DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Qui-Gon was sitting on the couch when Luke arrived at his room, watching the transports pass by like huge glowing insects. “It’s an incredible view,” Luke commented, glancing out with round eyes.
“Mm-hm,” Qui-Gon replied with a small smile. “How is Yobbo?”
“He seems at home here,” Luke replied, flopping down in a chair and wincing. “Ow, my back. That river is huge, it’s going to take days to clean it all.”
“You’ll live.”
“That is entirely a matter of opinion.”
Qui-Gon laughed, standing up. “The river will have to wait for a few weeks, Luke. Tomorrow, more things are going to happen. You’ve got to be ready... and well-rested.” His shimmering form began to blur a little around the edges. “Good night, Luke.”
“G’night,” Luke replied, slumping sideways on the couch and pulling a throw pillow over his head.
The forests of Endor. Green, lush, with the faint flickers of celebration bonfires and the sounds of drums being beaten. Luke smelled the tangy odor of the wet leaves, heard the odd singing of the Ewoks and the calls of the Rebel soldiers.
And saw ghosts.
Hundreds of bluish spirits, wafting through the forests. Jedi, watching and smiling on Luke as he watched them. They seemed to flicker in and out like flames in a brief wind, wending through the Force quietly.
And Luke felt other presences gather near him. Some were ancient, wise. Some were curious, eager, seeking knowledge. But they were Jedi. And he could feel them coming towards him...
Thup thup thup thup....
The faint sounds somehow penetrated Luke’s pillow, pulled over his head. He slowly rolled over, tossing the pillow off. “What the...” he murmured, getting up and stumbling out into the corridor.
Yobbo was jogging down the passage, his tan tunic rolled up to his rather knobby knees, the small brown topknot bobbing as he ran. The clawed feet made odd thup noises as he ran. He glanced at the sleepy younger Jedi in the doorway. “Good morning, it is.”
“Morning, Master Yobbo,” Luke groaned, running a hand through his blond hair. “Where’s Rath?”
“In garden, he is. Tending flowers, he is.” Yobbo stopped running and looked up at Luke, critically, as if reading his thoughts. A horny finger poked Luke in the knee. “Eat first, you must.”
“Yessir,” Luke replied, turning and wandering away.
Kayvee was standing behind a large lunch counter, with a pot of what looked and smelled like meat stew in front of her. Luke sat down at a small round table and rubbed at his forehead, trying to wake up.
“Master Luke!” Threepio chirped. Luke winced a little as he banged against a table edge, but the golden droid seemed undaunted. “I am so glad to see you. Did you rest well?”
“Yeah,” Luke replied, smiling. “Where’s Artoo?”
“He is helping Master Rath with the blooming cabelliras, sir,” Threepio explained, as Kayvee approached with a steaming bowl. She set it down and quickly scuttled back to the pot. “But Master Luke...”
Threepio hesitated. Luke took a hesitant bite of the meat, asking, “What?”
“Perhaps you should speak to Master Rath about it,” Threepio said, bobbing a little with excitement. “Several other Jedi Knights have arrived... Master Luke?”
The bowl overturned on the table, spilling the brown stew onto the tabletop as Luke leaped up and raced out of the room, the doors opening only seconds before he dashed through them.
Threepio watched him with a small flicker of confusion, then gathered up the bowl and spoon with one metal hand, then wiped at the spill with a small cloth.
Luke heard them before he saw them, a faint buzz of talk and laughter coming from the gardens. As the doors whizzed open, he stopped and stared. A faint twisting inside his chest accompanied the smile from Rath. The older Jedi was sitting on a rather mossy stone bench, dangling his legs over the edge.
A crowd. of Jedi occupied the gardens. Varying species, of varying ages. Some were Rath’s age or older, some were younger than Luke. But all wore the tan and brown tunics and robes of the Jedi.
Many of them were human. But Luke saw a few Rodians, Twi’lek, Qermians, a Whiphid, a couple of Cereans, and others. They talked, laughed, and one of them appeared to be miming near the end of the gardens. Several were reclining on long, supple vines and branches that were not cleared away.
As Luke gaped, a teenage boy emerged from the crowd. He looked about thirteen, with blond hair cropped close to his head, and round blue eyes.
“Are you Luke Skywalker?” he asked quietly.
Luke looked at him, and smiled, feeling almost giddy. “Yes, I am. And you are?”
The boy grinned suddenly and held out his hand. “Jedi Padawan Alris.”
Luke shook Alris’s hand, glancing around. “Padawan?” he asked quizzically, the word falling awkwardly from his tongue.
Alris cocked an eyebrow. “Apprentice. You didn’t know?”
“No, I did not,” Luke sighed, the image of Yoda leaning on his cane flashing before his eyes. “You only arrived this morning?”
Alris nodded eagerly. “Master Caann found out about the Emperor’s death only a few days ago. Then she packed us up and got the first transport to Coruscant.”
“Have you ever been here before?” Luke asked, glancing up at the shining side of the Temple above them.
Alris shook his head. “No, never. I’ve never even been to the Temple before.”
“Until a few days ago, I hadn’t either.” Luke grinned broadly at the young boy, getting an equal smile in return. Something about the boy reminded him of himself, naive farmboy from Tatooine.
Rath materialized beside Luke, smiling broadly, next to a small woman with gray-streaked dark hair and the odd mottled skin of a Acepian. Her slit eyes seemed to size Luke up, and he felt like fidgeting under her gaze. She extended one webbed hand to him. “I’m Sol-Li Caann,” she fluted. “You are...”
“Luke Skywalker,” Luke said, taking and shaking her hand.
“Skywalker?” Sol-Li said, staring at him. “Related to Anakin Skywalker?”
