Chapter 1
almaran was the fourth planet of the Vagrel system. The Alliance had chosen the relatively small system, just outside galactic main cluster, as the new location for the New Republic's administration. The main trade routes and hyperspace lanes were running very close to the Vagrel system. The Intergalactic Trade Organization had asked the leaders of the Old Republic and later the Empire more than once to allow the Vagrel system to become a small hub in their trading organization. After the collapse of the Empire the leaders of the New Republic abandoned Coruscant, choosing the Vagrel System as the New Republic's new political center which would also increase Dalmaran's importance as a new center of galactic trading. Coruscant which had been the center for many consecutive governments, would remain the most important hub in the intergalactic trading, but her importance as the political galactic center was over. A new start should be made on a planet where - like on the planet Naboo - the relation with nature would play a more prominent role.
Already during the Civil War the Alliance's leaders had paid several secret visits to the leaders of Dalmaran. For many years, only a few members of the Dalmaranian higher echelons had been aware, that they financially supported the Alliance in their struggle against the empire.
Recon ships, disguised as trade freighters, had paid many visits to each of the other solid planets of the Vagrel system: Kendo, Visol, Denorm and Bortunam. Kendo and Visol were scorched by Vagrel, the yellow white star which had given the system its name. Their surface temperatures were extremely high during daytime and the planet's climates were described as very hot. The scouts had thoroughly investigated the possibility to colonize these planets, but their final reports hadn't been very promising, although some scientists had found large flows of underground rivers which could be exploited.
Denorm turned out be surrounded by a large asteroid field; the planet was a large rock, probably an asteroid itself, although its size was enormous. The planet was frequently bombarded with space debris which made it too uncertain to establish a secure living for millions of inhabitants of a new administration.
The fifth planet of the Vagrel system - Bortunam - was completely clouded. A constant acidic drizzle deprived the planet of any form of life.
Like Kendo and Denorm Dalmaran had an atmosphere with an oxygen level to support human life. There were four large oceans and seven land masses which differ in sizes and types of vegetation. Five land masses were situated along the equatorial line, but the Dalmaranians had inhabited and cultivated only three of them - Mas'onom, Ther'clon and Vor'izon -; the other two, Na'ctaMagh'Ba and Pa'dtoMagh'Ba had been proclaimed as restricted areas for scientific research only.
The Dalmaranian government had given a small group of scientific farmers permission to live on Na'ctaMagh'Ba which was separated from Mas'onom through a wide sea strait. Those scientists were continually checking the impact of habituation on the natural environment of Dalmaran.
The largest continent, De'olon, covered three-quarters of the northern hemisphere. The northern part of the continent was a flat rocky highland. Closer to the equator large forests and grasslands covered De'olon between the foothills of the highlands and the ocean.
The southern continent, Ja'amen, was partially covered with a cap of ice for most of the seasons.
The Dalmaranians were a very slender human species with long limbs. They had developed an elegant way of movement. In their dealings and communication with other species they were tactful and diplomatic, but also very formal.
Their ancestors, a human civilization from the Kaarnag cluster, had colonized Dalmaran seventeen centuries ago. Their living standard had reached a very high level, but they took great care for the environment of the planet and its diversity of life forms. New technologies were developed to benefit their communities, but the Dalmaranians always kept in mind that they were the custodians of the planet. They saw themselves as a kind of visiting guests who were allowed to use their temporary accommodation according fair use. That was the main reason why they occupied only a small part of Dalmaran. They avoided any pollution of the natural habitat of the planet. All Dalmaranians got a tough education and were trained to use their high sophisticated technology in harmony with the planet's natural environment. Over the centuries Dalmaran had become a wealthy planet with beautiful forests and lakes, its soil was rich and carried several harvests a year. The space port of Mas'onom, situated on the most eastward of the inhabited land masses, had an economical space center. There the Dalmaranians traded their products and their technological inventions with traders from all over the galaxy. Ther'clon had many agricultural farms and industries and Vor'izon was the continent where the Dalmaranian had set up their administration.
