R2 made it into the small hut. He was about to voice more of his complaints about Dagobah's uneven terrain but resisted at the sight of Sol's old Master. He shuffled himself into a corner behind Sol and stayed silent as the woman sat with her legs crossed. While the Jedi sat next to Master Yoda's cot, R2 saw how much Master Yoda had changed since the droid had last seen him.
At the sight of the green Master's shaking head and heavy-lidded eyes, R2 thought about how awful it was that non-droid species decayed with age. While droids eventually powered down, but could have their data transferred to another set of parts, humans and other organic species withered away. They got to a point where they couldn't be repaired, and R2 didn't like to see the small green man so frail and old.
'Barely sensed you, I did. Your signature, I do not see,' Master Yoda said to his ex-Padawan.
'I'm hiding my presence, Master... from the Empire.'
'Ah, hm, the Empire, yes.'
Master Yoda's head jerked as if to nod along with his words. Sol wondered if he talked to himself while on the swampy planet. Without someone to talk to, one could get incredibly lonely. Living in such a wasteland had to drive even the most logical of people mad.
'Master... you've been alone here for all of this time?' Sol said, her voice low and cracking.
'The quiet, I like. A simple life, I have lived,' Master Yoda hummed. His words struggled to leave his lips and the small man cleared his throat with a weak cough. Sol heard the unlatching of mucus at his splutter, and when she adjusted her place on the floor, Master Yoda lifted his head in a forced urgency.
'Leaving, are you?-'
'No, no, no, Master. I'm not leaving,' Sol rushed and leaned forward to ease his head back on to the pillow. 'Please... just rest, okay?'
Sol's heart quivered at how his long-eared head dropped as he let out a loud sigh. Every movement was painful, and Master Yoda was struggling to stay awake. But Sol could see that he was fighting the urge to sleep on her arrival, he didn't want her to leave so soon.
It pained Sol to think of how long Master Yoda had been alone on Dagobah. She remembered how he used to hobble around the Jedi Temple with his walking stick, but to see him bed-ridden, was heart-wrenching. Sol wondered how long he had been unable to walk around. Although his house was small, it would take a great deal of strength for Master Yoda to move to the kitchen for food, and to move towards the fire for warmth. She didn't like to see her Master in pain, and she especially didn't like to think of how lonely he must have been for the six years.
'Master... Satele Shan told me to come here. She said... that you're dying,' Sol let out with a crack in her voice.
'Hm, my time has come. Become-' Master Yoda's voice strained before he cleared his throat. '-one with Force, I will. A Jedi's great power, this is. The final journey for me, it will be.'
'B-But... there's still so much I have to ask. The Emperor is terrorising the galaxy, a-and the ancient prophecy still hasn't been fulfilled,' Sol said. 'Master... I'm not the Chosen One. I-I wasn't a child of the Force.'
Master Yoda blinked sleepily. Sol half-expected him to turn to her with wide eyes and exclaim something in surprise. The Jedi Council expressed their confusion about who the Chosen One was throughout the time of the Republic, and Sol thought that by telling her ex-Master about what she had found out, that he would be shocked. But there was no croaky hum from his throat, or a thoughtful claw to his dry chin. He remained laid back against his pillow and looked up to the ceiling of his hut.
'Learnt this, I have. Learnt a lot in my lifetime, I have. Learnt about you and Skywalker, I also have.'
When Sol's eyes widened, a few tears slipped down her face. She always found herself crying, but in the presence of her dying Master, she couldn't help it. Sol was suddenly thrown back to being a Jedi Knight at the temple, where she and Anakin played off their interaction as spiteful bickering. But in reality, Sol and Anakin were hiding their relationship, and Master Yoda's admission made Sol freeze.
'Y-You know?' she stammered.
'Known for a while, I have,' Master Yoda's eyes remained on the ceiling. 'Bonded, you two have been. Suspicions, I had, when you and Skywalker were captured on Geonosis. The Jedi way, this was not. Your attachments were dangerous, but made me aware of your destiny, Satele did.'
Sol wanted to say that she was shocked and panicked to hear that Master Yoda knew about her and Anakin. But the times of the Jedi code were gone, and the dark side had already taken Anakin; just as the Jedi Order feared.
