An Old Hope

[Winston]

“What’s that R-3? The message has changed? We’re not supposed to go back to the Jedi Temple? Well, all’s well I suppose, I needed some fuel anyway. Where’s the nearest central planet?”

A series of whistles and beeps came from the astromech droid positioned on the front of the Jedi star fighter he piloted. The map on the main computer came up, showing a clear path between his current position and the nearest world that was part of the central planets. These worlds were marked by the capital of the republic, and the place in which the galactic senate was held, Coruscant.

“Well then, Alderaan it is. But be careful R3, we don’t want to land in an ocean,” he chuckled. More beeps and whistles came from the computer. “Yes, yes, I know you’re a professional R3, it was a joke. You don’t have to be so testy. So what if I almost crashed that landing back on Coruscant? We survived didn’t we?”

The star fighter was then a blur, stretching out into the depths of space, only to be seen again when it reached its destination.

[Winston]

When the bright lights streaking across the window of the cockpit slowed and stopped, what it revealed was something of incredible beauty. It was Alderaan, the water planet. It was a glowing orb of blue and white swirling together with tints of greens and browns where what little land the planet had was.

The Jedi star fighter entered the atmosphere and shot across the skies in a fiery streak. Below was sparkling blue oceans, above was pale blue skies. The land was beautiful, shining beaches of soft sand, and undulating grasslands.

The ship found a place within the city to land and touched down on the pad. When Joen exited the ship, he was greeted by workers of the landing strip, prepared to fuel and maintain the ship. The last man that was there was a Twi’lek by the name of Lohlin Ayan. He was of moderate height, probably some shorter than six feet, and was a blue color. From the back of his head sprouted two “tails” you could say, although they called them lekku, and he sported dark brown robes. Joen knew him well, for he had been to the planet many times before, and Lohlin was the personal assistant to the Senator of Alderaan, Senator Organa.

“Joen Tryker, what brings you here to Alderaan?” Lohlin spoke in a deep yet somewhat slurred voice, as if he were struggling with the language.

“Well Ayan, I can’t help but say it’s business.” Joen was an average guy, six feet tall, short dark brown hair, and an unshaven jaw, from months on the front lines of the war. He was lean, but muscular, from a lifetime of Jedi training, and wore the plain tan and brown robes that all Jedi wore. “I got a message telling me to go to the Jedi Temple, for urgent business, and then I got another saying that I should stay away. I thought that I’d head here and see if Bail knew anything.”

“Unfortunately sir, Master Organa hasn’t yet arrived from Coruscant. I understand there was an urgent meeting of the Galactic Senate,” Lohlin replied.

“Oh, well then, I don’t suppose he’d mind it so much if I stayed here for a while and waited for him to get back,” Joen smiled. He was always up for free room and board.

“Of course not Master Tryker. Right this way, I’ll show you your quarters.”

They both exited the landing pad and entered Senator Organa’s personal estate.

[Winston]

“Master Skywalker, what should we do?” the youngling said.

The shadow of a man merely powered on his lightsaber, and it crashed down on the boy.

Joen woke up startled. It was a horrible dream, a dream of genocide. All of the Jedi, murdered, cut down by a dark force. “The dark side clouds many things today. A talk with Bail will do me good,” he said to himself as he got out of bed.

He walked across the room to the private bathroom and turned on the shower. “Haven’t had one of these in a while,” he said. In all the months on the war front, it was hard to find a good shower.

After hearing of the death of General Grievous, and the end of his own battle on the planet of Cato Neimoidia, he left Master Plo Koon’s command. Neimoidia was a mountainous planet with suspension bridges that cross every gap and fog covered valleys beneath them. He was glad to have been ordered to the Utapau system, a similar planet, except instead of high mountains and deep valleys, Utapau had large sinkholes throughout the planet, and, of course, no fog. He was supposed to help in the clean up of Separatist forces after the defeat of Grievous.

As he washed himself he thought about the transmission he got just after he left for Utapau. A message directly from the Jedi Temple telling all Jedi to meet there. He thought it was odd, but followed orders and made his way towards Coruscant, the planet home to the temple, as well as the capital city of the galaxy.

It was in the middle of his trip in which he got another message, this time to stay away from the Jedi Temple. It was because of this message that he was here, at Alderaan, hoping to make some sense of what was going on, and who better to talk to than a senator?