After the Alliance's victory at the Battle of Endor Mon Mothma and her advisors requested the Dalmaranian government on Vor'izon if they would allow the New Republic to set up their new administration on Dalmaran.
Mon Mothma personally visited the Dalmaranian leaders at Vor'izon to assure them the New Republic would accept the Dalmaranian way of care for the environment. They came to an agreement to found a new city on the continent of De'olon: Irithim. The new administration center of the New Republic would be built on the wide grasslands of De'olon, just opposite Mas'onom and Ther'clon. A part of the flat highlands would be transformed into a modern space port. The Dalmaranians would profit from their new neighbors, for they were granted free access to the port for interstellar space travels and trading business.
After several standard months the new city of Irithim began to take shape. Gigantic, but elegant, buildings rose from De'olon's surface to create offices for the new administration. Broad boulevards and avenues with water flows, green lawns and colorful flower beds made the new city a lovely part of the surrounding nature. The city center was dominated by the Senate building where delegates from old and new star systems would again decide to shape the future of the New Republic under Mon Mothma's leadership.
In an unanimous vote Mon Mothma's special team of advisors, the High Council, offered the heroes of Endor - Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian - to join them as the Supreme Chancellor's strategic advisors. Han and Lando objected, arguing that they'd be more useful to the New Republic if they stayed in active service. Although a great number of systems had welcomed and celebrated the fall of the empire and had joined the New Republic; many of the old Core systems were still opposing what they saw as the enemies of the Empire: the Rebel Alliance. Those pockets of resistance were the main reason for Han, Lando and Chewbacca to support the mission of the New Republic's space fleet in the smaller battles against the remnants of the empire. They loved the excitement those missions brought. Leia, nominated as a senator of honor as the representative of the former Royal House of Alderaan, realized that those dangerous missions also gave Han the opportunity to postpone the decision about their future. Every time when Han returned at Irithim Leia hoped that he would propose to her, but Han avoided the subject meticulously. Leia, in turn, refused to bring up the issue herself, silently hoping that one day her wish would be fulfilled.
To Leia's brother, Luke Skywalker, the Alliance's victory brought a lot of new challenges. As the last remaining Jedi in the galaxy he has to find a way to pass on the knowledge master Yoda had taught him to a next generation of Jedi Knights.
Lady Mon Mothma's advisors, the generals Reeikan and Madine granted Luke an extraordinary favor. In addition to his rank as a commodore in the Alliance's space fleet and as the commander of the elite Gold Squad, they gave him the honorary rank of Jedi Commander which allowed him to find needed time to expand his Jedi knowledge and to go and seek for possible future Jedi Knights.
In the aftermath of the Battles of Endor and Jakku Luke had used much time and Force skills to develop a strategy to train his future padawans. The old way when new Jedi Knights were educated in the Jedi Temple wasn't no longer feaseble, as the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant had been transformed into the Imperial Palace and stripped of all references to the Jedi Order. That's why Luke decided to use the way Ben Kenobi and Yoda had trained him. Before he would start a padawan's extensive training and teach him the Ways of the Jedi, it would be particularly important that a padawan already had learned to sense and feel the Force's influence. A padawan had to be fully aware how the Force often controlled his actions in his daily life. Next a padawan must learn to see himself as a part and a union with the Unifying Force. He had to learn to surrender himself to the Force and to rely on the insight and knowledge the Force was showing him. A special Jedi meditation training would teach the new padawan to feel the Living Force in everything that surrounded him. All these revelations and influences would be a very important period in the life of the future padawan learner. During his extended apprenticeship under Luke's tutorship the padawan would learn to use and control the Force as a power that also obeys a Jedi's commands.
After thorough forethought Luke had made up his mind that in the beginning he, as the last trained Jedi Knight, together with the padawan, and the padawan's master would go to Tatooine and Dagobah for the final trials and the initiation to Jedi Knight.