When Sol thought about it, it was foolish to think that no one knew about her and Anakin's secret. While Sol tried to show distaste and irritation in Anakin's presence, the Skywalker struggled to hide his emotions. Especially when they just graduated to being Jedi Knights, where Anakin found it hard to keep his staring subtle. His orange Force signature never failed to flare while in Sol's presence, and he gave her smiles that he never gave to anyone else. Sol should have known that Master Yoda, of all people, would have noticed Anakin and Sol's closeness.
'Master,' Sol pushed aside her thoughts of the painful past, and asked the question that had been asked for generations. 'Who will defeat the Sith?'
The back of the small man's head shifted against the pillow. The tears that had spilt from Sol's eyes had ceased, and under her ex-Master's pointed stare, Sol waited in anticipation. Answers were hard to come by in Sol's life, but beside her Master's death bed, it could be her first moment of enlightenment.
'The Chosen One, you are not,' Sol's shoulders almost sagged. 'But vital to the greater destiny, you are. A guide to the light, you are. To keep him close to the light, your role is. Even when he seems to have strayed too far, bring him back, you will.'
Him? There was only one person who could be the Chosen One. There was only one person who was said to have had the highest midi-chlorian count in history. There was only one person who was born to his mother without a father. There was only one person who was so powerful that if he fell to the dark side, the galaxy would be left in darkness.
'Anakin. It was Anakin all along, wasn't it?'
Her Master hummed.
'But Master, Anakin is gone... he... he changed.'
'Changed, he has. But gone, he is not. He only needs the light.
Failed, we did. The Council were to blame. Wrong, we were, to restrict-' Master Yoda coughed. '-Skywalker. We hoped you would be the one to bring balance to the Force. It is why we kept you in the temple. Your light is precious, my young Sol.
But we were wrong. I was wrong. We let Skywalker fall to the dark side, and now, the Sith are more powerful than ever.
A poor Master, I was to you. Sorry, I am, Sol.'
'No, no, Master, don't say that.'
Sol couldn't believe her ears. An apology from Master Yoda was something that Sol had yearned for during the times of the Republic.
He had abandoned her when she was still a Padawan. She never made it off Coruscant under Master Yoda's teachings, but when Obi-wan saw Sol's potential, she finally showed her Master that she was powerful. And when Sol became a Knight, the Grand Master was so busy with the clone wars, that Sol barely ever saw him.
It was how Sol got so close to Anakin, as their missions were almost always carried out together. Sol was forced to become independent, and Master Yoda was saying sorry.
But Sol didn't feel satisfied. With the old man shaking under his blanket, and hoots sounding from animals outside the hut, Sol felt guilty.
Master Yoda had been by himself for so long that he had no choice but to ponder his past mistakes. The man had lost everything; his fellow Jedi, his Padawan, and everything he knew because of the dark side. The clone wars had disrupted the galaxy and turned the Jedi into soldiers for the Republic. This wasn't what Master Yoda wanted for the new generations, and it all ended in loss. The Jedi had fought for nothing while under the guidance of Grand Master Yoda.
Sol couldn't imagine how that must have felt, and to have no one to talk to about it, Master Yoda's descent into his final days must have been quicker than expected.
Sol couldn't let the old man apologise to her on his death bed. It didn't feel right, and despite his absence, Master Yoda had taught her so much without knowing it.
'You prepared me for so much,' Sol put her hand on her ex-Master's shoulder with the tears brewing in her eyes again. 'You helped me survive. I couldn't have done any of this without your training.'
'But a mentor, I was not. A friend, I was not. Distracted me, the clone wars did. Sorry, I am, Sol. Forgive me, could you ever?' he looked up at Sol as his voice was failing him. His deep frown and pleading eyes made Sol want to weep. Her dying Master was pleading for her forgiveness.
Sol sniffled and her cheeks bunched up below her watery eyes. The pools glistened with violet until they fell down her cheeks. Everything that had happened since she last saw her Master hit Sol, and she thought about all that she had survived because of her connection to the Force. Her sensing of Force signatures, her power when in battle, and her ability to hide her presence, was all from her Master's training.
