I do not own Star Wars. If I did, different people would be doing the scripts from the films.
\
/
Dedicated to Aaron Allston, December 8, 1960-February 27, 2014.
/
\
Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time, BlantonM, Phillipe363, and JediMordsith (from AO3). Could not have done it without you guys!
\
/
Star Wars: Legends Never Die
/
\
Chapter 1: Arrival
\
/
I just want to let readers know this will NOT be a fic where the characters from one universe will be simply bashing or dominating the other. Those stories generally tend to get boring fast honestly, and my favourite Star Wars novels have always been those with a delicious twist, which I want to be able to emulate to some degree.
Although I confess, obviously the events of The Force Awakens are going to be going a lot easier for the heroes. This will not be holding true for the sequels.
That said, yes, the movie-verse will indeed be learning how much better the original Expanded Universe is.
/
\
THE FORCE AWAKENS
\
/
Conflict simmers between the
REPUBLIC and the sinister
FIRST ORDER, which has
arisen from the ashes of the Empire.
With her government unwilling
to fight another war, General
Leia Organa leads the brave
RESISTANCE to oppose the
First Order.
.
On Jakku, Leia's most daring
agent, and the First Order's
top enforcers are racing to
finding clues to the whereabouts
to Luke Skywalker, who has
vanished. Whoever finds him
first, will determine the fate
of the galaxy.
.
Unbeknownst to all parties,
elsewhere on the planet, is a
DIFFERENT Luke Skywalker,
his fiancé Mara Jade,
and their trusty companion
R2D2, who have just escaped the
enigmatic HAND OF THRAWN,
only to find themselves crashing
on a strange new world….
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
A sinkhole ate the remains of their ship.
The part of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker which remained a pilot, mourned the loss of the fine craft. Plus, its hybrid design could have been informative to the New Republic as well. Of more immediate and serious concern was how they were apparently now stranded on a desert world.
Ever practical, his fiancé Mara Jade, Trader and newly minted Jedi Knight, was digging through the limited packs they had managed to grab as they scrambled out of the wreck. Her motions were sharp with understandable frustration. Beside them, the Droid R2-D2 was making mournful sounds as he considered their fates. While Artoo may not be as pessimistic as C-3PO, Luke's trusty companion was not a fan of traveling through sand dunes.
To be fair, Luke would also have been fine with never stepping foot on another desert planet ever again.
Closing his eyes, Luke made himself useful like a proper Jedi Master by taking a deep breath and stretching out. Letting himself find the proper pattern of mind, body, and spirit as he sank into the endless ocean of energy which bound the whole universe together.
The Force.
Images swirled through his mind, except this time they were . . . different. A sensation of confusion filled him, except . . .
"What's wrong?" asked Mara when she sensed he was done. Their newly forged Force Bond making her aware of what he was feeling.
"I don't know," admitted with a tinge of worry. "I got a sensation of guidance from the Force, only it was muted. Except it wasn't like before when I wasn't using the Force properly. It was almost as if the problem was with the Force, not me."
Raising one eyebrow over a striking green eye, Mara dryly said, "Well, that's concerning, even without considering what happened to us."
They had been traveling back to New Republic space when all of a sudden hyperspace had become warped in ways none of them had even heard of before. Turning all colours of the rainbow, while twisting and curving at an alarming rate until they were spat out right over this planet, coming down too fast for them to land. It took all of Luke's considerable piloting skills for them to survive.
To say nothing of how the Force had felt during that whole experience. Rumbling against them with a sense of warning and almost anticipation?
These memories and thoughts were shared between them at a rapid pace before they retreated back to their individual minds.
"We need to find shelter first," declared Luke, having grown up on Tatooine. Closing his eyes again, he used a Jedi trick to flawlessly review his short-term memories of them coming down on the planet, almost like it was a vid. There! He pointed in one direction, "I glimpsed a settlement that way," he said.
"Hopefully we can get a ship or holo relay post there," she said. Grimacing a little, "How far away?"
