperse its crew. Toah and his teammates took the lead, while Mara Jade and her son Owen followed them close behind. Nearby, Poe and his wingmates were climbing out of their X-wing fighters, moving swiftly to meet up with an older woman with pink hair who had come down from the bridge to greet them.

“Admiral Holdo,” Poe said, giving her a quick salute. “I regret to inform you that the First Order has taken over Lothal.”

Holdo’s face turned grim. “So we’ve heard. We’ve also received word that the Chief of State has been murdered.”

Poe’s eyes went wide at this. “He has? What’s the Senate going to do about this?”

“I don’t know. It sounds like everyone is in disarray. The King of Mon Cala has agreed to allow us to remain here for now and fortify the sector’s defenses. Lothal is not very far from here, after all.”

Poe grimaced. “Yeah. Way too close for my liking. We also found where the map to the first Jedi Temple is located, though we were not able to retrieve it before we had to make out getaway.”

“I’m sure General Organa would understand. We have more important things to worry about at the moment.”

Poe nodded only to stop and say, “Does… does the rest of the fleet here know about your allegiance with the Resistance?”

“Admiral Niathal does now,” Holdo said quietly. “She did not take too kindly to it.”

“Is that going to get in the way of things?”

“Hopefully not. If the First Order attacks Mon Cala, then they’d be attacking the Alliance, not just the Resistance. Niathal will have no choice but to allow me to work with her in defending Mon Cala.”

“Well,” Poe said, “hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, alarms started to blare throughout the hangar, accompanied by the voice of Captain Tarpfen as he barked out orders from the intercom.

“A fleet of Star Destroyers has just dropped out of hyperspace! All pilots to their fighters! This is not a drill! Repeat: This is not a drill!”

As crew members all around them rushed to their stations, Rey shot a glare at Poe.

“You had to say it, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Poe muttered. “Me and my big mouth.”

*  *  *

D’Qar

“Leia.”

General Leia Organa Solo, Princess of Alderaan, dropped everything she was doing and lurched over the command table. Standing beside her, General Helricks grabbed her by the arm while Admiral Ackbar beckoned Major Kalonia over. Helricks called her name, though Leia could barely hear her, her mind awash with the image of her brother’s face.

“Luke…?”

“Leia,” he spoke into her mind. “Hear me.”

This couldn’t be possible. She must have been hallucinating. Her brother was dead; she had felt him become one with the Force when he had sacrificed himself to bring down Darth Vorath. Yet now, after sixteen years, she was sensing him again, as if he had never died in the first place.

“Leia,” he repeated. “Find me. Lothal. Find me.”

And just like that, as instantly as she had heard him, his voice went silent. As Leia came back to reality, she felt Major Kalonia gently touching her shoulder, eyes filled with concern.

“Princess,” Kalonia said softly. “Is everything all right?”

Leia exhaled loudly, still not sure if what she had heard had been real. Seeing no point in lying, especially if it had been real, she said, “I heard my brother. Luke. He says he’s on Lothal.”

“Luke Skywalker?” said Admiral Ackbar. “But he’s been dead for sixteen years.”

“You were ‘dead’ for longer than that, Admiral,” General Helricks pointed out. “Perhaps Master Skywalker learned the same trick you did.”

Ackbar crossed his arms. “Unlikely,” he harrumphed. “Are you certain it was Skywalker you heard?”

“Yes,” Leia said, feeling more sure of herself as she said it. “I felt him through the Force. I know it was him. I’m sure of it.”

“I won’t pretend to understand how this ‘Force’ of yours works,” Ackbar admitted. “But I’ve known you for long enough to trust your instinct. The only issue is that we’ve just learned that Lothal has been taken over by the First Order. I’m not sure if we have the resources to spare for a rescue mission.”

“A single freighter may be able to slip pass the blockade,” said Helricks. “I suggest not sending the Millennium Falcon, though. They would probably recognize that ship better than their own.”

“We still have the Ghost at standby, as well as the Renegade,” said General Hawk Dorian. “Perhaps one of them can—”

“Generals!” A young human male came rushing up to the gathered commanders from his station, skidding to a halt and speaking without saluting. “We’ve just received an alert from the Dawn of Tranquility! Mon Cala is under attack!”