Joen got out of the shower and dried off. He went out to the bedroom and dressed himself in his usual Jedi robes. He grimaced a bit, realizing the smell that must have been coming from the robes which hadn’t been cleaned in months. He took them off and looked through the closet, he found some clean clothes to wear, and threw his robes on the bed. Now, instead of the plain Jedi robes he usually wore, he donned dark pants and a sort of sweater tunic, tied at the waist. Over that he wore a long coat, inside of which held his lightsaber.

He stepped out of the room and walked down the hallway. He noticed the distinct Alderaanian architecture. Much like their star ships, they had gleaming white walls that were almost hard to look at in too bright a light.

When he reached the Senator’s chamber, he noticed he was not there. Instead, organizing his desk, was Lohlin. “I assume that Bail hasn’t returned yet,” Joen said.

“It would seem that the emergency on Coruscant has kept him tied up,” Lohlin replied in that slurred accent.

“What’s happening on Coruscant anyway? I’ve gotten messages to stay away.”

“According to the news bursts, the Jedi have rebelled against the senate, and tried to take over. Its causing much violence in the capital, and Emperor Palpatine has called for all Jedi to be hunted down and charged with treason,” Lohlin explained.

He had said it so casually that Joen almost missed it. “Emperor?” he asked.

“Yes. The senate has agreed to create a Galactic Empire in order to maintain the Jedi rebellion and finish the Clone War,” Lohlin said.

“So the senate agreed to destroy democracy? Lovely.” He looked at Lohlin for a moment and raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to turn me in for treason?”

“Oh I would do no such thing Master Tryker. I know you well enough to realize that you wouldn’t rebel against the republic, or try to take over the Senate. If you had wished to hurt or threaten either I or Master Organa, you would have done it by now. Besides, Master Organa sent me a message earlier explaining the whole thing.”

“Explaining what thing?” Joen said, confused.

“Master Organa says that the Jedi aren’t rebelling at all, but the Emperor has ordered the destruction of the Jedi because he fears they may interfere with his plans to take over the galaxy. It seems your order to stay away from the Jedi Temple was from Master Obi Wan, warning you against an ambush by clone troopers.”

“So Obi Wan is alright?”

“Yes. Master Organa has both Master Obi Wan and Master Yoda under his protection. He is transporting them to separate worlds right now, as to lessen the chance they’ll be found.”

“And the rest of the Jedi?” Joen asked, worried.

“We don’t know. Other than you of course,” Lohlin replied.

“I suppose I should leave as soon as I talk to Bail. But where should I go? The Repub...the Empire will be hunting me down wherever I go.”

“Allow me to ask something Master Tryker. If you were piloting your star fighter against an enemy star ship, say a Republic Attack Cruiser. How would you hide from their radar?”

“Well, I’d probably fly up under them and attach myself to their hull.”

Lohlin raises his eyes a moment, and Joen thought. Then he realized what Lohlin meant.

“You think I should go to Coruscant?” Joen was surprised.

“Where better a place to hide than under their noses? They’ll search planet after planet, in both the outer and inner parts of the galaxy, but will they look in the depths of Coruscant?”

Lohlin made sense. And if he didn’t go for that reason, there may be some Jedi who disregarded, or didn’t get the second transmission about staying away from the temple, and they would need help to escape the impending ambush.

[Winston]

“So, you survived after all.”

Joen spun around at the sudden intrusion. Was it an imperial hit man? Had they tracked him to Alderaan? When he found the source of the voice, however, he was relieved, because it was a face all too familiar.

“Well, Bail, I’ve been waiting for you. I don’t remember you having treated your guests so rudely.” Senator Bail Organa was a tall man, he had dark skin, with combed over dark hair and a goatee. He had eyes that showed wisdom and bravery, and acted as a window to a mind that held many secrets of the Republic.

“I see you’ve gotten into my wardrobe. I don’t remember you being so rude to your hosts,” he retorted, noticing that Joen was wearing almost the same thing as himself.

Joen then noticed what Bail was holding in his arms. It was a small baby. “Forgive me for asking, but I thought your wife couldn’t have children.”

“She can’t, although we have tried for many years. It seems I was lucky enough to adopt this young girl into my family,” he coddled the child as he spoke. “Come, let’s go to the main family room, we can talk about it there.