Her tough, skin-tight jumpsuit and long red-gold hair were not exactly suited for the journey ahead of them. Obviously, it would not kill her, and in fact she had endured far worse during her childhood training as the Emperor's Hand, one of Emperor Palpatine's personal secret assassins. She was merely upset at having to overcome more obstacles and delays. Getting off of Nirauan had pushed her and Luke to the limit, and now they had this new challenge to deal with. To say nothing of how they had only just become engaged less than a day ago, and were hoping to have the time to enjoy that! Fortunately they had managed to get some sleep beforehand, and thanks to Jedi Healing Trances, were fully recovered.
The bigger concern was how R2D2 was carrying Thrawn's personal copy of the Caamas Document. The recent reveal of how the Bothans had been responsible for the near-genocide of the Caamas, legendary pacifists and diplomats whom even warrior races respected, was currently tearing the New Republic apart. From what Luke told her, while some species were using the revelation as a pretext to settle old grudges, others were genuinely upset about the discovery and willing to resort to violence to acquire 'justice.' The actual opinions of the surviving Caamasi were being ignored by this point as civil war threatened to break out in their names.
"A few hours at most," answered Luke.
Briefly it flashed across his mind how he could use the Force to pull the ship out of the sinkhole. From what he had seen, the vehicle had been mostly intact enough. He bet it could be easily repaired so that they could fly to the settlement, thus saving them a dangerous hike through an unknown desert. He promptly dismissed the thought, recognizing it as another symptom of one of the bad habits he had gotten into over the years.
While Luke was capable of immense power with the Force, it came at the price of making so much 'noise' that he spent too many years deafened to the true guidance of the Force—the most precious gift to a Jedi. Luke's sporadic education helped explain this shortcoming, but thickheaded stubbornness had also kept him from listening to those who had tried to warn him. People who had grown increasingly concerned. Especially after his reckless and near-suicidal brush with the Dark Side nine years ago. Thankfully, recently he had figured out enough on his own that Mara decided he was finally willing to listened, and talked some sense into him, explaining the rest of what he needed to understand.
Here and now? The three of them could make the journey across the sands, and they were all skilled and experienced enough to handle whatever they faced.
Sensing Mara's approval of his conscious choice —and when this all settled down, they really needed to sit down and meditate over and discuss their new connection; among a host of other topics— the Jedi Master took one of the bags from her.
"Alright, shouldn't be too bad, right?"
"Always the optimist," sighed Mara, while Artoo gave a rude blurp.
Nevertheless, they headed on off.
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
Despite the rather pressing personal issues they needed to address sooner rather than later, neither Luke nor Mara talked in any way as they walked through the desert. They needed to save their energy, and keep alert as neither knew what particular dangers lurked on this alien world.
Luke had not survived Tatooine to die on a different desert planet, and Mara was offended at the very idea of her perishing in a place like this after all she had been through.
Finally, they rose over one sand-dune and took in the sight of the settlement. To their experienced eyes, more of a small outpost really. Likely less than a hundred people, and instead of proper homes, they made do with sheets of canvas to make awnings.
"I see several ships," noted Mara.
"Same," said Luke. "Of course we don't have any credits on us."
"Guess we'll have to cash in on your pretty face and reputation," she smiled.
"After the wedding, will I be able to stop worrying about you selling me off?" he bantered back.
"Hmm, your sister and the New Republic would probably be the highest buyers at this point. Especially if it meant she could lock you someplace where she could keep an eye on you," she mused, "without you gallivanting off all over the galaxy at the drop of a credit chit."
"Really? I thought you might want me to join you for your own gallivanting?"
Those words made Mara drop her grin as she became contemplative. "That's one of the things we'll have to discuss," she pointed out. After all, she was the second-in-command to the most powerful and influential smuggler chief and independent info broker in Known Space, while he was the Jedi Master of the Jedi Praxeum. Obviously there would be a significant conflict between their two job schedules and commitments, among other things, which they needed to find a solution to. Even with her recent elevation to Jedi Knight (a few hours ago, and no, nepotism was not involved), it was going to be tricky to make it work.
Make it work just between the two of them of course, so they were both happy. Those people who would inevitably take exception to their relationship could go space themselves.
Understanding they would talk about this again later, Luke let himself merge with the Force again. "A little clearer," he said after a few minutes. "Unfortunately something is still wrong."
They made good time getting down to the wide, flat region surrounding the small settlement. Drawing closer, they both felt a familiar nudge —if fainter than the norm— towards the ships.