Admiral Ackbar’s eyes went wide as looks of shock and fear crossed the faces of the other three commanders. A feeling of dread filled Leia’s heart.

“I’m sorry, Luke,” she sent to her brother, hoping he would hear him. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a little bit longer….”

Star Wars: Vergence II, Chapter Fourteen

 CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Kane Skywalker had heard Mara through the Force. She would be taking Toah and the others off-world, away from Lothal. It would be for the best, he understood, if only to ensure the safety of the map and its contents. Still, there would be the blockade to worry about. Luckily, he already had something in mind regarding that.

He could already sense that one of the Star Destroyers had broken from the formation and was now heading for his position. No doubt that “Ochi of Bestoon” individual, coward that he was, was making his move to take the map. He had little idea as to who this Ochi was or why he had been so frightened of him, though he could wager a guess that it had something to do with the man he was a clone of. In any case, Ochi’s fear had led him to make the mistake that would give Toah Jarsan and the others the opening they needed to get away from Lothal.

As soon as he spotted the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer emerging from the clouds, Kane Skywalker — still sitting in his cross-legged position — raised a hand towards the oncoming vessel. He could feel the Star Destroyer resist against his grip as he struggled to overwhelm and influence the minds of those commandeering the cruiser. Once their minds were his, he would be able to send the Star Destroyer into a dive, away from him and away from—

“Skywalker.”

Kane’s eyes shot open and his heart thrummed against his chest. The pace of his laborious breathing increased as he lost control of the Star Destroyer, allowing it to resume its set path. Jumping to his feet, he broke out into a run, turning his back on the site he had guarded for so many years.

A massive bolt of green energy shot out from the Star Destroyer’s cannon and the world exploded all around him. 

*  *  *

When the Jedi and their allies finally reached the spaceport containing their ships, Toah had suddenly skidded to a halt and collided into a stack of crates, falling to his knees. Rey immediately turned back and rushed over to him while the others hurried to their respective ships.

“Come on, let’s get a move on!” Poe cried as he climbed into his X-wing. “Those stormtroopers are gonna be on us any minute now!”

Rey ignored him and shook Toah by the shoulder. “Master! Master, come on! You’ve gotta get up!”

Toah’s only response was to clutch his head, his eyes wide with… was that terror? She had never seen him look so frightened before. It was honestly one of the most unsettling things she had seen in her life.

“It can’t be,” he said hoarsely, breathing heavily. “You’re supposed to be dead. I saw you die.”

“Master, what are you talking about?” Rey shook him again. “Come on, we need to get out of—”

“Stop right there!” A full platoon of stormtroopers came rushing into the docking bay, blasters raised. “You are all under arrest!”

“Fierfek!” Snap Wexley poked out of the cockpit of his X-wing and opened fire on the troopers with his blaster. “Come on, you blasted Jedi! What’s the hold up?”

As blaster fire rang out all around them, Rey continued to look at Toah with concern. No amount of prodding or shaking got him to snap out of the trance he had fallen into. Not meeting her eyes, he only spoke a single word, one that he repeated over and over again.

“Vorath.”

*  *  *

Mara Jade cursed to herself as she steered her ship towards the docking bay where Toah Jarsan and the others were being held up at. She could see the stormtroopers firing at them down below; she also saw that Toah was on his knees for some reason, with his apprentice Rey struggling to get him back to his feet. It was because of this that the troopers were starting to overwhelm them, unrelenting in their attack.

“Owen,” she said to her son sitting beside her. “Take the controls.”

The teenage boy looked at her in surprise. “What?”

Without another word, she shifted the control yoke into his hands before getting out of her seat, heading out of the cockpit. She slammed the control panel to lower the ramp and stepped out as the Jade Sabre hovered over the docking bay. Some of the stormtroopers noticed her and redirected their attention to her, firing their blasters as she deflected them with her lightsaber.

“Now!” she cried out to Poe, sitting in the cockpit of his X-wing. “While they’re distracted!”

To her relief, Poe picked up on what she was expecting him to do and fired his fighter’s cannon, sending dozens of stormtroopers flying from the force of the explosion. While Snap and Jessika repeated his actions, Mara reached out with the Force and used it to seize Finn, pulling him up onto the ramp. Nira Maren mimicked this maneuver, using the Force to lift the Abednedo priest Chek onto the ship before jumping up to join Mara on the ramp. Together, the two of them then reached out and used all of their strength to pull up Rey and Toah. 

