REY AND her scout team left to investigate the planet the following morning, which meant Finn's training was now Amara's responsibility. Sure, she didn't mind, she usually had helped Finn with mediation when he didn't fully grasp something Rey was saying.
And honestly, both women noticed that Finn responds to training differently through them. Rey is more gentle in the meditation stuff but more rough when it comes to Force stuff, whereas Amara is just more blunt on meditations and a little more patient on the Force stuff.
With Rey leaving, Amara knew Ben would probably isolate himself more and more. Many people on the base have their opinions of Ben, but mostly keep it to themselves, but like Amara, Ben seemed to worry that him being here was upsetting to the children.
That morning as Amara was walking from the command center with R2 wheeling behind her. As Amara walks out of the command center fully, she is met with Chewie.
Chewie growls at Amara.
"He- what?" Amara asks.
Chewie barks at Amara.
Apparently, Ben has not been seen since Rey departed. Chewie expected to find him in the Falcon, but he wasn't there. Nor were the small belongings that Ben had.
Amara frowns.
Chewie barks at Amara.
No ships had been taken, besides what has been scheduled.
"I don't think he would've had a chance to sneak onto Rey's ship for her mission," Amara says.
Chewie growls at her.
Amara shakes her head, "Camping?" She shrugs, "Maybe."
Then a thought occurred to Amara.
"He might be out mediating. To find clarity." Amara says.
Chewie barks but tilts his head in confusion. This even causes the astromech to beep at the young Jedi in confusion.
Amara glanced from the droid to Chewie, "Clarity for Ronon." She says, "He must be out trying to find some sort of way to stop him."
R2 beeps in a sorrow tone at that and moves his head.
"Don't worry, R2. I'll be fine." Amara gives a small smile, "I am not scared of Ronon."
Chewie looks at Amara, and Amara looks up at the Wookiee. She gives him a look, a look that Chewie felt was one his former princess would give him. A "trust me" sort of look.
Amara goes to add something, when she heard her name being called. She turns around to see Connix coming over, Amara glanced back at Chewie.
"I'll find Ben later," She says.
Chewie barks at Amara.
Amara turns and heads over to Connix with R2 trailing behind her.
{A NEW ORDER}
BEN SAT at a cliff-side.
He sat criss-cross, he was preparing himself for mediation.
"Kid," Spoke a familiar voice, "What are you doing?"
Ben didn't need to open his eyes to know that voice.
"You know your sister is going to be worried about you," The voice spoke again.
Ben shakes his head, "I am doing what I need to do to protect her." He says, "You of all people know what family means to you, Luke."
Ben turns his head to look behind him.
Behold, behind Ben stood the Force ghost of Luke Skywalker.
"Ronon turning is not your fault," Luke says, "He was consumed by hatred and revenge. His actions are not on you."
Ben frowns, "But it was my choices that left him going down that path. If I hadn't done what I did-," Ben grits his teeth, "The galaxy would be much different."
Luke walks over to his nephew. Luke sits down next to Ben and kept his eyes on the man.
"Playing that game will only leave you going mad, Ben. The what ifs, I mean. The choices you made, the path you led, they are never going to go away. Our actions have consequences, Ben, and you must atone for your failures." Luke says.
Ben looks away from Luke, frowning.
"Amara and Rey see a light in you," Luke says, "I know my sister did as well. Ben, you are able to make up for the bad you've done. You just need to learn to accept forgiveness to yourself. Leia, Han, Rey, and Amara have all done that to you. Some of the people here have done that, Ben. But why can't you?"
Ben looks at Luke, "Because I am a monster."
Luke shakes his head, "A monster? No. Lied to. Misunderstood. Swayed. Controlled. Maybe all of those things, maybe none of those things. But Palpatine is gone, for good this time. The Force is shifting, trying to find balance with no more Sith. Ronon is filling that void Palpatine left." Luke says.
Ben looks at Luke.
"Darkness always existed, Ben. I had expected you to accept your redemption through bringing back Rey from the grave, but- but Amara had other plans." Luke says, "Now that they're are three Jedi and one in the making, the balance is uneven."
Ben frowns, "And if I had died, it would've still been uneven."
"Yes, but you wouldn't be able to right your wrongs. You are giving some of those former troopers a chance to find their families. You've been helping Rey with training. You've been forthcoming with information about the insides of the First Order to Poe." Luke says, "And most of all, you've been doing what your parents would've love to have seen. You and Amara. The bond has gotten stronger. I know you feel it."
Ben gives a small smile to that.
Luke kept his eyes on his nephew.
Ben then frowns, "She's stronger than me, Luke." He says.
"I know," Luke says, "Stronger than maybe any Skywalker before her."
Ben glanced at Luke, "I want to be able to protect her from Ronon," He says, "From all my mistakes."
Luke gives Ben a supportive smile, "She doesn't need protecting, Ben." He says, "Amara is so much like Leia, Amara might be offended to hear you thinking she needs protecting."
Ben let out a small laugh at Luke's comment.