"Maybe one of Karrde's ships?" offered Mara, referring to her boss.
"Maybe," echoed Luke. Deciding they were close enough now, he used the Force to enhance his vision, only to momentarily fail to believe what he saw.
His shock and joy reverberating down their bond, Mara did the same and her lips quirked into a small grin at the sight.
Unmistakable even from this angle and with all that dirt and grime, and even the Force cried out in confirmation.
The Millennium Falcon!
Both of them reached out with the Force now, with the same results. "The Falcon," at which R2D2 gave a squeal of joy, "but no sign of Solo," muttered Mara with a touch of concern. "That's never a good sign."
Without being prompted, R2D2 deployed his scanner to see if he could pick up anything to figure out what had happened to Han.
"But we'll be able to use the holocom unit while waiting for him to get back," said Luke with a lopsided grin.
Only for R2D2 to screech in alarm.
"What is it, Artoo?" asked Luke, only for something to reach his ears.
Snapping their heads up in dismay, both Jedi heard the familiar and unwanted sound of incoming Imperial TIE Fighters.
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
They ran full pelt for the settlement, Artoo straining to keep up.
Connecting with the link between them, Luke and Mara exchanged observations fast as thought.
The TIE's were strafing the outpost, and by the pattern of their flight were specifically targeting someone specifically who was staying just ahead of the starfighters.
To the Jedi's experienced eyes, the way the craft were being handled practically screamed those were professionally trained pilots, if badly inexperienced. Coming in too low and fast to really hit anything, taking too long looping around, and from what could be sensed from the minds of the pilots, they were being totally serious; so these were genuine errors, rather than a case of them playing with their prey.
While the starfighters themselves were based on the traditional TIE Fighter, they were clearly a new model neither were familiar with. From the Hand of Thrawn? No, they refused to believe the Grand Admiral's closest followers would be so sloppy in terms of either piloting, or completing a mission. This sort of senseless violence resembled more the regular Empire's tactics from during the height of the Civil War.
I'll take the dorsal turret in the Falcon, said Mara into their Force Bond.
Briefly Luke considered helping out more, having used the Force to fly the ship and man the turrets at the same time in perfect synchronization during the Battle of Dathomir, but that most likely fell squarely under 'Overusing the Force.'
Probably, she wryly agreed as she caught what he was thinking.
Whoever they're after, they're headed the same way we are, noted Luke. Specifically, the wide, open field where various starships were parked. So whoever is trying to run, they're probably inexperienced at this if they think they can take off in a ship while being fired upon. Of course, if they get too close then we'll be in the same position.
The TIE's destroying a grounded ship added weight to his words.
Luke and Mara were coming up on the Falcon from the rear when he realized whoever was being hunted were doing the same from the front.
Both parties came around the ship to the entrance hatch at the exact same time, briefly coming to a halt.
It was almost a strange reflection really.
A man and a woman with a Droid.
The young man was dark-skinned like Lando, if clearly more fit, and their dapper friend would readily claim he would rather be dead than caught wearing such a drab outfit. Panic blazed off of him.
The woman was barely out of her teens, and also afraid, except she controlled it with a steely focus. She half-raised her metal staff in readiness to use it.
Their orange and white Droid was coming up right behind the pair, and was an unusual design as its main body was a sphere which rolled to give movement.
Before the woman could attack them, Luke gave a quick smile and gestured to the open ramp, "C'mon, let's go!"
Without waiting for a response, he ran aboard, with Mara right behind him. The other two only briefly hesitated in joining them, the droids coming up last.
Despite his long easy strides, Luke was deeply concerned. Han would never leave the ship's ramp open like that. A thousand memories assaulted him though, confirming this was the Millennium Falcon.
Agreed, Mara thought back, while simultaneously she barked to the strangers how she would take the top turret, and that someone had to close the hatch once the Droids were aboard. The unknown man said he would handle it, while the woman followed Luke. Mara also yelled to the man where the gunnery positions were, so he could take the belly turret.
"This ship yours!?" yelled the man.
"No," the woman answered for Luke. "This ship hasn't flown in years!"
Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and founder of the reborn Jedi Order, the man who had fought and triumphed in a thousand different battles . . . stumbled.
YEARS!?
Shock and confusion rushed through him until he shoved it all aside. Right now he had to worry about surviving the next few minutes.