Mon Mothma had used her diplomatic influence on Coruscant to obtain a special permission from the Provisional Coruscant Council to allow Luke and Leia to look for the secret underground chambers to the Holocon vault of the former Jedi Archive. What once had been the center of all the Jedi knowledge had been buried under a ruined part of the former Jedi Temple. For all that, after a lot of effort, the twins made their way through the rubble and reached the blocked entrance. After having cleared a path they discovered the Holocron vault which still held the main part of the precious Jedi holocrons and also about three hundred vacume sealed metal chests with datacrons. The datacron chests turned out to contain a holographic backup copy of almost all the volumes which once had filled the shelves of the Jedi Library, but the Jedi holocrons were the most important treasure: they were ancient recording devices that held thousands of old stories of the Jedi history and teachings about the Jedi lore, preserved by the great Jedi masters of old. The holocrons also held the Force connection with the old masters who had been united with the Force.
After Luke and his sister had brought the treasures to a secured location on Dalmaran, Luke used a lot of his time to study as much about the old Jedi Order as possible to master so even more Jedi skills. To extend his Jedi skills and knowledge about the Force he also often visited Dagobah. The planet became one of Luke's preferred locations to indulge in a deep Force meditation . The more he learned about his powerful ally, the more his insight and love for the Force's tremendous influence on the planet habitat grew.
On this remote planet in the galaxy Luke also met the Force ghosts of his former Jedi Masters Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi and Master Yoda, who both loved and admired their talented former padawan. Although they had left the galaxy physically, they lived on in the Force and were still willing to discuss and answer Luke's many questions and support him to rebuild the Jedi Order. To Luke's astonishment Anakin Skywalker often accompanied his old friend Obi-Wan. In the beginning the man who had been his real father, had been very reluctant to participate in Luke's talks with his former Jedi masters, but after several visits Anakin Skywalker became a good friend and an important advisor for his son too.
Luke's first padawan was his twin sister Leia, of course. Immediately after the Battle of Endor Luke had taught her the basic principles of the Jedi Path and the use of the Force, but it took two years before they found an opportunity to go to Tatooine and Dagobah for Leia's final trials and initiation rites.
After having compiled her own lightsaber in Ben's former abode on Tatooine, Leia learned to use of the full power of the Force during her Jedi training on Dagobah. Just like Luke she was very Force sensitive and soon she could use and control the Force as a trained Jedi. Easily she could surrender herself to her new ally and rely on the its tremendous power. She also learned to be part of the Living Force and her union with the Unifying Force which binds the galaxy together.
The twins had a joyous time together on the swamp planet of Dagobah, for Leia's training followed a very well-balanced development. She showed an absolute understanding and a full commitment to her new task as a Jedi Knight. She often surprised her brother during many training sessions and Luke told her about the tension and frustration he had felt during his own training; how Obi-Wan Kenobi had been defending him and finally had convinced Yoda, that he wasn't too old to begin the training; how he had begged Yoda to trust him and take him as his padawan learner.
Three months after their arrival Luke completed his sister's initiation training as Jedi Knight. With the Force as her ally Leia could develop more other Force abilities, for a Jedi Knight only learns to comprehend the full power of the Force during his life as her servant.
The evening before their return to Dalmaran the twins were busy in front of Master Yoda's former home. Leia was sitting on a stone, packing their few personal belongings in some small bags. Every now and then she looked up, staring with an absent look to the jungle trees around her. Luke was carrying out some small repairs on the outside of his space shuttle Astræga. Tomorrow morning they wanted to leave early.
"Luke, isn't it strange that Han hasn't tried to contact one of us, yet?" Leia suddenly asked, "Before we left Irithim I left word for him that I was going to Dagobah with you."
Luke looked up.
"Maybe he hasn't returned yet from that mission to Leathan. I heard rumors that the imperial resistance in that system was enormous. Palpatine must have had a lot of followers there. Don't worry, my dear sister, Han won't take any unnecessary risks."
