106I do not own Star Wars. If I did, different people would be doing the scripts for the films.
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Beta read by the wonderful lincoln time and BlantonM. Could not have done it without you guys!
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Guest Review answers :-D
Nobody Stlyes
Do not forget R2-D2, that little Droid could shake everything up on his own! ;-D
Not really many crossovers like this to be honest. The ones I mentioned in the last chapter are the only ones I know.
Really appreciate the support, and here is the latest chapter! I hope it was worth the wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D
Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D
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Guest (please choose a name/nickname next time)
Remember, my Padawan, hate leads to suffering!
In all seriousness though, I do understand what you mean about the Disney Trilogy. There are large swaths I am going to be skipping over though. As a simple example, Rey currently has a Luke Skywalker to teach her about the Force, without him having crippling emotional baggage, or her having arguably the worst case of having a stalker. I address this more in the Author Notes below. On the flipside, there WERE good things about those films that I want to be able to show.
For the part about Luke saying Rey glowed like a sun, that was not meant to be an accurate measurement of comparison, aside from noting how she was abnormally powerful in the Force. Plus, having all that power means nothing without the skill to use it. Rey's unusual talents in the films will be addressed.
Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D
Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D
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Star Wars: Legends Never Die
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Chapter 2: A Series of Awkward Conversations
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Previously:
Luke, Mara, and R2-D2 find themselves crashing onto an unknown desert planet, only to discover the Millennium Falcon there, having been abandoned for years. Concerned for their friends, they escape the planet with people fleeing a variant of TIE Fighters, named Rey, Finn, and the Droid BB-8. After destroying the TIE's, Luke, Mara, and R2-D2 piece together they have somehow traveled to the future, where the Republic is threatened by another new version of the old Empire: the First Order. For them this also explains why Han never retrieved his precious ship, as he must have been a part of Leia's Resistance. As if on cue, Luke senses his brother-in-law's imminent arrival . . . .
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Jakku System
"Finally," growled Han, fighting against hope. On the sensors of his and Chewie's freighter Eravana, was a ship which he knew was their precious Millennium Falcon. Time to steal back their home.
"Now for the moment of truth," Han muttered, and Chewie began punching in the Falcon's override code into the com, when it beeped to indicate they had an incoming message.
Han turned to glance at Chewie. "Well," he drawled, "should we hear what the thieves have to say?"
Chewie rumbled an observation in Shyriiwook, and he nodded. "Yeah, alright. Just keep an eye out for them trying to send anything cute back." The Wookiee merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
Flipping a switch, and putting on his best steely voice, Han declared, "Attention Millennium Falcon, this is Han Solo here to get my ship back!" Oh sure, it was Chewie's too, but it was best to make threatening speeches short and to the point.
"I know," a cheery and painfully familiar voice came back. "By the way, she hasn't been properly maintained in years! What took you so long?"
"Luke!?" coughed out Han in sheer shock while Chewie roared. "Is that you!? No, wait," he growled, pulling himself together. "Very funny," he said darkly. "Had me going with the voice modulator. Ha. Ha. Now you've only gone and made me mad."
"Leia was the first one down the garbage chute," was the utterly insufferable response.
". . . Kid!?"
"The one and only. Good to see you, Han. Nice to hear you too, Chewie. I was just getting worried about you guys before you turned up."
"Luke," he stopped, trying to think of what to say.
"I know you've got questions," the Jedi Master said, sounding serious now. "A lot of them. Except, well, things aren't going to be what you expect. Impossible stuff even for us."
"Great," deadpanned Han. "I missed that sort of excitement in my old age."
The sound of Luke scoffing was audible even over the old com-system. "Are you telling me you're letting the odds slow you down?"
Han answered without even thinking. "Never."
"That's what I thought. Do we need to dock, or can your ship take us aboard? This'll really make more sense once you see me in person."
"Starting to worry me, Luke," Han muttered just loud enough to be heard.
"Sorry, but, well, you'll see what I mean when you get here."
"Alright, I'm opening the doors for you to fly the Falcon in. Remember, I don't want a scratch on it. If you snap off the sensor dish again, I'm spacing you."
"That was Lando," Luke answered good-naturedly, as if Han had not tested him again. "And don't worry, I'm wouldn't want to hurt Chewie's feelings." The furry lump had a good chuckle at that.
"Right. I'll leave you to it so you don't get distracted. For all I know you've gotten rusty in the time you've been gone." Without another word he switched off the comm, and turned a heavy look to his partner.
Chewie growled a question.
"Yeah, hopefully by the time we're aboard, I'll figure out what I'm gonna say. Provided it is actually him of course."
Because he had a lot of questions for a certain man he had thought he had known, and honestly Han did not know what he wanted —needed!— to know more first.
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* * * Legends Never Die * * *
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What struck Luke first was how old Han looked. In what was supposedly only a few years, his brother-in-law's hair had gone completely grey, and the lines along his face were much deeper too. Older than he should be too, for a man supposed to be in his late 50s with access to modern medicine.
No surprise, Chewbacca looked as tough and vital as ever.
Then their eyes met, and Luke knew Han was struggling to choose between hugging Luke, or slugging him.
"Luke."
"Han," Luke evenly said. "I'm guessing you've got a lot of questions." He gestured at Rey and Finn. "Do you need them to step outside?" Because while those two may be sympathetic to the Resistance (whatever Finn proclaimed), that did not mean they were actually members of it, much less willing to join up.
Gruffly, Han jerked a thumb towards the ramp, "Probably for the best."
Sensing the tension in the air, Rey and Finn scooted by Han and Chewbacca to get out of the Falcon, and into the hull of the larger freighter they were within. "Don't go wandering off," barked Han after them.