Once she was sure everyone was aboard, Mara pressed the control panel again to close the ramp before shouting to the cockpit, “Get us out of here!”

As her son expertly piloted the Jade Sabre away from the docking bay, the three X-wings started to lift up and follow the ship, leaving behind the remaining stormtroopers as they continued to fire at them. Within moments, the four ships were well away from the city and heading up through Lothal’s atmosphere. For whatever reason, the First Order Star Destroyer made no attempt to stop the fleeing ships, though Mara chose not to dwell on it too much, at least not until they were safely away.

While the others situated themselves in the main hold, Mara returned to the cockpit and got back into the pilot’s seat. As Owen returned the controls to her, he said, “There’s a blockade orbiting the planet.”

“I know,” she replied.

“How are we going to get past it?”

She flipped a few switches on the dashboard, taking her time in answering him. “Set coordinates for Mon Cala,” she finally said.

Owen huffed impatiently but complied with his mother’s commands. While he did that, Mara hailed Poe Dameron on the intercom.

“How fast are those new T-70s of yours?”

“Er, pretty fast,” Poe replied.

“I need a number, flyboy.”

“Fine. About 1,100 kilometers per hour. Why?”

“Just try and keep up. Everyone, fasten your restraints.”

She could only hope that they had done as she had asked as, as soon as they had cleared Lothal’s atmosphere, she punched the accelerator to maximum speed and like a silver dagger the Jade Sabre shot past the Star Destroyers orbiting the planet, moving too fast for their turbolaser cannons or tractor beams to follow. Poe, Snap, and Jessika were close behind her in their X-wings, pushing their fighters to their limit as they struggled to keep up. Just as TIE fighters began to pour out of the Destroyers’ hangars, Mara pushed the hyperdrive lever and the Jade Sabre jumped to lightspeed. She only allowed herself to sigh in relief once she detected the three X-wings following her through the hyperspace tunnel.

Slumping back in her seat, Mara exhaled deeply before looking over at her son. “Promise me you’ll never repeat what I just did.”

Owen looked back at her, looking distraught. At first she thought he was just frazzled from the maneuver she had just pulled off, only to see the fear that had entered his eyes.

“Mom,” he said quietly. “I feel… cold.”

As soon as he said this, Mara felt herself shiver as if an icy wind had just passed over her. She directed her gaze back to the viewport, the swirling blue tunnel reflecting in her green eyes.

“I feel it, too….”

*  *  *

Kane Skywalker groaned as he came back to reality. The smell of smoke filtered through the vent of his mask as he called upon the Force to give him the strength to get up. As he hobbled onto his feet, he looked over to see where the Star Destroyer had blasted the former site of the Lothal Jedi Temple. The Star Destroyer continued to hover over the spot and a gaping chasm was left in its wake, wisps of smoke continuing to rise from it.

Laughter filled his ears and he readjusted the visuals of his mask to see a familiar figure striding up to him. A dagger in one hand, Ochi of Bestoon spread his arms wide as he approached the clone of Vader.

“I hope you don’t mind the little renovations I’ve made to your home,” the assassin cackled. “I thought it needed a little sprucing up.”

Kane saw his lightsaber laying in the grass and summoned it to his hand, igniting its blue blade.

“I’ll admit,” Ochi went on, “I don’t fully understand what your deal is. I don’t know if you’re a clone or the real deal or just some wannabe impersonator. But whatever the case is with you, you are nowhere near half the man I expected you to be.”

“Elaborate,” Kane said coolly.

Ochi laughed again as he gestured up at the Star Destroyer. “Come on! You have been able to take that ship down like it was nothing! ‘Chosen One,’ my ass. You’re just as pathetic as the man you imitate.”

“You seem to be familiar with Darth Vader.”

“Oh, he and I go way back,” Ochi chuckled, sharpening his knife on his gauntlet. “First encountered him not long after the Clone Wars, as part of a test the Emperor had set up for him involving some weird cult he had found. He actually managed to kill me, though the Emperor found a way to bring me back through some sort of Sith ritual. Guess he saw me as too valuable to let go to waste… unlike some people he knew.”