Leia smiled and sent tender thoughts of love to her far away friend. She hoped that after her return Han and she would set a date to get married. She looked up as she felt her brother's influence through the Force. He smiled as he walked over to her.
"Still thinking of Han, aren't you, Leia?" he asked.
Leia nodded.
"I miss him, Luke. I'll be very happy if he has returned to Dalmaran when we'll arrive tomorrow."
Luke sat down and laid his arm around her shoulders. Leia felt his warm caring love and their close relationship now that they were both Jedi Knights.
"Was it such a difficult time here with me?" Luke asked teasingly.
Leia shook her head.
"Of course not. I've enjoyed every minute here and what you've taught me is invaluable. Really, Luke, I had a very good time here."
"Tomorrow we're back home, my Jedi sister," Luke said with a smile.
For a moment Leia looked at her brother with a warm smile on her face.
"It's really unbelievable, that at last I really learned to use my Force skills as a Jedi, Luke. I've always thought we would never find the time to go to Tatooine and Dagobah for my initiation training. There was so much to do after the collapse of the empire and the final battle against the imperial fleet. But I think, we've done well to find time and come to Dagobah together."
'Right it was, of course,' a chuckling voice sounded behind Leia, 'Completing your training like brother, you had to, Skywalker daughter.'
Luke jumped to his feet and turned around with a broad smile on his face.
"Master Yoda, what a surprise. I didn't.... we really didn't expect to meet you."
'Here I was all the time. Watch you, I did. Good, twin sister Leia now a Jedi Knight, she is. Stronger together you'll be. But always beware of the Dark Side. Always remember what happened to father. A good man, Anakin was. Strong in his Force use too, he was, yes, and very powerful, but no inner peace, no patience, not in full control of the Force, too much relying on his feelings and emotions .... '
Yoda's face got a very sad expression, before he continued with a thoughtful smile.
'Rebuilding the Jedi Order Skywalkers will do. Strong with the Force, they are, brother and sister, like father.'
Luke and Leia had listened to the glowing appearance of Yoda in silence. The small creature looked up.
'Go back now, I must. May the Force be with you two.'
Yoda's Force ghost apparition became translucent and finally resolved among the trees. Leia took Luke's arm.
"Did you feel his presence? Was he really with us all the time?"
"I sensed his influence through the Force many times during our training sessions. Especially if I wasn't sure what I taught you was the same knowledge he had taught me."
"You've done well, Luke, I felt Yoda's pride for the task you've fulfilled."
Luke put his hand over his sister's.
"I'm glad we have been here together, Leia, for I'm not quite sure, yet, if I really can fulfill the task that Yoda has asked me to take on. That our father choose the wrong path and became a servant of evil so easily, is a scaring thought. On the second Death Star I nearly stepped down that path, when I had defeated our father and the emperor ordered me to kill him and become his next apprentice. I can still feel my fears, hatred and anger welling up inside me when Father threatened to take you to the Dark Side."
"Don't let those thoughts frighten you, Luke. You won't make the same mistakes. You're not Anakin; you're much stronger than he was. You resisted the emperor's temptation, something he never could."
"Leia, we're Darth Vader's children; we're his offspring. People surely will find out who we are, and they might wonder, if we are as evil as he was. There are so many communities in the galaxy who hate the name of Vader. It's not impossible that we'll be held accountable for what our father has done."
"Stop worrying, Luke. Together we can face all those difficulties, like we've always done. We're siblings, we're twins, we're the offspring of Anakin Skywalker, a great Jedi Knight."
Before she rose, she tenderly kissed his cheek.
"Forget your worries, Jedi Master Skywalker," she teased, "We'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow we've to rise early."
Luke pushed his disturbing concerns from his thoughts and nodded.
"I want to lift off just after dawn."
Later that evening Luke reflected on Leia's initiation training. Again he experienced the enormous tension he had felt during the first days after their arrival.