Master Yoda may not have been a Master like Obi-wan, but he had taught Sol everything he knew about survival and the tranquility of the Force.
'Of course, Master... I-I forgive you,' Sol said in a sob.
'Hm,' Master Yoda hummed, a smile ghosting across his face. 'Warm my heart, that does. You are too kind, Sol. The kindest Jedi I have ever known, you are.'
Sol was a mess. She had her Master's appreciation, and most of all; she had her Master's love. With her face sodden and redness blooming on her nose, Sol sobbed as Master Yoda let out his last few coughs. The man who had guided her from the lower levels of Coruscant to the Jedi that she was today, was dying. Sol didn't want Master Yoda to die, and she didn't want to be alone. But Master Yoda was becoming one with the Force, and Sol couldn't forget that this was his final desire.
'Don't go, Master,' Sol squeezed his shoulder, her voice cracking with despair. 'Please...'
'Always with you, I will be,' Master Yoda said with his kind eyes staring at his ex-Padawan. 'Children, you have now, yes?'
'Y-Yes, Master. Two.'
'Hm, lucky they are, to have the mother and father that they do,' Sol smiled as Master Yoda turned his gaze back to the ceiling and closed his eyes in content. 'Met them, I wish I could have...'
Master Yoda's form underneath the itchy blanket faded. One moment, Sol could see his closed eyes and sunken face. But the next, he was gone, and the blanket sunk into a crumbled mess. The cot was empty, and Sol felt a ripple in her senses as Master Yoda was accepted into the Force.
R2 made a sad beep and Sol lowered her head to sit in the crook of her crossed arms. She continued to sob in the silence of the hut, and without the presence of her Master, Sol felt empty. The Force had accepted a great light, but Sol couldn't focus on the prodding at her navel that was a genuine good returning to the spiritual realm.
It was not the Jedi way to be saddened by death, but there was no Jedi Council around to scold her. Sol let her emotions run where Master Yoda's body had been and hoped that he was at least at peace.
Satele had instructed Sol to be by Master Yoda's death bed to not only forgive his life's mistakes, but to learn about the greater destiny.
Sol wasn't the Chosen One, but that was okay. The Sith was still at large, but there was hope. Darth Vader knew about Luke and Leia, but Anakin was breaking free from the prison inside the Sith apprentice.
Master Yoda may have passed on, but he gave Sol answers.
And now that Sol knew that Anakin was the Chosen One, she could fulfil her destiny. Just as Satele had told her, Sol was the light to guide those from the dark. Sol was the only one who could help Anakin defeat the Sith, and the only way to do that, was to face Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine for the final time.
---
'Uncle Owen, I'm tired! How much longer do we have to keep doing this?!'
'Until you two have learnt your lesson!'
Obi-wan stood with Beru Lars as Owen Lars watched his niece and nephew dig aimlessly through the sand. Luke and Leia used handheld shovels to shift the sand that sat around the moisture farm. With sweat on their brows and their arms aching, the twins moaned and groaned as they deepened their ditches. Their white attire was stained to a permanent brown, and their hair stuck to their sweat-covered cheeks. The two suns beat down on their necks, but their Uncle Owen made sure to give the twins consistent breaks, and a constant supply of water.
'I can't believe those two,' Beru shook her head, her eyes squinting from the suns' glare. 'They could have jeoparadised the Resistance's entire existence with their antics. I don't know where they got this dangerous sense of adventure from.'
As the woman covered her eyes with her hand, Obi-wan went to dive into a story about Luke and Leia's parents that would explain their rebellious behaviours. But the man stopped before he could reminisce in his memories of Anakin and Sol and put a hand to his chest.
An ache spread from within his ribcage. Obi-wan had to take a step backwards to gain some space, but the desert was full of it, and it didn't ease the thunderous pain that spread to his middle. With his eyes to the sand, the Jedi Master looked into the realm that bound every living thing with its power.
After the fall of the Jedi Order, the Force had darkened. A light grey was all a Jedi could see besides the signatures that dwelled nearby. But the grey had brightened, and a vibrancy had returned to the imbalanced place. The dark side was still in control, but Obi-wan could feel that the Sith was weakening from the good that had just become one with the Force.
'Obi-wan? What is it?'