Kane wasn’t sure if Ochi was trying to goad him with these words. Considering he had absolutely no idea who Ochi was, it was not working.

“You served the Emperor, then,” he said. “And now you serve this First Order?”

“Ah, but see, that’s the thing,” Ochi replied, lowering his voice. “The way I see it, I’m still serving the same people I’ve always been serving. In the span of forty years, not much as changed for me.”

“But the Emperor is dead. You must serve some new master now.”

“Says who?”

The words caught Kane off-guard. This provided Ochi with the opening he sought and the assassin hurled the dagger at him. Still weak from the Star Destroyer’s blast, Kane was unable to move out of the way in time and the blade caught him in the shoulder. He cried out as sparks flew from the open wound and he fell to his knees.

“Interesting,” Ochi murmured, stalking his way over to him. “Did you suffer the same injuries as Vader by sheer coincidence, leaving you in that suit? Or did you make those changes yourself?”

Kane did not answer him and instead threw his lightsaber at the assassin. Ochi ducked, narrowly avoiding the blue blade, before straightening up and resuming his approach.

“Heh. You missed.”

“You are not very smart, are you?” Kane retorted as he brought the saber back with his mind.

Ochi cried out as the blade grazed his right shoulder and he clutched it as he howled in pain. The lightsaber hilt returned to Kane’s awaiting hand and he pulled himself back to his feet, the dagger still jutting from his shoulder.

“It would appear your skills have gotten rusty in the past forty years,” Kane said to the beaten assassin.

Snarling, Ochi staggered back and drew a blaster from his belt. He fired it at Kane but the white-armored knight deflected each and every shot. He then lunged at Ochi and delivered a downward slash which cut straight through the assassin’s wrist, severing his hand from the rest of his arm. As Ochi screamed in agony, Kane swept his blade downward and cut off both of the assassin’s legs at the shin, bringing him to the ground.

“You… you son of a gundark!” Ochi spat out. “I guess you’re not that different from Vader after all!”

“It would appear so,” Kane muttered. After pulling the dagger out of his shoulder, he looked away from the assassin and up at the Star Destroyer hovering over them, which had yet to make a move.

Ochi raised his one good hand to his mask to speak into his comlink. “What are you waiting for, Fellfire? Blast him! Finish him off!”

The Star Destroyer did nothing of the sort, remaining inert as it hung over the two of them like some vast, predatory bird. Kane could sense Ochi’s confusion and was surprised to find himself feeling confused as well. His gaze then drifted over to the chasm that the Star Destroyer had created when it had destroyed the former site of the Lothal Jedi Temple.

From what he understood, the Temple had once held a gateway that led into a realm that transcended both space and time; a world between worlds, as some would call it. That gateway had been destroyed along with the rest of the temple during the Liberation of Lothal… though he had always wondered if all of it had truly perished. After all, it had been this very spot that had drawn him to Lothal in the first place and it had always felt strong in the Force.

A cold chill fell over him, something that should have been impossible given the suit he wore. Behind his mask, his blue eyes went wide as a familiar voice echoed in his ear; the same voice he had heard earlier.

“Skywalker.”

His entire body seized up and his lightsaber fell from his hand. At that same moment, the Star Destroyer Fellfire started to move, angling itself towards the sky.

“What the…? Hey!” Ochi cried out as he waved his hand. “Get back here! What do you think you’re doing?! Are you even listening to me?!”

Clearly the Star Destroyer was not paying the assassin any heed as it continued to rise through the atmosphere and disappeared behind the clouds. Ochi swore out loud as he pounded the ground.

“I guess that does it then.” He glared up at Kane. “Go on, then. Finish me. You know you want to.”

Kane ignored him as he found himself looking once more at the chasm. A figure was rising from it, one that wore the gray and white robes of a Jedi Master. Bearing the appearance of a human male in his fifties, the newcomer grunted as he used both of his hands — one of which was covered with a black glove — to heave himself out of the hole and onto solid ground. As he rose onto his feet, he swiped ash and dust from his bearded face and squinted his eyes as they adjusted to the sunlight. His blue irises finally focused and they landed on Kane Skywalker and Ochi, who were both staring at him in shock and awe.

Long thought dead for sixteen years, Luke Skywalker — Grand Master of the restored Jedi Order — looked at them both and said, “Who the hell are you?”