With some reluctance he had begun to teach her what master Yoda once had taught him, but his sister's great commitment to the trials gradually had increased his self-confidence in what he taught and discussed with her. Leia's deep understanding of what he demanded and expected of her had ultimately left him feeling that he could pass on his knowledge without hesitation. Step by step he had passed on what master Yoda had explained to him about the Jedi and their connection with the Force.
After he had told her on Endor that the Force also was influencing her, Leia had practiced her slumbering skills every now and then, for instance using the Force to move objects and communicate with her brother through telepathy. Due to her work as Mon Mothma's advisor and senatorial work her first acquaintance with her Force abilities lacked a more structural approach, something that clearly had dispirited her. More than once she had asked him to teach her more about the Force and its use, but he had been careful not to tell her any knowledge she wouldn't fully comprehend yet. He knew how, in the years after the destruction of the first Death Star, he had struggled to find his way with the Force without anybody who could tell him what he wanted to know. Leia's annoyance and impatience had been a mirror of what he himself once had felt. Despite her belief, that it would take a long time before she would be a fully-fledged Jedi Knight, she had dedicated all her little spare time to feel herself as a part of the Living Force. A feeling she already had sensed in the tremendous forest with the old ancient trees on Endor. He had explained her that the Living Force was what surrounded everything: the plants, the trees, the animals and people, but that the Force also surrounded non-living objects like rocks and stones. The Force was binding everything in the galaxy together with the power of the Unifying Force. Their many talks and discussions and the two years with simple Force practices, had improved her understanding of what the Force expected of her as a future Jedi.
Luke smiled as he recalled the first physical training through Dagobah's jungle where she had to improve her endurance skills, relying on the Force. His demands to run faster and jump higher had exhausted her in the beginning, but after two or three more sessions she had been able to follow him with ease and perfection. The same had happened as he had begun to instruct her how to wield her own lightsaber. From the beginning Leia had had an intuitive way to use of her lightsaber and the way she could wield the powerful weapon of the Jedi had astounded him. Already from the beginning she had been able to withstand the paralyzing beams of the hovering training remotes. Very soon she could repel the blasts of all seven remotes. The same she did with the silvery stick, chopping it in seven pieces, before the stick had hit the ground.
Luke smiled again and had to admit that his sister would have been a more rewarding apprentice for master Yoda, than he had been. His impatience must have driven the little grand master to despair, often wondering, if Luke would ever finish his training. He hadn't. The Force vision of Leia and Han, being imprisoned in a city in the clouds, had let him decide, that he first had to rescue them, before he could finish his training to become a Jedi Knight. That decision had been utterly wrong; better to say, that it had been an unmitigated disaster. In the encounter with the Alliance's greatest opponent Darth Vader, he had lost his hand in a lightsaber duel with the dark lord. Also the idealized image of his father had been shattered when the Dark Lord of the Sith had revealed that he was his father. In the end Leia, Lando and Chewbacca had come to his rescue, in stead the other way round, while his friend Han Solo had been entrapped in a hibernation block and brought to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine.
Still, Leia hadn't turned out to be the master of everything. After going with her to the Cave of Evil and telling her what Master Yoda had said about it, he had told her to enter the cave. Without hesitation, Leia had hooked her lightsaber at her belt and had disappeared, though he had warned her that her weapon was unnecessary. It was easy to guess what had happened in the cave. Leia still felt very furious about what had happened to Alderaan and her foster parents. The hatred she felt for those she held responsible was a dark emotion that controlled her actions. In her encounter with the image who personalized her anger and hatred, she lashed out with her lightsaber, only to discover that she was fighting against a dark side vergence of her deep-seated hatred. She had reappeared completely disillusioned and she had no idea what had happened to her. Like him she had failed the encounter with her own dark side emotions, but this time his knowledge and insight as a fully-fledged Jedi Knight had enable with to reassure her and explain to her the deeper meaning of her failure, which she had to look at as the exposed struggle with her own dark emotions; the dark side in herself. The encounter in the cave had taught her the importance to stay in control of emotional feelings and never let those feelings prevail.