Meanwhile, the woman ran around him and bested him to the cockpit, throwing herself into the pilot's seat. "I can do this, I can do this," she muttered, as she threw switches to activate the ship.
Distantly Luke noted she seemed surprisingly comfortable with such an . . . exotic ship. The Falcon had been so consistently modified, overhauled, and torn apart and put back together over the years, even veteran pilots tended to be confused as to how to handle her for the first time. Just like how Han loved his one true love after Leia.
Joining her in the co-pilot seat, Luke immediately helped her stabilize the engines, working both around and with her surprisingly seamlessly. He also noted there had been some strange changes to the dashboard which Han would be lethally offended about. He was also raising shields as fast as he could because the TIE's were coming around and opening fire—
And missed?
Laser fire impacted several meters away, with the engines only igniting and shields raising after they flew over.
As relieved as Luke was that they were all still alive, the pilot within him was nearly offended. Well, at the very least they were dealing with subpar enemies. Given how both he and Mara were present, this should be straightforward enough.
With Luke correcting any errors the 'captain' made, their take-off was relatively smooth. Including the TIE's missing again on another pass.
They were aimed straight for space, when the young man called into the ship intercom, "Stay low! Stay low!"
"What?" Luke answered back.
"Stay low!" he repeated. "It confuses their tracking!"
Well at least somebody knows something about those ships, mused Mara. "Sounds like we've got a plan," she said aloud into the intercom.
The ship spun around to head back to the surface. In the background, Luke could hear the Droids being thrown about by the acrobatics, and sent them a silent apology.
The two TIE's were coming right behind them, and with improved marksmanship. Apparently, their training had been more thorough for anti-starfighter actions. No matter.
With steely satisfaction, Mara's first shot took one of the Eyeball's dead center.
"Whoo! Nice shot!" yelled the unknown man.
The Falcon continued to bank and swerve with growing assurance from their 'captain,' while Luke redirected the shields so they were strongest aft.
"Taking us anywhere in particular?" asked Luke, making a few more adjustments to the controls.
"There's a downed Star Destroyer up ahead," she said, frowning a bit in concentration. "I know its insides well. I can fly us through."
She's as crazy as a Rogue, was Luke's first thought. His second was, Oh. My.
For here and now something was slipping off of her, and revealing what was hidden below:
The Force.
This young woman was Force Sensitive, and she burned like a sun with it. Is this how people sense me? he wondered with awe. Except Luke had felt nothing until she had started piloting and desperately needed the guidance of the Force. Moreover, he could tell she had been hiding it instinctively, from an unconscious need to cloak herself. Exactly as his sister Leia had when she was an Imperial Senator right under the noses of the Emperor and their father. Which of course means she felt compelled to hide herself. Why?
Deep down, Luke was strongly confident that, yes, this mystery woman could successfully fly her ship through what was apparently the gutted wreckage of Star Destroyer. A whole graveyard of ships even. In fact, a part of him really wanted to do so right now for the sheer thrill of watching her do it.
Unfortunately for his inner pilot, and perhaps fortunately for his life expectancy, Mara got in another bullseye and warranted the matter moot with another kill.
With that, the Falcon headed straight for space.
"Nice flying," praised Luke.
"Thanks!" she grinned, still high on adrenaline. "That was amazing help and your friend she's an incredible shot! How'd you do that?"
"Experience," Luke said. "Where'd you learn to fly?"
"I've flown some ships," she said excitedly, "but I've never left the planet before."
"Wow!" he said with genuine surprise. "Even more impressive!" Inside, he was even more shocked. This was her first time seriously flying!? Well, now Luke could appreciate more how those veteran pilots had thought about him flying at the Battle of Yavin IV!
He was about to start asking some serious questions when she jumped out of her seat to head back and see the others.
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
I'll question our new acquaintances to figure out what's going on, Mara sent Luke through their link. As concerned as he was about the growing weirdness of their new situation, somebody had to be responsible and man the cockpit a little longer. Plus, the number of questions were mounting at an alarming rate, and Mara hated to display ignorance. Taking a subtler approach should provide a better context before they got down to the main issue. Reluctantly Luke agreed, and she released their connection.