"Solo," said Mara, a little annoyed at being ignored.
Glancing at her, his words were a sucker punch with, "Who're you?"
Oh.
Oh dear.
What had the Force gotten them into this time?
Blood roaring in their ears, Luke and Mara shared pained expressions while their stomachs clenched.
Taking in a deep breath, Luke asked, "Han, this is—"
"Mara Jade," she cut in, because she could introduce herself.
"Right. The fact you don't recognize her, means, look. The last time we saw each other, for me, was at Iphigin, mediating the dispute between the Diamala and Ishori. That track right for you?"
Han's hand dropped to his blaster butt, while Chewie's powerful legs showed that subtle tension which meant he was ready to spring forward within the tight confines of the ship. "No," Han slowly said. "It was when I dropped off my son at your Academy."
Blinking, Luke said, "Jacen or Anakin?"
"What? Name a kid after him? No, Ben!" spat out Han. "Like you don't know!"
Fingers tightening on his weapon, Han pulled off his trademark grin, but there was no concealing the dark mockery beneath it. "What kind of farce is this supposed to be, huh? I mean, yeah, you've got the face, if a bit too young, but you forgot the beard."
Bewildered, Luke absently stroked his jawline. "I've been bristle-free forever."
Giving him a supposedly serious examination, Mara tapped her own chin with one finger. "You should keep it that way. The baby-face suits your personality." Leveling her attention back on Han, she bluntly said, "Luke and I would be able to tell if you were a clone, but you also managed to ask the same sort of questions Solo would have. Something's not right here."
"Yeah, I'll say something's not right!" snapped Han. As much as he wanted to draw and shoot though, he hesitated at the open sight of those lightsabers. If these frauds knew how to use them, things would get nasty fast.
Taking a moment to clear his mind, Luke tried a different track, starting where they had already had some success. "When we were in the trash compactor, which of us fired a blaster?"
Chewie rumbled in surprise, and Han hesitated before nodding. "I did. And no, that's not something I think I ever shared." He paused in thought, and came up with a trick question. "Who was my first wife?" Sana Starros, who had falsely claimed to be that when she had met Luke and the gang.
Confused, Luke answered, "Salla is all I can think of. Only you never wanted it, and cut and ran before the wedding."
Han almost drew his gun, except that level of detail, about someone he never even heard of, threw him off. He had been a conman long enough to tell when somebody was trying to play him, and this . . . person was doing the exact opposite of being convincing, which made no sense here. If anything, the failure to pull off a perfect impersonation actually somehow made it seem more believable, especially when this character was exhibiting all of Luke's cues. No, something was off.
Then there was the redhead.
An edge to her voice, Mara offered, "What about something just between the two of you? Like, anything from Hoth."
"That's better," said Luke. "What was I saying when you found me in the snow?"
"You were rambling about Ben," Luke and Mara both felt Han and Chewie's jolt of emotions at that name, "and Yoda."
"Nothing about the Dagobah system?"
"Yeah," Han admitted after the briefest pause, before plowing on. "What about me?"
"I was pretty delirious, although later you told me how until then, you'd thought tauntauns smelled bad enough on the outside, only to learn what was worse after you cut one open to shove me inside."
Wrinkling her nose, Mara shook her head. "I still think it's a miracle you lived this long."
"All because of my friends and family," he cheerily rejoined.
"So who's this supposed to be?" Han asked, gesturing at her with his chin.
"You're not senile yet, Solo," she coolly replied. "You heard my name. As for who I am, since you don't recognize me, it doesn't really matter much. Only that I work sometimes as a smuggler, am a legitimate Master Trader, and now a Jedi Knight. Any questions?"
Quite a few actually.
"Oh, and Luke's new fiancé."
Belatedly Han found himself rocked back on his heels, while Chewie roared his own surprise. "What!?" he hissed. "You expect me to believe Luke dropped the whole celibate act?" Grinning saucily, he pointed out, "Not very Jedi-like."
"I kind of had to figure out what being a Jedi is about from scratch," Luke reminded him, every inch the serene Jedi Master. Within though, Mara felt the rumble of turmoil at how he would need to address that facet of the former Jedi Order. For while some of the current Jedi were married, there were a lot more expectations on his shoulders for the example he set. "But from what you've said so far, I'm guessing names like Callista, Jem, or Gaeriel don't mean anything to you?"
Chewbacca groaned out an observation.
"Yeah, I know. I'm halfway to just dumping you out in an escape pod to spare me the headache," frowned Han.
"Yeah, I get it," sighed Luke, rubbing his forehead.
"The only reason we're taking this situation at all calmly, is we already figured out we're in the future," grimaced Mara.
"What?"
"Eleven years to be exact. Likely by the Force for whatever reason."
"What? No, that's it!" Throwing up his hands in frustration, Han then gestured to them. "Kriff it all, that's not how the Force works! Off, off, get out of my ship! I don't care if you're a clone, or shapeshifter, or whatever. The only reason I don't kill you now is because your act's so pathetic. And take your Artoo knockoff with you!"
In response, the Droid made a derisive, electronic 'blat,' followed by a series of beeping insults.
Only for someone else to join in the noisemaking, as BB-8 had remained aboard.
The organics all stopped to keep track of the rapid-fire binary exchange, with Artoo forcefully asserting that yes, he was that R2 unit, and not just another model. To which Beebee-Ate asserted was impossible, as the legendary Droid was hibernating at the Resistance HQ base, and it was impossible for there to be two of him.
"Hah, easy enough," grunted Han. "Just copy the memories into another unit." Glancing back at the wierdos though, he saw them exchanging weirdly pained expressions once more. Something seemed to be going back and forth between them despite their silence, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
Once more Luke and Mara were going over everything, including how warped and surreal hyperspace became before they were essentially spat out of it, or how they could both sense how these people were identical in the Force to the duo they knew, the idea of there being two versions of the same Droid, and gentle whispers by the Force, were leading them to a new and even more uncomfortable possible explanation as to what had happened to them.