His own perception of the Force and the importance of the knowledge a Jedi could gain from listening to the Force, had grown. The way of the Jedi had become an more integrated part of him. He had learned to accept, the will, the guidance and power of the Force in his life, to be fully aware of the past, the presence and the future, and be a part of the Unifying Force. That deeper insight had also made him aware of the difficulties that lay ahead.
Many problems would rise around their birth. Those problems would have a great impact on his life and the lives of his closest friends: the lives of Leia and his friend Han.
The Force had shown him the consequences of their father's life, his life as a Jedi Knight, and Leia's Jedi training. He was almost sure that their descent from Darth Vader's bloodline would have a terrible impact on her life; although he knew that even for a Jedi the future was uncertain. There wasn't a way he could prevent it, although he had promised Obi-Wan to be Leia's protector after the Force had shown him that the beautiful princess of Alderaan was his twin sister.
Luke's thoughts trailed off to that amazing moment here on Dagobah. Once again he heard himself denying that he had a sister and Obi-Wan's soothing explanation about how they had been separated after their birth. At that same moment he had realized that his deep felt love and care for Leia had natural cause. No longer had there be the need to compete with Han, who always had been his rival in winning Leia's affection. Luke smiled and closed his eyes. He reached out through the Force to Leia and she answered his telepathic thoughts, like she had done on Bespin. They were inseparable, they were twins and since Leia's initiation as a Jedi Knight: a pair of Jedi twins.
Once again he smiled as he remember master Yoda words. Leia was right. His Jedi master had shown his pride and consent with what he had taught her. He had set a next step on the path to his further development as a Jedi Knight.
After a sober but nutritious breakfast Luke thoroughly checked the space shuttle before their departure. It was the Darth Vader's private shuttle that he had used on his flight from the second Death Star, carrying with him his father's dead body. After the war had ended Mon Mothma had given him the shuttle as a reward for his part in the downfall of the Empire. Luke felt a certain pride when he flew the ship, which for many years had been his father's.
After he had finished the final checkup Luke looked for Leia in her private quarter. She met him in the passageway, walking up the ramp. Luke took her hands and asked: "Glad to see Han back very soon?"
Leia nodded, but she had a pensive look on her face.
"I've locked up Yoda's home," she said.
"Fine. Then we can leave. Let's look around for a last time before we leave."
They both walked down the ramp to Yoda's house between the roots of an enormous tree. Luke looked around and used the Force to take in every little detail of the swamps and the vegetation around Yoda's home, but everything looked peaceful and serene. A short moment he sat down on one of the stones in front of the small house and whispered:
"Mezorahim dejan Forca tusale, Yoda-lemsa."
"What did you say, Luke?" Leia asked.
"I said good-bye to Yoda in the old Jedi language. I've found a couple of words which seems to mean the same as our "May the Force be with you".
"Where did you find those words."
"Yoda has left me his writings. He ends every scroll with the same phrase. That's why I think it's the official Jedi greeting."
"Was Yoda really the last Jedi Master? What was Ben in Yoda's eyes?"
"Yoda was the last member of the old Jedi Council. He was a Grand Jedi Master. Ben was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi Council. The title of Grand Jedi Master is a title of honor. In the past the Jedi Council granted this title to only a few Jedi Masters. Ben hadn't yet mastered all the skills Yoda possessed. Maybe if he hadn't been killed on the first Death Star master Yoda would have helped him to become a Grand Master too. Come on, Leia, let's leave this place. "
Leia watched the tiny house between the roots and with unspoken words she thanked the great little Jedi Master for the dedication and the knowledge he had given to her brother. Slowly she followed Luke up the ramp, but suddenly she froze. Among the trees she saw Han's face. He looked at her with an angry face. Angry! Disappointed! Jealous! Furious! Leia thought she heard him say: "Is Luke really your brother, your Highness? Is what you've told me on Endor the truth? Is there any proof of your family relationship. Do you know who is Luke's father? Has he told you about his ancestry? If you are really twins, than Darth Vader is also your father; do you realize that, your Highness"
She shivered. It was as if she had heard Han's voice, but his words didn't make sense to her. She looked up the ramp of the shuttle and shouted: "Luke!"
