What Could Have Been Part III: The Destined Warriors

Beginning Again (Re-edited )

       Hey guys so I was rereading this story and I realized that I wasn't satisfied with the was I ended it (it being rushed and short) so I decided to rewrite the chapter. There aren't any major changes other than it giving more information on details that I meant to include concerning to futures of the characters. I just wanted to give this story the ending it deserved so I hope you all enjoy this rewrite of Beginning Again...

        Luke

        "Do you, Ahsoka Tano Bonteri, swear to retake your duties to protect the innocent and maintain peace throughout the galaxy and to put the needs of the New Order before your own desires and attachments?"

         "I do."

         Luke watched his father rise from his chair in the Temple Hall as Ahsoka knelt in front of him. "Then by the power vested in me by the living Force, I hereby reinstate you, Ahsoka Tano Bonteri, as Jedi Knight of the Alliance."

         Much like at his and Leia's coronation, Luke heard the crowd erupt in a mighty applause. Through much convincing, Ahsoka had accepted the Council's offer to reinstate her as a Jedi Knight of the Alliance. She and Lux would now live in the Temple with their son and daughter where they would be protected and happy. Lux could come out of hiding and take a much earned position in the Galactic Council with Luke's mother where they would continue to maintain peace throughout the galaxy.

         At the after party of the ceremony, Luke found himself in the spotlight of a dozen Holonet News Casters armed with cameras and questions.

         "Luke! Tell us a little bit about what happened on Onderon..."

         Luke hesitated. He remembered the promise he and Leia had made to never speak of what happened and he remembered the nightmares he had had in the weeks following that day on Onderon. He would never be the same, but Leia never treated him differently. Some changes, he guessed, were just part of life. "Some stories are best left untold," he answered the reporter, feeling like his words sounded satisfyingly Ahsoka-like. A woman from Holo-net news nudged up to the front of the crowd.

       "Do you have any comments on the death of Master Obi-wan Kenobi?"

       Luke didn't hear about Master Kenobi's death until a few hours after his return to the base. He had been too worried about getting Leia to a medical center. His sister had suffered from three broken ribs and a sprained wrist among other scratches and wounds and he didn't leave her side until she was in capable care. As for his father, Luke didn't think he would ever be his old self again. Obi-wan had been like his father and no one is the same after losing a parent. But Luke didn't worry about him. Ahsoka was back and her return to his life seemed to be enough to patch the wounds of loss left on his father. "No. I don't have any comments," Luke admitted somewhat softly to the woman who jotted his words down.

         "Is your father really going to retire?"

         The question came from a man with a camera droid following behind him. Luke almost laughed at the question. "A Jedi never retires," he replied. "He is, however, taking a leave of absence for a much needed vacation to Naboo with my mother." Luke pushed the idea of his parents second honeymoon out of his head as a small chuckle emitted from the crowd. He would leave that one to their own imaginations.

        "And what about Ahsoka Tano?" Luke shrugged his shoulders. "She's here isn't she?" he asked rhetorically. Ahsoka was and would be the most mysterious person Luke ever met and he thought that this question deserved an equally mysterious answer. The Jedi and mother had only accepted reinstatement into the Order under the condition that she could continue to live by her own rules. She could come and go as she pleased and Lux and her children would still remain her number one priorities. The Jedi Council didn't hesitate to disagree with her demands, aside from Anakin, who in the end, won the argument with the belief that the Order had no choice but to settle. They owed it to her.

        "And what about her son and daughter? Aren't they Force sensitive?" the same reporter inquired. Luke nodded his head. "They'll grow up to be excellent Jedi. After all, Leia and I will be training them," he added proudly. After long discussion with Ahsoka and extensive debate with the Council, it was decided that Luke and Leia would train the two children of Lux and Ahsoka. A master's children training those of his apprentice. Luke couldn't imagine a better way to continue the legacy. "Your sister?" another newscaster interrupted. "Isn't she engaged to Captain Solo? Will this interfere with the wedding?"

        This had to have been Luke's favorite question of all. He answered it carefully, however, knowing that Leia would see the report on the Holo-net later. "Due to Leia's new commitment to the apprenticeship, she and Captain Solo have postponed their engagement indefinitely. The captain will be busy with his new position a Commanding Officer in the Alliance Navy anyhow. I'm sure the love birds could tell you more themselves," he assured them.

         "But why keep training Jedi? Haven't the Sith been defeated?"

        Luke thought the question over. This one was a tough one to explain to the public but he found his words after a brief pause. "The Jedi are keepers of the peace. It's in our mandate to be prepared even when what we are preparing for has yet to come. Leia and I may have won our battle against the Sith, but we are only a small part of a legacy much bigger than us."

        "And what's next for the 'Destined Warriors of Prophecy'?"

        Luke smiled at the question as he turned around to see that it had not come from any reporter but from his own sister. Leia rested a hand on her brother's shoulder and smirked up at him. Luke smiled back at her. Now this question, it was a good one. How could they- how could anyone- know what paths laid ahead of them, Jedi or not. But he knew exactly how to answer.

        "We will continue to train. Train ourselves and train those who will come after us. We will rely on one another when we are weak, and be the support for one another when we are strong. We will stand together as Jedi, as brother and sister, and as friends, so that when the day comes that the Jedi are needed again- and that day will come- we'll be ready..."

       "Anymore questions?"

                                                                                   THE END