"But despite what I say, I do want you to look out for her." Luke says, "She may be able to handle herself, but she still needs to wrestle with her own fear. It's holding her back."
Ben looks at Luke, "I know." He says, "She is even aware of her own fear and the fact that she hasn't tried to resolve it-,"
"She has friends and family in her corner," Luke says, "It's not an issue many people can just get over."
Ben frowns, "No. It isn't."
{A NEW ORDER}
THE PLANET was a small one. It was in the Outer Rim but far from Ajan Kloss, heck, none of those apart of the scouting mission knew what the planet's name even was.
Torin had landed them near a village, or what was left of a village.
When Jannah, Rey, and Torin all stepped out of the of the ship and began to walk towards the village. The village was empty, destroyed.
Rey frowns.
"Sensing something?" Jannah asks looking at Rey.
Rey looks around, "It doesn't appear anyone has been living here in quite a long time."
Torin, who had walked ahead, knelt down and was studying something in the dirt. He turns his head back to Jannah and Rey.
"It appears there is a trail of foot steps leading into the woods," Torin says as he rose, "Think that's where the people?"
Rey looks around, "I don't like this,"
There was just this eerier feeling, as Rey reached for her lightsaber and ignited it. Jannah and Torin took that as a sign to get close to Rey, and hold their blasters out.
Torin glanced around, looking at the debris of the buildings and the rumble, and then to Rey. Rey had a calm composure on her face, her hands held the handle of her yellow saber tightly.
"Whoever is there," Rey calls out, "We're not First Order! We're not here to fight!"
There was silence.
Then there was some rustling in the brushes behind them, Torin jumped and held his blaster tighter.
Jannah then speaks, "We're here looking for parents who lost their children by the First Order," She says, "We've found some of them and would like to return them home."
The rustling sound behind then continued until stepping out was an elder male with a few other males pointing spears at the three.
But the elder's eyes widen once he saw the lightsaber.
"Kal," The elder says, "Mika, lower your weapons. A Jedi is no enemy."
The two males, Kal and Mika, did exactly what the elder ordered. As did the other men that Torin and Jannah noticed had surrounded them.
Rey turns off her saber and looks at the elder, she attached her saber to her belt. Torin and Jannah looks at Rey, before placing their blasters in their holsters.
"My name is Rey Skywalker," Rey says, "This is Jannah and Torin Kallus. We are here from the Resistance."
The elder nods, "So does that mean the war is over? The First Order is no more?"
"We defeated Palpatine and took out the majority of their fleets. We won the war, but it doesn't mean they've given up." Rey tells the man.
The elder nods again, "Forgive my men. We did not know who you were when we saw your spacecraft land. We thought you were more of the First Order who took children from our village a year ago." He says, "I am the elder in the village. My name is Naoiki,"
Rey nods at Naoiki with a small smile, "It is nice to meet you, Naoiki." She says, "We have images of the children on a datapad,"
As Rey says that, Jannah hands the datapad to Rey.
"We were hoping that some of your people could look at the images of the children and maybe we can bring them home." Rey says.
Naoiki looks at the datapad and then nods, "Of course." He says, "Follow me, Master Jedi."
{A NEW ORDER}
AMARA FOUND herself by the tent where the children were, she saw that the children were playing with some of the astromechs on the base.
However, she didn't see Orson.
A frown escaped her lips.
She glanced around the tent and it was certain, he wasn't in the tent.
Worry was apparent on Amara's face.
She stepped away from the tent and glanced around, trying to focus on where he was. She stepped out of the cave and found herself sensing something into the jungle.
Amara sprinted through the path made into the jungle. She felt some branches hit her and some leaves clashing with her face. She was certain there would be small scratches on her face.
She jumped in the air, grabbing a branch and swinging herself forward. She sprinted further and further until she found herself near a stream of water.
"Help-!" A faint yell called out.
Amara's head snapped to the direction and sprinted further.
She managed to come to a stop at a cliff-side where Orson was hanging from the edge. Amara quickly grabbed a hold of the boy's arm.
"I got you, Orson!" Amara yelled.
She grabbed the boy and pulled him over the edge and into her embrace. Orson held onto Amara and began to sob.
"What were you thinking? What were you doing out here?" Amara asks as she held him tight.
Orson held onto Amara as he continued to sob.
Amara frowns, she was glad he was alright and safe, but she was doing what Poe told her not to, get attached. She was forming a bond with the boy, and she knows once Rey returns from her mission, he'll be leaving.
"I wanted- I wanted to be a Jedi too," Orson cried, "So I- I tried to do the cool things you and Minister Finn can do, but I lost my balance and fell-,"
Amara held onto him tighter and kissed the top of his head, "It's okay, Orson. I got you." She says.
{A NEW ORDER}
POE STOOD with Finn and a few other officers in the command center with a call from Rey. He looked at the blue hologram of Rey, behind her he could make out Torin and Jannah.
"So contact went well?" Poe asks.
"We had a little bump in the beginning but the villagers were welcoming," Rey says, "They are allowing us to rest here for the night."
Finn nods, "That's good." He says.
"Did they make any ID?" Poe asks.