Mara broke out swearing aloud in a very un-Jedi-like manner, while Luke massaged his temples and sought peace with the Force. Artoo broke off his argument, swiveling his dome towards them and bleeped out a query. "We're not just in the wrong year," Luke slowly answered, "but the wrong history as well!"
Chewie got it first, roaring incredulously.
"Alternate dimensions!?" scoffed Han. "That's just for bad holo-films!"
Anything further was cut off by a series of clanging sounds, and Luke and Mara felt hostile minds approaching.
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* * * Legends Never Die * * *
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"Well," Han muttered to Chewie, "they're certainly Force users."
Chewie grunted an observation, which Han reluctantly nodded to. This 'Luke' was easily every bit as strong, if not more so, than the man he knew. Thought he knew.
Luke and Mara had handled the goon squads from both the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub with casual ease, although only Luke's opponents had survived the experience. The Death Gang members were loaded back into their ship with the hyperdrive and comm units disabled, leaving them only Jakku to get back to.
More importantly, as brief as it had been, this beardless Jedi had not only shown the sort of mercy Luke would have, he had been moving and fighting just like Han's Luke. In a way he did not think could be faked.
In a way he hoped could not be faked.
Because like it or not, Han was starting to think this younger, active, actually here Luke, was just what the Republic needed. What the Resistance needed. Because as skeptical and provocative as Han had been, everything in his gut was screaming this was Luke. Or close enough that trouble with names or not, he might be sufficient to help Leia clean up the whole mess the galaxy was in.
He and Chewie shared a glance, and in that moment held an entire conversation from just a few twitches of their brows.
And . . . maybe . . . just maybe, this newcomer was who Ben needed.
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* * * Legends Never Die * * *
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While Han and Chewbacca were having their silent little discussion, Luke and Mara were having their own.
Particularly as they took care of the Fringe toughs, and took a look around the hold and corridors of this larger ship the Falcon was resting within.
After putting aside some preconceptions, Luke was putting together some uncomfortable observations. One thing was for sure, this was not a Resistance craft.
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* * * Legends Never Die * * *
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"Alright," Han said, once the tag-alongs had been reassured, and the important people were all back aboard the Falcon again. "I'll pretend I believe your story. Now why should I trust you?"
"A better question," Mara said frostily, "now that we've got that confusion out of the way, is why we should trust you two? Get off at the nearest inhabited world, and find Leia on our own?"
He flinched at that, with Luke unveiling some of the Skywalker temper people kept forgetting he had deep down. "When we first heard about the First Order and the threat it posed, we assumed you were with the Resistance. Except this is a smuggler ship, and you're in debt to crime lords. What's going on, Han?"
Unspoken was, Why aren't you with my sister? With your wife?
Wincing, a shaken Han hesitated before dropping the charm, and letting his body sag a bit more. Ignoring this, Luke turned his attention on Chewie, "And how could you let him do this?"
Angrily, Chewie roared out an answer, along with several hefty insults towards a certain Jedi Master.
"What do you mean he disappeared? What about Ben?" Luke asked in confusion. More details were barked out, only for Mara to hold up a hand. "Wait, wait. One thing at a time. Solo, Chewbacca, what are you doing? You aren't even trying to really hide that this is a smuggler ship. Even I didn't think you'd be away from Leia during an apparent cold war with neo-Imperials."
"Wait, you did marry her, right?" blanched Luke.
"Of course I did!" and now Han looked truly offended. "One of the best days of my life! Followed by many more! When Chewie and I'd come back from business, Leia and I were always happy to see each other." Getting more defensive, "And it wasn't smuggling until recently."
Luke was still confused, while Mara now made the connection to a slight reaction in the man's emotions to when she introduced herself, and mentioned her own personal history. "You started up your own trading company," she realized.
"Yeah. Millennium Exports," he said a little puzzled. "Specialized in delicate and rare cargo. Hired up a buncha guys wanting to go legit, and we made good business for a while. Why, what were you thinking?"
Understanding dawned for Luke. Particularly as he recalled a few months back when his own Han's sense of adventure and wanderlust had resurfaced. He had come back a few days later, muttering something about Boba Fett, and nothing more. However, this Han had kept that part of him active. Also, Leia's own parents, Bail and Breha Organa, had spent most of their own marriage physically apart, with her on Alderaan, and him as their senator to Coruscant.
"Well I guess ours is more whipped," said Mara with a trace of humour. "Staying home like a trophy husband, and her and the Republic's personal troubleshooter."
Luke glared at her, since there was far more to Han and Leia's relationship than that, even if he did know she was probing for reactions.
Yes, Han had changed, yet so had Leia, and they were all the happier for it.
. . . And this was Mara's way of making him consider how they might change with being engaged. Right.
Feeling surer of himself, Han gave his trademark grin, "I'd have been climbing the walls in a few months. Weeks if I had to dress appropriately." The smile faded a little, "Unfortunately things went downhill when the First Order emerged. In hindsight, they were stirring up trouble even beforehand."
Anger, shame, loss, and lingering confusion echoed through the Force from both Han and Chewie. "And then there was Ben."
"Your son," Luke nodded. "Sorry, but why name him that? Our Han called his first two kids Jacen and Jaina." He sent a mental apology to Anakin Solo for not bringing him up again. "If anything," he scratched his head, "I can see me maybe calling my kid that, but why you guys?"
"I get a say in baby names," Mara said with a mock warning, hiding a shrill of alarm and a whisper of startled joy, which Luke only belatedly realized the source of and returned. He had talked about having children.