They exited the Senators chambers and took another walk down the hall. When they reached the family room they sat on the long white couches that stood in the center of the room. It was an open area, not many walls, just columns marking the borders of the room, and one wall which shielded them from the outside. The walls were still white, along with the furnishings, and the only light source seemed to be from the windows on the wall.

Bail sat across from Joen, cradling the baby in his arms. “Have you heard of the Jedi Anakin Skywalker?” Bail asked.

“Sure, he is, or was, the Chancellor’s appointed representative on the Jedi Council. Not to mention the supposed chosen one said to bring balance to the force.”

“He’s much more than that I’m afraid. He is one of the most powerful Jedi knights in the galaxy.” Bail played with the baby while he spoke, waving a finger in front of her.

“So what does all this have to do with him?” Joen was confused, and a bit irritated that Bail could play with a baby at a time like this.

“Well, when faced with the choice between killing a Sith Lord or helping that same Sith Lord try and gain the ability to bring people back from the dead, he chose the latter.”

Joen was confused. “But, why?”

“His lover, his wife, Senator Amidala. He had visions that said she would die in child birth.”

“And this drove him to do what?”

“He killed Master Mace Windu while he was attempting to arrest, or kill, Chancellor Palpatine, the Sith Lord.”

“Wait a second. Palpatine is the Sith Lord we’ve been looking for? He’s the Emperor now!” Joen stood up with alarm.

“Now, now Joen, calm down. The bigger problem is Anakin. He managed to kill everyone in the Jedi Temple. Meanwhile, the clone soldiers betrayed Jedi across the galaxy. As far as we know, there are only three remaining Jedi. Master Obi Wan Kenobi, Master Yoda, and yourself.” Bail was calm with his speech, still playing with the baby.

“Where are Master Kenobi and Master Yoda?” Joen asked, taking a seat once again. Bail’s calm somehow calmed himself as well.

“I’ve put them on separate planets, parsecs apart. Master Kenobi has this little girl’s twin in his possession as well.”

Joen was confused. “Twins? Who’s are they?”


“Senator Amidala gave birth to these two just before she died. The Master Jedi and myself thought it wise to hide them, separately, so that Vader would never know of their existence. Young Luke Skywalker has been taken to his home on Tatooine, and little Leia here is to stay with me.”

“So he couldn’t save her after all. A shame.”

“Yes. But even more of a shame that their father be just as dead.”

Joen was confused. “Skywalker is dead?”

“Not dead, per say, but in a battle with Obi Wan, he was horribly burned. He lost both his legs and his remaining arm, and was unrecognizable afterwards.”

“So he’s nothing to worry about.” Joen smiled a bit, but soon that smile faded.

“Hardly, in fact, he’s now worse than ever. According to my intelligence, he’s been rebuilt.”

“Rebuilt? As in, robotics?” Joen knew about prosthetics, but he didn’t realize that one could replace that much of the body with them.

“Exactly. Half man, half machine. And he’s a foot taller as well. They now call him Darth Vader” Bail looked up for the first time, his face showed worry, something Joen didn’t normally see in him. “His anger has made him stronger Joen, I’m afraid even Master Yoda would not be able to defeat him.”

“So they go into hiding, but why? There’s nothing left of the Jedi, there’s no way we can put together any sort of resistence.”

“On the contrary. There are already plans for a Galactic Rebellion. But you’re right, there is no hope for the Jedi.” Bail smiled then, giving his attention back to little Leia. “Except for these twins. The Masters believe that they may hold the key to the defeat of Lord Vader.”

“Babies? What can they do? Vomit on Skywalker’s shoulder?” Joen stood and paced the floor. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Even if they grew up to be something special, that’s too long to wait. By then the Sith could find us, destroy us, and the babies as well.

“No. Vader would never kill his children. Despite his dark exterior, there is still a Skywalker beneath the machinery, there is still good in him.” Bail motioned for him to sit down. “So, in all this waiting, where are you to go?”

Joen sat, and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know. I thought I would go to Coruscant, see if any surviving Jedi were still on their way to the temple.”

Bail looked up again, that same worry in his eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea Joen. If Vader or the clone troops find you at the temple, they’ll kill you.”

“Well where am I supposed to go? I’m not part of this divine plan from the Jedi Masters. I’m useless. If I go somewhere it might as well be to help my fellow Jedi to survive, and maybe escape Coruscant.”