Rey nods, "At least three of them, Poe." She says.
Finn looking at a datapad with the images of the kids on it, "Which ones?"
"The ones calling themselves Rocket, Star, and Ivy." Rey says, "We are going to be showing them some of the images from any other former trooper we have in our data base in case there might be more with an origin from here."
Poe nods, "That's smart."
"So, does that mean the other five aren't from that village?" Finn asks, "Gavin, Maeve, Orson, Max, and Ember are from somewhere else?"
Rey shakes her head, "Apparently one of the villagers claim that Orson was from this village, but his parents were slaughtered by First Order soldiers when they refuse to turn Orson over. After they collected the children, they murdered all the parents. Some escaped, like the elder and the others, but a lot of them were slaughtered then."
Poe frowns as he shakes his head.
Finn also frowns.
"The elder has offered to claim the other children, that is if the children wish to come here." Rey says.
"That's great," Poe says.
"It has to be there choice, Poe, they haven't had a voice in so long. They need to make this choice on their own." Rey says.
Finn nods agreeing.
Poe nods, he looks at Finn and then back to Rey.
"Alright, well you contact us with any additional information from the village, if they ID any other former trooper we've saved." Poe says, "Finn and I will speak to the children. All of them. Letting them know who's parents are alive and who's aren't, and giving them their choices."
Rey nods, "Talk to you soon," She says.
Then the call ended.
Poe leans forward, his hands resting on the table. Finn walks over and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"We are going to be able to reunite three families and give some of them closure." Finn says, "I was really hoping this wasn't going to be the outcome, either."
Poe sighs and looks at Finn, "I just didn't want my gut to be right. I had a feeling less could be reunited with their parents- I just-,"
Finn nods, "I know."
Poe shakes his head, "Okay, let's go talk to the kids." He says.
{A NEW ORDER}
AMARA FOUND herself at her perch, her getaway place that evening.
She was staring at the starry night above.
Since Palpatine, Amara has known something has been reaching out to her. A darkness, an evil presence.
She is too aware of it.
She became fully aware at Naboo. And now with Ronon, she was positive it has to be him to some degree. Reaching out, but now, now the feeling isn't telling her she is like Vader or like Ren.
Instead, she's been feeling cold.
"Luke," Amara says, "This is a first, usually Anakin is the one to greet me here."
A chuckle is heard behind her, "Well I decided to visit my nephew and niece today." Said Luke.
Amara turns around to look at him.
"What are running from?" Luke asks.
Amara's eyes narrow.
"You're strong, Amara. Stronger than Ben, me, hell maybe even stronger than my father. But you are afraid, why?" Luke asks.
"Why question it? My strength could jeopardize so much. I could- I could hurt people. I can't let that happen," Amara says.
Luke walks over and sits next to Amara. He looks at his niece and gives her a small smile on his face. He exhales and then looks from the stars.
"Nights like these make me think back to a different time," Luke says smiling.
"Back when you, mom, and dad were fighting the Empire?" Amara asks.
Luke looks at her, "It wasn't just them," He says, "We had help. A lot of help."
"I know that, obviously." Amara says.
Luke kept the smile on his face as he looks to the stars, "Did your mother or father ever mention your Aunt Freya?"
Amara's eyes furrow, "I have an Aunt Freya?" She asks.
Luke had a look like he was remembering something fond, "Freya went way back with Han and Chewie. She knew them before I even came into the picture." He says, "Freya was orphaned after her parents were killed and relied on herself, until she selflessly saved your father's life, after that they became friends."
Amara stares at Luke.
"But- But despite claiming to be a scoundrel, she was more than that." Luke found himself smiling.
"You loved her," Amara spoke.
Luke nods.
"Why is this the first I am hearing of her? Why didn't mom or- or why didn't dad tell us of her?" Amara asks.
Luke looks at the stars, "After the war," He frowns, "Despite the victory, things still needed to get done."
Amara frowns.
"I wanted to rebuild the Jedi Order, training next generations of Jedi," Luke says, "Frey, she- she wanted nothing to do with the Force."
"Why?" Amara asks.
"She feared what she could do," Luke says, "She and I knew she was strong, but she let fear conquer her life."
Amara frowns.
"After maybe five years after the defeat of the Empire-," Luke sighs, "That was the last I saw of Frey."
Amara looks down, "And you don't know if she is dead or not?"
"I know she's still living, breathing, surviving." Luke says, "I have many regrets Amara, one of those is letting Freya go. I wished I fought harder to keep her close, to help her overcome her fears. But, I know I can't change the past, all I know is I can try to help you."
Amara looks at Luke.
"Convince you to not run from your fear," He says, "It'll only destroy what you want to protect. Trust me."
Amara nods.
Luke looks from his niece and then back to the sky above. The starry night was so beautiful and clear.
"I bet she also has regrets for leaving," Amara says, "She probably wished she could right her wrongs too."
Luke gives a sad smile, "Maybe, but it's been quite some time, surely she's forgotten about me by now."
Amara looks at Luke, "I doubt it."
(re-uploaded: 7/19/21)