Obi-wan looked up from the sand and saw a concerned look from Beru. While Owen gave Luke and Leia a break from digging, Beru turned from the punishment and looked at the Jedi Master with arched eyebrows. The man was standing with his hand to his chest and his face twisted as if he was in pain. But when he looked up, his face changed from one of physical torment to one of despair.
'I... I felt a great disturbance in the Force,' Obi-wan said, while looking away. 'I think... an old Master has... passed on.'
'Oh... I'm sorry to hear that,' Beru said to show her sympathy. 'Were they a good friend from the Order?'
'Yes... he was.'
Obi-wan felt Master Yoda's passing, and it saddened him to know that the Grand Master was gone. But like Master Qui-Gon had proved, death wasn't the end. Master Yoda could return if someone needed guidance, and at his passing, Obi-wan realised what mission Satele had given Sol back on Yavin 4.
Sol must have been at Master Yoda's side when he passed, and Satele must have sent Sol there for a reason. Sol heard Master Yoda's last words, and if Obi-wan knew anything about the Grand Master, is was that his last words would have been ones of wisdom and guidance.
Obi-wan just hoped that the prophecy was kind to Sol, and maybe it would be kind to Anakin, too.
---
Grand Moff Tarkin awaited the Emperor's transmission. In the control room of his star destroyer, the man stared at the hologram pad where the hooded figure of his superior would appear. The invasion was set to commence, but Tarkin had to wait on the Emperor's command before he could send his troops to the jungle-covered planet.
The Outer-Rim sieges had been tiresome but progressive. With Tarkin in command, the Empire had unearthed many of the hidden forces that they had been searching for. They had found two rebel bases and were able to upheaval one to the point of the Resistance evacuating the planet Hoth. They had found many criminals that had been on their most wanted list, and had succeeded in creating a fear of the Empire across the Outer-Rim. But Tarkin's greatest accomplishment was locating the remainder of the Jedi scum.
Grand Moff Tarkin didn't see their risk personally, as he didn't believe in the entity that was the Force. But the Emperor wanted them wiped out, so his trusted general would see that they were made extinct. And even though Darth Vader had pursued the Jedi beyond the Outer-Rim, it was still Tarkin's stormtroopers that had found her in Mos Eisley, and his stormtroopers that had sent the woman fleeing from Tatooine.
Just like his previous missions, Tarkin would not fail the invasion of Yavin 4. He was in charge, and Darth Vader would not have even a finger in the destroying of the Resistance base. When Grand Moff Tarkin tells the Emperor that he had blown the rebel scum to smithereens, and that not one rebel was left alive, the Emperor would grant him with the highest rank possible.
Perhaps Darth Vader would be pushed aside, and Tarkin would reign as the Emperor's right hand man. That would be the greatest honour possible.
'Tarkin,' a distorted voice sounded, and the hooded hologram of Emperor Palpatine appeared. 'Are your troops prepared to dispatch?'
'Yes, My Lord. The ground troops will be dropped, and ships will descend from above. We aren't able to pinpoint the base's location yet, but we will surround the area and advance,' Tarkin informed.
'Good... begin the attack. Lord Vader and I are on the Death Star, and if you see it fit, we will power the weapon to destroy the planet from here.'
'Very good, My Lord.'
The Emperor's hologram fizzled, and its gaunt observer turned from the hologram pad. He made his way down the path towards the sunken control stations. With his hands behind his back and his grey uniform uncreased, Tarkin looked over the workmen that were communicating with the troops in the hanger. A woman, who had dark hair and dark features, looked up at the man for her next orders.
'Dispatch the ground troops on the east side of the planet. Give them the word that once they have landed, they are to order the air crew to descend on the jungle.'
'Yes, sir.'
As the workwoman relayed the orders to the hanger, Grand Moff Tarkin turned to head towards the windshield.
From within the cockpit, the man was able to see the green planet. Its fate would soon be his to decide. Like the Emperor said, he could choose to destroy the planet completely with the Death Star's newly operational weapon. It would be a fitting end to the Rebel Alliance, and would test the weapon for its precision, power, and strength.
This was it. This was the end of the Resistance, and no one would be able to stop the Empire's reign over the galaxy.