Han and Chewie shared knowing glances at each other over the flushed and conflicted expressions on the couple's face. Time to tease them over it later. Oh, very much so. They deserved it for all the stress they were causing anyways.
Coughing into his fist, "As entertaining as this is, if it was a girl, yeah we'd have named her Jaina, after my mother," which for that matter, was something he was confident no-one outside of his immediate family knew about. His wife may have told their son though. "As for Ben, it was because I refused to call my kid Obi-Wan, except for Leia he had been her hope during her darkest moment, with y'know, the whole Death Star and Vader."
Pulling himself back to the present, Luke awkwardly nodded. In retrospect, he could kind of see the justification. Not that it was really any of his business what Leia called her kids.
"Stayed home for years while he was growing up," Han went on. He gave a slight chuckle, "Kid kept me so busy, I sure didn't have to worry about getting bored." Chewie chuffed in agreement, rolling his eyes in fond memory of all sorts of escapades.
Seeing as how his own niece and nephew had helped route the ghost of a Sith Lord even before they hit puberty, Luke could certainly believe it had been an adventure and a half.
"When he got older though," and now Han was clearly uncomfortable. Chewie, radiating guilt and resignation moaned a comment. "Yeah, pretty much. He was powerful in the Force. Too powerful. Breaking stuff whenever he lost control. I stayed around more when he was younger, but I wasn't there enough then. Stupid. Even when I was though . . . it wasn't looking good."
"You were worried about him being too much like Vader," offered Mara, even as she and Luke knew with a growing dread where this story was leading. "And he could sense that concern in you, which only made it worse."
"Uh huh," he looked away for a few heartbeats, before starting again. "So Leia and I sent him to Luke. Let him train to be a Jedi at the academy his uncle had started up."
"Nice to hear he did the same," said Luke.
I wonder if he set up his Academy in a Sith temple too, Mara thought to Luke. Which frankly was a legitimate concern as this tale unfolded.
With resigned, mental sigh, he responded, At least I won't have to worry about future generations of Jedi revering me without flaw.
I'll make sure of that, she promised with mock solemnity, before pushing it aside in light of the situation.
Missing the byplay, the conflicted father continued. "In hindsight . . . that may've, probably, made him feel like we abandoned him. I don't know what exactly happened, but, the last we heard from Luke, our Luke, was him calling to say Ben had Fallen to the Dark Side, murdered all of his fellow students who wouldn't join him, and burned down the Academy. By the time Republic investigators got there, there was nothing left."
A shaken Luke knew he would be making another review of how his Jedi Praxeum ensured his students felt welcome and at peace. Things like checking how their relationships with their families were, and being able to regularly call home.
Leveling his gaze at Luke, Han gruffly added, "Like I said, that was the last we heard from Luke. Although there's been rumours of people trying to find him, including the First Order, so he's still alive. Wherever he is."
"And Ben went to the First Order?" prompted Luke, regaining his composure.
"Yeah."
"You Skywalker's and Solo's never make it easy," grimaced Mara.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Han shook his head. "Yeah. I . . . ."
"Too much Vader in him," Luke repeated non-judgmentally. Internally though, he was hiding his preference to take the smuggler to task for such an attitude. No, better yet, let Luke's Han do it.
Also, while originally he had no concerns for his niece and nephews turning to the Dark Side, now he would be keeping a closer eye on them. And every other new student. Just not to the point of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. . . . He needed to talk about this afterward with Mara, (his) Leia, Tionne, Kirana, Kama, Corran always had good insight, definitely Kyle . . . . Yeah that would be a good start. Even if he doubted they would be happy when he returned home to say, Hello, everyone. I got the Caamas Document, found major new concerns in the Unknown Regions, got engaged, and now we're all going to sit down to review our practices in depth. Again. Because I got a very loud warning from the Force when I travelled to another universe. And no, this is not some sort of joke. No need to call Cilghal.
Covering for her fiancé, Mara said, "If he's that powerful, is Ben in charge of the First Order?"
". . . No. He's taken up Vader's role to Supreme Leader Snoke."
After hearing so many pretentious ranks and titles for various ex-Imperial warlords, Mara hardly noticed this newest egotistical version (although she may have heard of a half-dozen 'supreme leaders,' and forgotten about people so trivial), except the name was new. "Snoke? Doesn't ring any bells. Luke?"
"Nothing. Likely a Force Sensitive himself though, if he's able to keep a powerful Dark Sider in line."
This new suggestion visibly threw Han, and Chewie growled in frustration, which helped his partner steady himself. He scowled, "I don't really know much more about Snoke than what I told you. Leia probably does though. I . . . couldn't handle it. But," now his familiar, cocksure smirk was back, making him a decade younger, "fortunately for you, you can ask her yourself. 'Cause that's where I'm taking you. Let her make sense of this whole crazy mess. Personally, I don't know what to believe!"
Chewie huffed, and nodded in agreement, yet the two old partners positively radiated hope. Moreover, as much as they wanted to deny it, a part of them wondered if Ben was enough like Vader in the sense that Luke can save him too.
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* * * Legends Never Die * * *
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"So," said Finn in a hushed tone, glancing towards the Millennium Falcon. "What do you think they're talking about in there?"
"Dunno," she whispered. "Are you sure you shouldn't be a part of it? You are an important member of the Resistance."
"Yes, well, uh, they're bigger shots. Than me. They're bigger shots than me, and so there's stuff even I'm not cleared for. Compartmentalizing intel and all. By the way, what'd you think of when they took down those gangsters? Master Skywalker and Mara I mean."
Rey's face lit up. "It was amazing! So that's what Jedi are capable of! And there's two of them! I only ever heard about Master Skywalker!"