Her fellow gunner had raced down to see his friend, "That was some incredible flying!" he gushed. Turning to Mara they both said at once, "That was amazing shooting!"
Smiling, Mara was about to say something when the woman went on enthusiastically, "Your shots were dead on!"
"Perfect!"
Seeing the duo like this, along with hints of how rough their lives had been even before fleeing for their lives from TIEs, confirmed for Mara she should start as friendly as possible. Especially when dealing with such a strong and unknown Force Sensitive. Sweetly and with none of her characteristic cutting wit, she said, "You two make an excellent team. I'd be happy to fly with you again." Both kids —yep, definitely kids—were nearly bouncing in place at the praise, beaming for all they were worth.
A nervous chirping sound in an unfamiliar tone heralded the arrival of the other Droid, with Artoo right behind and making an annoyed blurping noise.
The girl kneeled down in front of her Droid with a tenderness Mara had not seen outside of the Skywalker-Solo clan, and said, "You're ok. He's with the Resistance." The Droid swiveled its head to look at the man, who looked away guiltily. Oblivious, the girl gently continued, "He's going to get you home. We both will."
Covertly, Mara took a harder look at the man. She had already noticed his military bearing and gait, yet with such a bad sabaac-face he was no spy. Certainly not somebody she would send on a covert mission. Although he was clearly familiar with those disgraceful pilots who had been shooting at them. Honestly! Back in the days of the Empire, Vader would have skipped killing those 'pilots' for incompetence, and gone on to hunt down and execute for treason the so-called 'teachers' who had graduated them!
Standing up, the girl stared for a long moment at the man before saying, "I don't know your name."
"Mara," she simply says.
"Finn," he managed. "What's yours?"
"I'm Rey," and there's something in that expression which rings alarm bells for Mara. This girl is far too earnest to make a connection here with a man she has apparently only just met to be healthy. Especially not in someone as Force Sensitive as Rey. Young, maybe not beautiful with that dirty, windblown face, and plain if sturdy clothing, but with cheekbones which make her striking, and apparently a diverse array of skills. Overall, this should not be a person drowning in loneliness.
Except Rey is.
It screams through the Force.
Oh shavit, Mara mentally sighs. Given where we found her, I wonder if she's even heard of the Force? Farm boy's going to have his hands full keeping this one's head on straight.
Unfortunately, Mara then remembered that she is a Jedi Knight now too, which means it will be her responsibility as well.
Finn looked like he was coming to a decision, and Mara was quickly trying to decide whether or not she should interrupt his confession when steam burst up through the deck.
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
In orbit over the planet the Millennium Falcon had just escaped, was the Star Destroyer, Finalizer, the flagship of the First Order.
The personal warship of perhaps the three most important members of the military, barring the Supreme Leader himself.
Visibly nervous, Lieutenant Mitaka approached one of those leaders who was staring at a computer display in one of the rooms near the bridge. "Sir. We were unable to acquire the Droid on Jakku."
Slowly the dark figure turned his head look at him. Tall, and wearing a strange helmet so alien in nature Lieutenant Mitaka could not even describe it. He knew what it was meant to resemble though, or rather who it was to make the wielder resemble:
Darth Vader.
The ultimate hero and enforcer of the old Empire which had brought peace and security to the galaxy until the terroristic 'Republic' had torn it all down.
Lieutenant Mitaka had grown up with tales of the glories of the Empire, and it was the First Order's destiny to rebuild and improve upon that greatness.
Alas, Mitaka felt no sense of glory right now though. Only terror for the First Order's own sinister chief enforcer:
Kylo Ren.
Taking comfort in his training, the lieutenant went on, "It escaped capture aboard a stolen Corellian YT model freighter." Unfortunately that was a very common design.
"The Droid . . ." Kylo Ren slowly said, helmet vocoder adding an inhuman edge to his skepticism, with a definite sense of warning there. "Stole a freighter."
"Not exactly, sir. It had help."
Slowly Kylo Ren came about to face the man head-on, his silence aptly communicating his displeasure. As well as how Lieutenant Mitaka's life depended upon whatever he said next.
"We have no confirmation, but we believe FN-2187 may have been helped in the escape—"
A red lightsaber ignited in Kylo Ren's hand, a unique one. It had a crossguard of two smaller blades, which like the main one crackled with fiery instability.