“Then where will you go? The Empire will follow you to the ends of the galaxy. And then you’ll be dead.” The raised voices startled the little girl, and she began to whine. Bail returned his attention to the baby, calming her. He spoke lightly, “There won’t be a place to hide once you’re in their sights. They’ll hunt you down forever.”

Joen was silent for a moment. He realized that Bail was right. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere in the world, nowhere in the galaxy. A billion stars out there and none could become his home, nor his hiding place.

Suddenly footsteps came from the end of the hall. Both men stood up and looked in the direction of the echoing sounds. When the source was finally visible, Bail became struck with worry. Joen steadied himself. He was prepared for battle.

“Bail Organa, we understand that you may know the whereabouts of a few of the remaining Jedi yet to be prosecuted for the rebellion. We’d like to know where they are.” The voice was muffled, as if coming from a radio. A dozen men, at least, stood in the room, all wearing white armor that almost camouflaged into the walls. They were clone troopers, looking for Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobi.

The clone talking then looked at Joen. “Who’re you?” One of the others leaned in towards the clone and whispered something. Suddenly the whirring of blasters powering on filled Joen’s ears, and he pulled out his lightsaber.

The blade extended just quick enough to begin deflecting blaster bolts jumping across the room. Joen slowly backed up as he deflected carefully, trying not to hit Bail. “Guess I’m in their sights!” he yelled. Bail covered the baby and ran to the next room.

Once he reached the corner Joen ran, heading to the hangar bay, trying to escape. White blurs covered his vision as he passed them as fast as he could. Making turn after turn, he dodged blaster fire while running for it. Finally he found the hangar, running to his starfighter he yelled, “R3! Prepare for launch!”

He leapt into the cockpit, shut the top, and shot off into the sunlit sky. Following him out of the atmosphere was blaster bolts, nearly missing him far too often. Once he reached orbit, he attached his hyper drive engine and was just a streak in the depths of space.

[Winston]

When the stars slowly became dots from the white lines that surrounded the ship, Joen had found himself at his destination. A planet that appeared on fire lay before him. Checking the computer, he found the correct coordinates; 0,0,0. The center of the universe, this was Coruscant.

The planet was covered in city scape. In fact, the only place where any soil or rock broke through to see daylight was at the top of the Manari Mountain Range. This is where laid Monument Plaza, a popular mall where citizens would go to touch the bare rock which could only otherwise be found by going deep underground.

The entire surface was one large city, with layers upon layers of structures that reached from the ground to the sky. Even the oceans and seas were drained into underground caverns and storage tanks to continue building. All that remained were small man made lakes and polar ice caps.

The lowest levels of the city were largely underpopulated, and even sunlight had not reached to those dark depths in thousands of years. This is where he would hide, beneath the light, where no man would go. If probes were sent, it would be relatively easy to evade through the catacombs of street ways and buildings.

The ship slowed to a crawl as the hyperdrive engine detached from the ship, and he passed through it on his way to atmosphere.

The line between space and sky was easy to distinguish. It was like hitting a brick wall as Joen fell deeper into his seat, and the ship jerked and pulled. The hull lit up like an ember as the friction from the dense air began to heat up the burgundy metal.

The flight became less turbulent as the ship broke atmosphere and began to fly through the sky. Passers by below would see nothing more than what looked like lightning as the heated ship passed through the clouds below. These clouds, however, were not made of water vapor. Pollution from the bustling city below created a fog across the sky, and darkened the world that much more.

The ship cooled as it passed the initial haze and Joen saw the cities. Lights strung across the horizon, creating a space-like sight that appeared as if he burst into the atmosphere for no reason.

It was night on Coruscant, making the darkness below all that much deeper. A thick layer of smog separated the bustling upper city and the lower city in which few people traveled. This is where he headed, dipping the nose of his star fighter into the smog, he made his way through its cloak to the catacombs below.

When the darkness seemed to be endless, Joen finally turned on the ship’s headlights. As soon as he had, however, beeps and whistles began going off, with a flashing sign on his terminal. “PROXIMITY ALERT” it read, over and over. Beyond the windshield he saw nothing but cement. “Damnit R-3!” he screamed. When the ship hit, all he saw, once again, was darkness.