"Yeah," he nodded, still feeling shocked about seeing Mara — Jedi Knight Mara? Or Jedi Master Mara? — pulling out a lightsaber as well. Amazing. They might actually be able to . . . hurt the First Order a bit.
They sat in silence for another minute, before Rey ran out of patience, and started exploring around the cargo hold they were all in. Trying to find some way to be useful.
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* * * Legends Never Die * * *
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"Alright then, how're we going to do this?" asked Luke.
Chewie grunted, and Han nodded. "We'll take you to Maz."
"Maz?"
Han shot him a look of disbelief. "Big name in the underworld. Her place is a safe haven for smugglers and such, but she's no friend of the Empire, and she likes Leia, and will be able to get you to her."
It took Luke a second to realize Han was not planning on coming along, until Mara caught on. "You're worried about all the gangs after just you trailing along. And it's possible whoever had the Falcon last, put a tracker or something on it."
"Pretty much."
"And you don't want to see Leia."
He winced slightly at that.
Ignoring that for now, Luke added, "There's also something about Beebee-Ate here having a map to, well, me?"
On cue, the spherical Droid projected a holographic map. Luke and Mara were impressed at the level of detail from something so small. Seeing this, Han grunted in agreement, "Whoever this Droid belongs too, packed some impressive tech into it." Upon examining the map, he quickly figured out what he was looking at, while Luke and Mara were still figuring out what was wrong with it. "This map's not complete. It's just a piece. As I said, ever since Luke, our Luke, disappeared, people have been looking for him."
"Why'd he leave?" wondered Luke.
"When . . . Ben destroyed his new generation of Jedi, Luke felt responsible. He walked away from everything."
"What?" blinked Mara. "You've no idea what happened to him?"
"Lots of rumours of course. From what Leia and those others closest to him," while he was trying to distance himself from the man, it was clear Han still counted himself as part of that list, "think, he went looking for the first Jedi Temple."
Despite himself, Luke was intrigued by the idea, as he had honestly never considered the idea of there being a first Temple! Who knew what could be uncovered? Except why go on a search which would take years, and possibly not lead to anything? Said Temple could easily have been destroyed by time or Dark Siders. Was the Force guiding his counterpart? He would have to meditate on this little revelation. Another point was bugging him though, "Why is there even a map for people to follow?"
"Probably pieced together like Lando and I did looking for Jorj Car'das," Mara said. The duo made a show of examining the map some more, while they silently communicated.
Anything else you want to cover right away?
I'll grill him later for more details of his 'plan' for finding this version of your sister. I'm not going into this blind, especially when— She glanced at Han, "The name Talon Karrde mean anything to you?"
He shook his head, and she went back to 'looking' at the map. Especially when we don't have Talon backing us up among the Fringe.
Agreed, he thought heavily. We really should hold it off for later though. We don't want to overwhelm the two of 'em.
"Alright then," Luke clapped his hands together, the very picture of an open, honest, farmboy. "Anything else we should know before we get our other guests secured? We just met them, but I've got a good feeling about them, and they're the ones who kept Beebee-Ate and this map safe from the First Order."
"Fair enough," Han conceded at the character reference. He paused to think, and Chewie rumbled a point.
"Oh. Right. Word just got out about Vader being, y'know, your dad."
"Ah. So that wasn't common news here?" It was a bit of an open secret for Luke and Leia back home really. Personally Mara blamed it on the Noghri, going on about the 'Son of Vader,' and the 'Daughter of Vader' all the time.
"No, no it wasn't," Han darkly said. "Leia got kicked out of the Senate over it. Calling her a warmonger like her father, just because she was trying to raise opposition against the First Order. The remaining Alderaans even stripped her of her royal title!"
Luke gaped at that. "What!?"
"I know!"
"Thanks for the warning," Mara interceded. "It's definitely something to keep in mind." Hopefully there was more to the story than the Republic turning on one of its greatest heroes like that! "Is there anything else we should know?"
Trying to think of whatever else might be relevant, Han asked, "Nothing that can't wait a bit. Anything in particular I should know about your tagalongs?"
"You know just about as much about them as we do. Although, what can you tell us about Jakku?"
"A junkyard," was the flat response.
"Wonderful," Mara acerbically said.
Silence fell as they tried to figure out what to do next. Unfortunately there was simply so much to process.
"Alright then," Luke said, straightening up. "Now that we've got that figured out," he stopped and looked concerned. "We should probably get to hyperspace. We were being chased by TIE's before, and I'll bet there's more on the way."
Mara grimaced in embarrassment, as she had been too distracted to notice either. Sloppy mistakes like that got people killed. Except . . . Han and Chewie did not seem to notice how truly shaken she and Luke were.
"TIE's!?" gaped Han. "Why didn't you say so sooner!?" With that he ran off with Chewie to get their larger ship flying.
Luke briefly followed to call to Rey and Finn, "We'll be there in a minute. We just need to work on something first," he grinned.
When he turned away however, his eyes were a touch haunted.
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
When he got back inside the Falcon, Mara's eyes were already screwed shut as she was letting her emotions go into the Force. Even without their new connection, he could feel her fury, fear, and other feelings through the mental shields she was trying to strengthen.
He was not much better off.
If they were right, they were in another universe.
Moreover, to learn that here his counterpart had run away, and his sister cast out by the Republic after everything she had sacrificed for it!?
Mara made no secret of the contempt blazing off of her.
Artoo recognized what they were doing, and warbled sadly.
Taking a deep breath, Luke opened himself up to the Force, and began to let go of his own distractions. This was only a short term solution of course, although he knew this was something the Jedi of old relied upon a lot, yet personally he was of the opinion it was healthier to address the cause of the problems, then how it affected you.