Luke sighed. He had known that it had to come eventually, the question about him and his father. He just hoped he didn’t have to answer it too often. “Anakin Skywalker was my father.”
Sol-Li nodded a little, and smiled. “I am glad to hear of what you have done from Rath. My apprentice and I,” she nodded towards Alris, “have been living on the Outer Rim, and have not had the opportunity to hear much. It took a long time for the news of the Emperor’s death to reach us on Taborik.”
“It was boring there,” Alris said, making a face. “Boring, cold, and humid.”
Sol-Li smiled at her apprentice, then glanced at Rath, who was trying hard not to laugh. She folded her hands into her sleeves as she asked, “Have the enviromental controls for the rooms been altered?”
“Yes, I know Acepians need to keep their skin moist,” Rath grinned, waving his broad hands. “Don’t worry, Li. Your room will be as humid as you like.”
“Just so long as I don’t have to be there,” Alris piped.
The next day seemed to be a flurry of activity for Luke. The simplicity of the past few days, only with Rath and the droids, and then Yobbo.
Now, other Jedi walked through the halls, often greeting him. They had unpacked their belongings in those few hours, and silver Kayvee was in a flurry cooking for them, chirping for help from Threepio.
Luke was astonished at the sudden feeling of family that washed over the Temple like a warm blanket. He had felt that feeling with only a few people, and the fact that these people, strangers though they were, were also Jedi, was a great comfort to him.
The river was almost clear of the greenish sludge, thanks to the efforts of several Jedi. The gardens were slowly being tamed, and Luke had been hacking at the deadwood on the trees for almost two hours. His back was on fire from the repetitive exercise, cooled somewhat by the breezes that wafted through the garden.
Luke heard Rath come behind him, boots crunching the dead leaves, and took another hack with his knife. “What did she say?” he asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead and turning to face his friend.
“I’ve been speaking with the Chancellor,” Rath said quietly, glancing around the garden. “There are seventy-five Jedi here, including the apprentices, most of which are ready to be knighted. If we choose a Jedi Council now... then everything will be as it was.”
Luke dropped his knife, and turned to look at Rath. The older man had tears in his eyes, tears of joy and relief. He smiled waveringly at Luke. “I’ve waited so long,” he murmured, wiping at his eyes.
Luke felt a relieved smile split his face. “Rath?”
“Hmm?” the older man asked, his attention snapping back to the present.
“I just wanted to thank you... thank you for bringing me here,” Luke said, gesturing at the Temple. “Thank you.”
Rath smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. “Yobbo’s already been elected for the Council,” he commented, his voice rising to its normal boom. “So has Edoras Windu, Dreen Dos-Me-Lan, Sol-Li Caann, Yal-Mi Jinn, Matchetotchi, and others you’ve never heard of.”
Luke glanced out over Coruscant, thinking.
The Jedi were assembled in the Council Chamber, the newly-cleaned room barely large enough for them all. Talking was almost impossible in the loud discussions that were going on. Luke slowly shouldered his way past Jedi Knights Ta’Bilon and Dreen Dos-Me-Lan, towards Yobbo. The tiny Jedi Master was seated by a window in one of the partially-filled twelve seats that ringed the room, speaking softly with a tall, quietly serene Jedi woman named Acswen.
He felt non-Jedi eyes on him as he approached the Jedi Master. Chancellor Mothma had come, as had Han, Chewie, and some of the senators, even though Leia was still on Ord Mantell, overseeing the end of the base construction. He wished his sister could be there for this.
He only hoped he was doing the right thing. For Rath’s sake... he owed the old man so much.
Luke smiled nervously at Han and Chewie, who waved at him and smiled encouragingly. The chancellor nodded and smiled as well, but kept her blue-clad arms folded in a dignified manner. Luke sighed, and cleared his throat.
“Need to speak, you do?” Yobbo asked, glancing past Acswen towards Luke. Luke nodded, knelt, and whispered something.
Yobbo listened, his large ears cocked. A tiny smile crept over his lined green face as he listened through the loud talking in the room, then murmured, “Thought you would ask, I did.”
Then he touched his clawed fingers to his lips and let a shrill whistle blast through the room. The assembled Jedi jumped, then glanced at the small Master sitting in front of them.
“Your attention, may I have!” Yobbo called, his crackling voice echoing. “Nominated another Jedi Council member! Jedi Yar-Rath Aro!”
Rath gasped, looking at Luke with dark eyes gone wide. Luke felt a sudden pang as he wondered if the ex-bartender actually wanted the post. Had he made a mistake?
“But I...” Rath stammered softly.
“Experienced, wise you are,” Yobbo said quietly. “Clear sight you have, compassion and feeling for the Force.”
Rath seemed to think this over for a moment, then nodded slightly, stepping forward and seating himself uncomfortably in a Council seat. “I thank you, Jedi Skywalker,” he said quietly.
Yobbo coughed. “Other news I have. Over the Republic, midichlorian counts are being taken. Trained, most children under three years old will be. On their way, many are already.”
A ripple of amazement went through Luke. A cheer rose from the assembled Jedi, drowned out slightly by an enthusiastic roar from Chewie. Rath waved his hand, and the cheering died down. “I would like,” he said loudly, “to thank one man for this. Luke Skywalker, without whom this would not have been possible.”
Every face in the room turned to Luke, and the cheer rose again, louder and more enthusiastic this time. Hands began to clap thunderously, as well as another roar from Chewie and yell from Han. Alris dashed out and hugged Luke.
But as Luke bowed awkwardly, he saw four figures standing before him, clapping as well. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Qui-Gon Jinn. Yoda. And his father, Anakin Skywalker, applauding most of all, grinning proudly and happily.