Her own loud voice frightened her. Luke turned to her at the top of the ramp and he knew what had happened: "She has seen what's laying ahead."
Her face was pale. Luke tried to comfort her through the Force and stretched out his hand, but she pushed him aside and rushed up the ramp to the cockpit. He followed her and took his seat in the pilot's chair. He looked aside, but Leia avoided his gaze.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
Leia nodded. With a frozen stare she saw Dagobah disappear among the stars.
"Ready for light speed?"
"Yes, everything is ready."
"Ok, let's go!"
Luke pulled the hyper drive handle and Leia saw how the stars became bright streaks.
"Is this really the end of my old life?" she thought, "I hope I have been imagining things. May the Force be with me."
Luke turned the pilot's seat and left the cockpit. Slowly Leia unbuckled her safety web and followed him. In the passageway she turned and looked through the transparisteel window. One flashing moment she thought she still could see Dagobah. Impossible, they were already light-years away from the jungle planet. She turned and went to the control room. She entered and saw Luke standing in the middle of the room in his ceremonial Jedi Knight's outfit. She smiled.
"Why this formal welcome, my dear brother?" She asked, trying to smile.
With a warm smile around his lips Luke took a brooch from the sleeve of his cassock while he walked over to her. With a proud gesture he fastened the brooch over the clasp of her Jedi cloak.
"May the Force be with you, my dear Leia, always and wherever you'll go. You are now entitled to wear this insignia of the Jedi, one of the distinctions of a Jedi Knight. You're officially a Jedi Knight."
Leia felt a shiver along her spine and looked at her brother. Tenderly he touched her face with his gloved hand.
"Remember you're part of a very large world. You're one of the luminous beings of the Force, just like me. Thank you, my dear sister, for trusting me. I feel less lonely, now that I know there's some one like me."
Leia put her hand on Luke's gloved hand and held it to her cheek for a moment.
"You're so dear to me, Luke. I've never had someone I could trust. From now on we'll do everything together."
She released his hand and walked over to the opposite side of the control room. Her Jedi coat whirled round her and fully protected her. She felt the great influence of the Force and felt one with every living being in the galaxy. Nothing could harm her now. She was a fully trained Jedi Knight and her ally was the Force. Probably the Force had shown her a flash of an uncertain future. She might have to face a lonely time without the one she cared for, without the one she loved.
"What time we'll arrive on Dalmaran, Luke?"
She asked, turning around.
Luke watched the synchrocom.
"Eight hours from now," he said.
"I want to use that time to do some Jedi meditation. Warn me when we're going in orbit around Dalmaran."
She left the flight room. Luke took off his Jedi coat and spent the rest of the journey in a peaceful relaxation. He rose by the sound of the synchrocom. Quietly he walked to Leia's quarter.
"We're nearing Dalmaran, Leia. We're leaving hyperspace in fifty parsecs."
"I'm coming," she answered from behind the closed door.
Luke watched her with a smile when she opened the door in her ceremonial Jedi outfit.
"It suits you even better than those senatorial dresses you used to wear." he smiled.
"I feel great in it," she answered.
Together they walked to the cockpit of the Astræga. Through the windscreen Dalmaran drifted in the dark void of the galaxy. Luke asked clearance to land and ten minutes later the former Imperial shuttle landed on one of the platforms of De'olon Space Port.
"Come on, Leia. Let's get to our apartment."
The ramp went down and with Leia's hand in his Luke walked to the platform, where Threepio and Artoo were waiting, seemingly impatient.
"Master Luke, princess Leia, thank the maker you're back. There's an awful lot of people waiting for you outside, master..."
"Threepio, what happened to hello?" Luke asked, while he released Leia's hand.
"Hello master Luke."