Case in point: he and Mara had more or less actually taken the time to discuss the issues which had been hounding them both for years, and shortly afterwards they found themselves engaged.
Unfortunately right now they both knew they did not have the time.
In a few minutes, this new version of Han and Chewie would be back, if only to inspect the Falcon, and they had to see Luke, any version of Luke, acting like a 'proper' Jedi Master, and getting things done without being even remotely unsettled by whatever the Force had thrown at him.
Because the thing was, Luke knew Han and Chewie, even without all these changes to history, and neither of them would have so easily accepted such a wild story, unless they and everybody else were desperately awaiting the return of a living legend to solve everything.
In Luke's humble opinion, it was not a good start that it seemed expected he would take on and defeat the First Order by himself, armed solely with a lightsaber and a charming grin. Oh, and Artoo.
In all fairness, they would never have beaten the Empire without Artoo.
"You know," he weakly grinned, trying to lighten the mood, "I get the feeling the hardest part about all this will be getting them to accept I'm in a relationship with someone."
"I reserve the right to make the first person who accuses me of seducing you, suffer horribly."
"Agreed." Taking a deep breath, he knew he was able to function now, and just as they felt the subtle sensation of them entering hyperspace. Later they would find the time and place to work things out properly. Fortunately, they should only need to buy a little bit more time. "So how do you want to handle things with Rey?"
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
A Few Minutes Later
After taking a minute to discuss things with each other, Luke and Mara had a plan for how to help Rey and Finn. Exiting the Falcon, they found them off to the side nervously fretting, with him pacing, and Rey examining the wiring and mechanisms behind a panel she had removed.
"Sorry about that you two," said Luke "There were some things we needed to work out, and it actually became more complicated than we first thought."
"Are we heading back to Jakku?" asked Rey, trying to sound confident.
"For your own protection, not right away," Mara smoothly said. Cutting off any protests, she pointed out, "The First Order will still be after you. It'll be safer for you and those you care about to stay away for now." That quieted her down.
Looking at Finn, Luke said, "Can we talk in private?"
Swallowing hard, the man followed with a stiffness as if he were walking to his execution.
Heading inside the Falcon, Luke sat at the Dejarik table, and gestured for Finn to take a seat as well. As soon as he did, everything seemed to burst out of him. "Master Skywalker, I—"
He cut himself off at Luke's raised palm and most reassuring smile. "It's Luke. And what most people don't tend to remember about me," he said without preamble, "is that most of my closest friends were once members of the Imperial military before they left it one way or another. Han, Tycho, Wes, Hobbie, you get the idea. Even Mara, and I just asked her to marry me."
Finn's eyes bugged out, and his jaw dropped. The Force was hardly necessary to tell he was trying to pull himself together, but Luke knew from long experience he had to quickly dispel another fear. "I didn't read that from your mind. Your under-suit, the way you stand and walk, and a few other clues cued Mara and I in how you were once a Stormtrooper, but you're obviously not a spy, and afraid of them as well. I don't know the exact reason why you chose to desert, but I could tell from your earlier reaction you are badly upset by the sort of things the First Order is doing." This was not his first time dealing with new defectors or disillusioned Stormtroopers after all, and Mara was as sharp as they came.
Gulping, Finn marshalled himself, and hesitantly said, "Rey doesn't know. She thinks I'm with the Resistance."
Nodding amiably, "Understandable. You wouldn't want to tell someone you had just met about it, for their sake if nothing else."
Slowly Finn nodded, yet it was clear he remained wrapped up in residual panic. Expecting this, Luke gave him a few moments. Even on Tatooine, he had seen this sort of behaviour, when slaves or prisoners escaped, yet were so consumed with fear that all they knew how to do was run, without stopping to think. Giving Finn some more time to calm down would only help; the trick was not giving so much time he worked himself back up again.
"Do you want to fight against the First Order?"
"No!" yelled Finn, before recoiling as if he would be struck. When nothing happened, he sagged a bit so he was staring down at the table with haunted eyes. The duo sat in silence for another minute before Finn hoarsely explained himself. "You don't know the First Order like I do. You haven't been here for it. They'll slaughter us. What we all need to do is run."
Briefly Luke considered reminding Finn of what Luke and the Rebel Alliance had already overcome, before dismissing it. The man was not quite ready to accept that. First he needed a different kind of hope. "I'm sure the Resistance can help you with that."
Frowning in confusion, Finn finally looked up at him. "Back with the Rebel Alliance, not every defector wanted to fight. So we'd set them up with new identities and names, and let them disappear into new lives as civilians. Even keeping the Empire from finding them again, was a victory in itself." He gave a small smile. "Although if they offer for you to become a farmer, make sure it's not in a desert."
"Wh-what's the catch?" Finn managed. "I-I mean, you—"
"They'll want to know what you know about the First Order, and that's all," Luke gently said.
Finn's eyes were fixated on Luke's with burning intensity, before he collapsed on the table like a puppet with cut strings. His deep, ragged breaths though meant he remained conscious.
Doubtless he had been terrified Luke would punish him for being associated with the First Order, or insist he help fight it. Instead, the Jedi Master recognized that despite the indoctrination Finn had doubtless endured, and the trauma which drove his fears, the man had retained his innate knowledge of right and wrong, and the fundamental courage to refuse to simply accept it. Even if he never so much as raised his fists again, even if this former Stormtrooper thought it had been merely terror of what might happen to him which drove him to flee, deep down he remained a very brave man indeed.
Looking around, Luke was disappointed there was nothing to offer the man to drink. Not even water. He would have to ask Han about that when he got the chance.