Flinching Lieutenant Mitaka looked away so he would not see the death blow, yet Kylo Ren turned his rage upon the computer console he had been examining earlier. Again and again, he lashed at it, cutting burning scars through it.
Rage burns through the Darksider at the thought of his failure. For that accursed Droid held the last piece of the map to discover Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi and greatest threat to the First Order. And himself.
Compounding it all, that traitorous Stormtrooper FN-2187 was responsible for it all. How dare he betray his betters!?
After an eternity the rampage is over, and Kylo Ren manages, "Anything else?"
Despite a part of him wanting to lie, the hapless underling mustered his courage, "The two were accompanied by a girl."
Something crackling within him at those words, Kylo Ren snapped around to reach out with one hand and the Force grabs his victim around the throat to pull him through the air and right into the grip of his black glove. "What girl?" he demanded of the choking, gasping man with malignant interest.
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
Of course, it being the Millennium Falcon and all, the ship shortly broke down.
As much as Luke burned to begin questioning the mystery woman about what she said earlier —he should really get her name— getting the repairs started took priority. There could be other pursuers, and they were still in the same system. Fortunately he knew from experience that the particular pitch to the alarms, and which lights on the dashboard were flickering, that this meant the necessary repairs were relatively minor. They had taken no damage from the TIE's after all, so it was likely just a consequence of the ship lying abandoned in the desert. For years.
Yes, he definitely needed an explanation for that. Followed by who was shooting at the trio and then Luke and Co. The navicomputer said the planet was named Jakku, which he did not recognize, and it was also taking so long to tell him where Jakku was located, it would be easier to simply ask their new acquaintances. Clearly Han's regular navicomputer had been replaced with an inferior version. Once they figured that out, he could set a hyperspace course and get them somewhere safe for a longer chat.
Except throughout all of this, an unpleasant and utterly impossible idea was bubbling at the back of his head.
With a clenching gut he suspected the young woman was at least right the Falcon had been abandoned for some time. He had just seen the ship not too long ago, and yet now it was clearly more . . . worn than it had been then. Amounts of dust, dirt, and outright grime which would take at least months to accumulate.
First things first though, he set the auto-pilot so the ship would continue its course, and began the navicomputer's initial calculations for hyperspace travel. Then with resigned if nostalgic familiarity, he left the cockpit and turned the corner to help, only to discover that instead of Mara having already begun the repairs, it was the very lady he wants to question. Heedless of the steam rising up about her, she has already raised the deck grating to lower herself below to figure out what was wrong. Her companion had the unmistakable look of a man with little experience at ship mechanics, and Mara was choosing not to interfere with Han's ship right now, which was fine to Luke since they both knew how protective the owner was of it.
So Luke went to grab the tool kit, only to have to scrounge around for two minutes since it was not where Han and Chewie usually stored it. "Why put it over here?" he complained, totally out of character for the image of a serene and venerable Jedi Master.
Knowing how much the Falcon was home to him, and what she would have done to anyone who moved stuff around in the Jade Fire without her permission —ignoring the pain of loss at what it had represented— Mara chose to hold off the teasing. For now.
"I'm Finn by the way," the man managed.
"Rey!" called up the woman from where she was already underneath the deck making repairs. "I need—" Already sensing what she wanted, Luke sat down on the grating beside the access hatch, and passed down a Harris wrench. "Thanks," she said with surprise.
"How bad is it?" Mara said before Luke could introduce himself.
"Minor," Luke assured her.
"Can we fly without doing this then?" pipes up Finn. "They're hunting for us now, we gotta get outta this system!"
Having spent years in familiar desperate straits with the Falcon and unable to leave like they wanted, Luke could only shrug. "This hyperdrive is temperamental. Best to be check everything's working properly first. Besides, we haven't decided where we're going yet."
Head popping up, Rey said, "That's right. BB-8 said the location of the Resistance Base is 'need to know.' If I'm taking you there, I need to know!"
She went back down before catching the indecision flitting across Finn's face until he caught a look at Luke. "You two are with the Resistance, right? What with how you shot down those First Order ships?"
Not recognizing either name, Luke realized that stalling was off the table now, and he and Mara had to grab the Bantha by the horns. "I'm sorry, but first I've got to ask a strange question. What's the Resistance? And where is Jakku?"