With an effort, Finn pulled himself up, eyes damp. "Sir, I don't—"
"Call me Luke," he interrupted with a bit more emphasis than before. Breaking that habit of differing to others would probably help.
"Luke, I don't know how to thank you enough!"
Smiling, he just patted the free-man on the shoulder. "Just try and live your life as a good man, alright?"
"I will!"
Throughout this, Luke carefully made no mention of his and Mara's theory of being from an alternate dimension and timeline. While Leia and the Resistance would need to be aware of it, if only to prevent misunderstandings and conflict, Finn did not need to know. Besides, given how he wanted to stay out of the apparently looming war with the First Order, revealing secrets to him would only be a cruel burden.
"Good, now three suggestions. First, do you have a last name?"
"Uhm, no. I just got Finn, like, today."
"Alright then. I'd personally take my time in choosing your second name. Or more than two. It's up to you, only remember it's a big decision, so I'd just think about it for now. Second, how about we see if Han's other ship has got someplace for you to rest? Even if you don't feel tired, you just broke away from the First Order and had your whole life flipped over. Some time alone to process it will help, followed by some sleep. Oh, and food and water. Let's see what he's got," he said while standing up.
Following along, "Thank you, si—Luke. What's the third thing?"
"Tell Rey the truth, she deserves it. And I'm sure she'll understand you feeling the need to lie when you had only just escaped the First Order. Assure her you're never going back, and you were simply afraid to admit you were once a part of it, to the first person who treated you nice."
"Uhm, second person," Finn awkwardly corrected. "Poe's the one who helped me escape, and gave me this name."
"Well, can you tell me about him?"
"Sure! He was—"
While paying attention to the honestly fascinating story of Finn's escape, Luke felt a sense of relief that this man would be alright. Plus, telling Rey the truth now, before any unfortunate misunderstandings, would help someone he hoped would become one of his students.
From the part about a slaughtered village, he was also learning about this 'Kylo Ren.'
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
While the boys walked away to chat inside the Falcon, Mara gestured at the panel Rey had removed from the side of the hull. "May I?"
"Uhm, sure." The teenager skittered aside, and Mara took a look. Despite being about a decade in the future, everything seemed familiar enough. She also quickly figured out what Rey had been fixing, and fingered it. "Nice clean work," she complimented. "Well done."
Rey was thrown by this, yet regained her composure. "Thanks!"
"Let's take a look around. You can bet a ship of Solo's this big, has more problems that Chewie hasn't been able to keep up with."
With that, Mara and Rey started looking around the docking bay, doing maintenance and repair work, and commenting on the (shoddy) newer modifications to the Falcon. She assured Rey that Solo would remove most of the unwanted additions to ship, which Rey was heartily appreciative of. As intended, this eased down Rey's barriers as she opened up. Granted, Luke was unquestionably better at putting people at ease (the ex-assassin preferred provoking them into blinding anger), except Mara had remembered her earlier observation of how lonely Rey seemed, and suggested bonding with a fellow woman be more comfortable. Moreover, while Rey was a surprisingly brilliant mechanic, Mara's formal education, experience, and more diverse background helped her keep up. "Yes, those Star Destroyers really were a nightmare for maintenance," she assured Rey. "Hugely costly."
"So then why build them?"
"Because you aren't thinking in terms of how many guns and TIE's they could carry. And the Empire could outfit their ships with armies of mechanics."
"Oh."
"You mentioned a downed Star Destroyer earlier. Were there many on Jakku?"
"Lots," said Rey with excitement. "Jakku was the site of the last major battle between the Empire and the Republic, and there's all sorts of crashed ships to work salvage on!"
A little more prodding revealed Rey exchanged salvage in exchange for food. Just food. And meager portions at that. Wonderful, so this eager, apparently kind, and frankly vulnerable girl, had essentially been a slave. Certainly a variant of indentured servitude at minimum, thought Mara with growing anger.
"Someone like you could have left that place anytime you liked," she pointed out.
Rey emphatically shook her head. "No, I'm waiting for someone to come back."
"Who?"
". . . my parents," Rey said, hunching-in, and looking at the deck.
Slowly, Mara reached over, and gently pulled Rey into a half-hug. While she might not be a 'people person,' she could figure this out well enough. "They've been gone a long time, haven't they?"
With a sniff, Rey bobbed her head once, and leaned into the embrace.
Right now Mara was definitely glad Luke was not the one having this conversation. While she loved the man, she also knew he was not entirely rational when it came to matters of family. Oh, his love for his sister was beautiful and entirely deserved and reciprocated, but that whole mess with Vader had nearly been assisted suicide. She had seen enough of what was in Luke's head to know how traumatized he remained to this day over what happened at Bespin, and he had still later walked right up to the man calling him "father"!? The only reason that had all worked out was because of how honestly broken the Sith Lord had been.
Not to mention running off just as the Republic ended up needing him during the crisis with the Yevetha, due to a girl batting her eyes and hinting she could lead him to his mother. Once more, only dumb luck had made that pay off for the Republic, even if it had all been a ruse.
Mara in turn had never known her parents, and would now gladly stab the closest thing she had to a 'father': Palpatine. So she could be a bit more objective about this.
Speaking of which, she had to consider Solo too. Whatever his son's crimes, it was clear through the Force the man still loved his son. Indeed, it was the foundation of why he was so willing to believe her and Luke's story, which, despite being the truth as near as they could tell, remained simply ridiculous.
Back to the here and now. "What can you tell me about them?" she whispered.
So Rey told about being a little girl, her parents' ship flying away, and being left to 'work' for one Unkar Plutt. Of the years she had waited for them to return to take her home. Haltingly she recounted growing up, learning to fend for herself on Jakku by scrounging up the right equipment. Teaching herself how to fix broken things from downed Imperial and Republic ships so she could survive with them. Her pride in learning how to fight with a staff to drive off competition and predators of all-sorts.
All told, Mara was highly impressed. The girl's fixations on parents who had abandoned her, likely sold her, aside, Rey's accomplishments were certainly noteworthy. Moreover, it seemed it was fueled more by her innate determination and will, than her incredible potential with the Force. Although Mara would bet she had also been unconsciously using and listening to it for years.
After a while, Rey was done and calmed herself down. Mara could feel her surprise at how good vent everything like that, for the first time being able to tell someone all of it. Excellent first step in being a healthy Force user.
"Rey," she softly said. "There's another option open to you."
"No," she said miserably. "You guys can get Beebee-Ate to the Resistance yourselves. You don't need me, and I need to get back to Jakku."
Oh yes, not all chains are visible, the former Emperor's Hand knew that painfully well.
"That's not true," she said firmly. "You are a bright and talented woman, with much to offer if even half of what you said's true." Seeing the confusion, she continued. "There's something else. If you come with us, we'll help you find your parents if possible."
Stunned, Rey gaped in silence for a minute. "Really!?"
"Yes," Mara promised. It sounded like a massive commitment, which it was, hence the qualifier, but she had a few skifter's up her sleeve.
Taking both hands in hers, "Rey, what you have to understand is, you're Force Sensitive. You can be a Jedi. Like Luke and I."
Once more the girl was too stunned for words. After a while though, she got her brain moving again as she started thinking aloud. "If my parents start hearing about a Jedi named Rey from Jakku, they'll know it's me!" she cried with wonder.
"Precisely," smiled Mara. Although, the Force willing, if they did show up, Mara would intercept them with her most evil smirk. Among other things.
For the present though, it was clear she had Rey's interest, which was important. As a general rule, Force Sensitives needed training, even if they did not become Jedi, so as to avoid the temptation of the Dark Side. As it was, it was fortunate Rey's talent had not been discovered already, lest she be sold to far more unscrupulous parties. Not that she meant to dismiss how impressively well the girl had done on her own so far. Extremely impressively really, with no trace of the Dark upon her, despite growing up in a hostile, isolated environment, sustained solely by an unrequited love.
"Being a Jedi's a commitment," Mara warned. "To become a protector of peace and life, no matter the personal burden. It's not a final decision you have to make now though, and Luke and I will give you some training regardless."
"I, I understand," Rey firmly said, eyes still red from tears. "But I will be a Jedi. The First Order needs to be stopped, and the galaxy needs the Jedi to protect it," she said with conviction.
"We'll see how it is after you've started your training," deflected Mara. She would leave the philosophical aspects to Luke. "Now, first of all, you saw my fight with those Fringers?"
"You mean the gang members? Yes, that was incredible!" gushed Rey.
"Yes, a Jedi is a formidable warrior, and this is our primary weapon: the lightsaber." Unclipping it, she held it up for the girl to see, reaching out but halting from touching it. "Usually most Jedi construct their own, except mine was a gift from Luke." With a snap she ignited it.
It really was a rather unique lightsaber, as it had been Luke's before Bespin, where his father Darth Vader cut off the hand holding it. Before that, it had been Vader's when he had gone by the name of Anakin Skywalker. Now though, by both spoils of combat, and more importantly a gift from a certain Farm Boy, it was Mara's and Mara's alone, and anyone who tried to take it from her would not live to regret it.
/ * * \
* * * Legends Never Die * * *
\ * * /
Author Notes:
One thing I should make clear now, is that I am not going to have Finn as a Force Sensitive. Yes, I know it was hinted at during Rise of Skywalker, and confirmed afterwards. My reasoning is not because of how I feel one way or another about Finn being Force Sensitive, but because of how I feel it makes the First Order appear depressingly incompetent.
Based upon the scene where Phasma and Hux were looking at Finn's file while he and Poe were escaping in The Force Awakens, they abducted him when he was a child, and yet we are supposed to believe that despite having the technology and very much the incentive to do so, they never tested him to see if he was Force Sensitive? Especially given the degree of total control the First Order had over their 'recruits,' and a massively smaller population, compared to even the Empire? Qui-Gonn was able to test Anakin with barely any effort. Yes, there are stories where Force Sensitives managed to instinctively hide what they are, I have that with Rey in chapter 1 even, but even ignoring Finn's youth, it would require him to fake a medical test (assuming it was done by an organic) without knowing what a safe test result looked like, which overly strains credibility.
So yes, Finn is just a normal person, without any special connection to the Force.
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Continuing the above point in a more general sense, I will also be sticking to movie canon as much as possible, regardless of what I think of the content. I will only be changing things if I think it is too absurd, without any semi-plausible alternatives. For instance, while unlikely, it is still feasible for Rey to be brilliant enough to have self-educated herself to be a top mechanic by scavenging on broken ships. However it is NOT feasible for the people on Takodana to have seen the results of Starkiller Base firing at a planet and destroying it, not unless that image was somehow travelling much faster than light oodles of lightyears away (with nothing blocking the image), all so people could see with their naked eyes.
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The details of Han's backstory were strongly inspired by 'Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns' by chancecraz on AO3. Same with the origin of Ben's name. I really do strongly recommend that series.
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The scene with Luke and Finn was inspired by 'How to Save Your Transports: Explain,' by MueraRashaye on AO3. Really struck me how Finn, a traumatized defector, was never really offered opportunities that did not involve him throwing himself right back into the fray against the First Order.
Also realized that there was this whole plotline about Rey getting a surname, but what about Finn!?
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Everyone keep safe, and stay as isolated as you can during this pandemic!
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Next Chapter: "Ripples in the Galaxy"
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Please Review, and I will get back to you!