Finn blinked in silent confusion, leaving it to Rey to answer. "Jakku's nowhere, and the members of the Resistance are freedom fighters opposing the First Order!"
"And what's the First Order?" Luke said.
"Uhm," now Finn was looking a bit suspicious, "you know, the reborn Empire? Emerged about a year ago from the Unknown Regions to encompass a lot of Core worlds?"
Luke and Mara stared at him blankly.
"The Republic won't fight them," explained Rey, "so it's the Resistance doing it, like the old Rebel Alliance."
Slowly Luke and Mara turned to look at each other, a growing dread filling through them. Linking once more, they rapidly exchanged observations and thoughts until they came to a very uncomfortable possibility.
Coughing into his fist, Luke reluctantly asked, "What year is it?"
The other two were too befuddled by the apparent non sequitur to answer, prompting Luke to try a different tack. "How many years since the first Death Star was destroyed?"
Rey was quiet, so Finn slowly said, "Thirty years."
Thirty.
Not nineteen.
"Emperor's black bones," Mara softly cursed as their worst fears were confirmed, while R2 wailed and shook.
They had traveled forward through time!
Slowly, Luke reached up to pinch his brow. Eleven years. So much could have happened in the meantime. Were his students alright? The New Republic?
What about his friends like Lando, Wedge, Tycho, Wes, Hobbie, Coran, Kam, and all the rest?
Han? Leia? Their kids Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin?
Dark possibilities crept from the depths of his mind. How without the copy of the Caamas Document he and Mara had stolen from the Hand of Thrawn, it was possible the New Republic had torn itself apart. Or at least enough for the Imperial Remnant to reform and rebrand itself back into a major galactic power. Especially if some of the Core Worlds and their advanced economies had joined up.
"No wonder the Falcon was abandoned," he moaned. "Who knows what Han's been up to, keeping everybody else afloat."
Trying to keep the rest of the Republic and all they fought and sacrificed for from collapsing, and the ensuing battles, would certainly explain how his brother-in-law had lost track of his ship —he was alive, Luke knew it!— and why he had been too busy to get it back again.
Goodness knows, Han would tear entire star systems apart to get the Falcon back, and frankly he had the contacts, resourcefulness, and utter Han-ness to pull it off. Throw in Chewie and Leia at the man's back, and Luke would rather take on the Death Star again than pick a fight with him!
"Han?"
"Oh sorry, Han Solo. He's the real owner of this ship."
"Han Solo the smuggler?" gasped Rey. "This is his ship!?"
"Han Solo the war hero," said a shocked Finn.
"The first one," said Luke, knowing which title his best friend preferred.
"Definitely the first," Mara cheekily agreed, before sobering up. "We're friends of his. Close ones. But we had a hyperdrive malfunction, and only just reached Jakku before crashing on it." Perfectly true if omitting some important little details. They were not going to try and convince complete strangers about time travel though.
"What about Leia? Leia Solo?" asked Luke.
BB-8 twittered out a musical answer which lifted Luke's heart. "He says she's a general and the head of the Resistance, fighting against the First Order!"
Because of course she was. Nothing could keep his sister down!
"So how do you two fit in?" asked Mara. "Why're the First Order after you?" From what Rey said earlier, it was probably related to the Droid, although alternatively it could be because the girl's potential had been discovered and misunderstood what was happening.
"We need to get Beebee-ate to General Solo," answered Rey.
During all this, Finn was trying to figure out what he needed to do next. His best bet of getting out of this without Rey learning he had lied to her, was somehow getting a moment in private with BB-8 to convince the Droid to work with him and tell Rey where they needed to go. Unfortunately, he had no idea what to do now with these two strangers and their own Droid. "Now hold on," he stalled, crossing his arms over his chest, "how do we know we can trust you? After all, we can't risk the First Order following us back."
"Farm Boy," interrupted Mara with a piercing yet amused look, "you haven't introduced yourself."
"Oh, right," her fiancé blinked in surprise. Aunt Beru and Leia would scold him for his lack of manners. "My name's Luke Skywalker. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
BB-8 shrieked in utter surprise, while Rey was so shocked at the revelation she missed Finn blanching in outright terror.
Luke Skywalker!? The one-man the First Order hated and feared the most!? Finn was dead, so very, very dead! There was no way this man bought his lies about the Resistance! The Jedi Master had probably already torn the truth from Finn's mind without him even knowing, and was planning to kill him for being a Stormtrooper and daring to try and trick him!
Luke and Mara politely ignored Finn's reaction, knowing that not everybody loved the Jedi, especially after all of Palpatine's years of propaganda. Besides, even perfectly fine people could have bouts of guilt over trivial things if they suddenly bumped into a regular law enforcement officer or bounty hunter. Would not be the first time Luke went through this, and definitely not the last.
Although they should probably do something before the poor man had a full-blown panic attack.
"Wait, Beebee-ate," Rey said skeptically. "Can you confirm?"
The little droid rolled forward, adjusting his photoreceptor for second to really picture Luke, while comparing the face to records. A second later, he was squealing again in surprise, but also joy as he confirmed the organic's story.
"You were right, Finn!" gasped Rey, pulling herself out of the grating. "He really is real!"
It was just like out of the stories, the legendary hero returning when things were darkest to fight against evil!
"Real?" repeated Mara in surprise. Eleven years of absence seemed a bit short for that to be in doubt.
"Until today, I thought you were a myth!"
Luke blushed a bit in embarrassment at that.
Suddenly something clicked in Finn's mind, and he started to become angry. "Where were you!?" he demanded. Thinking of the villagers all executed in the hunt for this man. Poe Dameron, his first friend and only one besides Rey, the one to give a Stormtrooper only known before as FN-2187 a real name, also killed during this search. A hunt for a man casually standing here as if nothing terrible was happening because of him. While rationally a hyperdrive malfunction did help explain his absence, Finn was too raw for such introspection right now. "Don't you know how badly the First Order has been looking for the map to find you!? What they've done!? Who they've killed!?"
"That's what Beebee-ate's carrying?" clarified Luke, with the Droid moving back and forth a little, before nodding its dome in confirmation.
"I'm sorry people have been hurt over me," Luke said regretfully. "We don't know what happened. We really were trying to get back to the Republic when all of a sudden we found ourselves crashing on that planet. We—"
Pausing, Luke stared off into nothing.
"Huh? What!?" snapped Finn, only for Luke to hold up a finger to make him wait. Then smiled.
Mara followed suit as now she too felt a familiar sensation approaching them. Familiar minds.
"Well," grinned Luke, "I think things just got a lot easier."
The two younger people looked at him in confusion while he pointed up. "Han and Chewie are just arriving now. We should go comm them before they get any wrong ideas about who's flying around in their ship."
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
Author Notes:
Alright, so my resolve to not start another fic weakened.
I just really felt the need to do so while The Rise of Skywalker was still fresh in my and everybody else's minds.
While this has similarities to "Star Wars: A New Force Awakens," by NuttyBuddy792, I had largely forgotten about it until I really got started, and what truly inspired me to write this fic is actually "An Early Return" by PuzzleSB. While thinking and re-thinking about their story (possibly too obsessively), and impatiently waiting for the next chapter, I got to considering doing my own version of it, before deciding to address just the Sequel Trilogy would be less ambitious.
.
I know some Expanded Universe fans might take exception to the idea that I am aiming to write a balanced story, believing that the Disney films deserve no respect whatsoever. And I admit it is highly tempting, but I stand by the belief that nothing but EU!Luke and EU!Mara cutting through the First Order without issue, and yelling at the film characters how they ruined everything, would become boring. In fact, one of the reasons I feel confident to write this story is one author on AO3 named chancecraz whose stories on the movie-verse are in all honesty not only some of the best Star Wars fics written, but some of the most original fics period. The insights they brought up, and explanations for certain stuff, made me feel I could write a three-dimensional story after all.
For those who love Legends, I also recommend "Discussing the new holo films," by Phillipe363, who has been a beautiful help for this.
.
I also strongly recommend "Sequel Trilogy Rewrite," by ThePimpKnight, which is some stunning work.
.
Finally, I and other authors have been having difficulty getting PMs through email as usual. If you leave a comment on this fic and want to see my reply, check your PM folder on this site instead of email.
/
\
Next Chapter: "A Series of Awkward Conversations"
\
/
Please Review, and I will get back to you!