"Thanks Threepio, hello Artoo. Have you seen Han?"
"No, master Luke. General Solo isn't at the spaceport. He didn't get permission to welcome you back."
Luke frowned.
"That's odd. Let's find a transport home, Threepio, then we'll find out what's going on."
Luke walked over to Leia, who was already in conversation with a commander of Mon Mothma special guards. Luke heard her say: "This must be a mistake, commander."
"What's going on, Leia?"
"You're commodore Skywalker and you are accompanying her royal Highness the Princess of Alderaan?" the commander addressed them very formally.
"Yes? But why so formal, commander. You know our names. Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa."
"There were no other passengers on board your ship, commodore?" the commander continued neglecting Luke's remarks.
"No, why you're asking?"
Luke put his arm around Leia. He felt her tension.
"Commodore Skywalker, Your Royal Highness, you both have to follow me immediately. You are to be questioned by our Supreme Chancellor of the High Council, Lady Mon Mothma."
"Commander, we've been away for three months. We would like to prefer to go to our apartment first and say hello to general Solo. " Luke said with a slight shudder of uneasiness, "What's so urgent?"
Was anything wrong with Han? Was he in trouble at Leathan? No, Threepio just told him that Han didn't get permission to enter the spaceport. What had he done?
"I hope you will join me and my men without causing problems, commander?"
A detachment of armed troopers now enclosed Luke and Leia and guarded them to a waiting transport speeder. Luke saw that windows of the speeder were barred and blinded. He shrugged his shoulders and helped Leia to get in. At high speed it went to the government building. Heavily armed guards accompanied the two Jedi Knights to Mon Mothma's room. A couple of minutes later they stood in front of the leader of the New Republic. Her eyes watched them both, calm but cautiously and aloof.
"Commodore Skywalker, your Royal Highness," Mon Mothma said in a soft voice, "Since a month several severe charges which require thorough investigation by the High Council, have been brought in against both of you. You're suspected of high treason and collaboration with our former enemies, Darth Vader and emperor Palpatine. Before I confirm these charges and arrest you, I want a truthful answer to some questions."
"We've nothing to hide, madam," Luke responded.
"Commodore Skywalker, is Darth Vader, our former enemy, your father?"
Luke felt Mon Mothma's abhorrence for this truth.
"He is, Madam," he answered calmly.
Mon Mothma turned to Leia.
"Your Royal Highness, I have been told that commodore Skywalker is your twin brother. If that's true then I have to conclude that Darth Vader is your father too?"
"It's true, Madam. Luke and I are twins, but we were separ..."
"That'll do. Guard!!"
The door opened and the commander of the special guards entered.
"Commander, take these two prisoners to our detention building."
Astonished and speechless Luke and Leia heard Mon Mothma's decision. It was obvious, that during their stay on Dagobah Mon Mothma had been informed about their descent and their relationship with Anakin Skywalker, the former enemy of the Alliance: Darth Vader. Silently the Skywalkers followed the commander to their prison cells.
Meanwhile on Coruscant the three high-ranking officers who had presented themselves as the leaders of the Provisionary Coruscant Council after the Battle of Jakku, held a secret meeting in a secret briefing room in the Council's building.
"Our intelligence force might have found some small leads about one of those missing star destroyers and their crew, Jerno," Kalip Ru'undo said, looking at the others.
"Are they reliable enough to make serious conclusions? Has their commander finally contacted Coruscant and has he given an explanation for their unexpected jump into hyperspace before the final defeat of our fleet near Jakku, now almost two standard years ago?" Valann, the third officer asked.
"We will never know why they made that unexpected jump into hyperspace before the Battle of Jakku had ended in favor of the Alliance's space fleet. A standard month ago the star destroyer has exploded in the Urervik cluster, a group of insignificant planets and systems near the border of the Unknown Territories. The Basilæa received a last distress call and that has been the last sign of life of the crew. The commander of the star destroyer called for emergency assistance as their hyperdrive suddenly had reached an extreme critical level of overheating. The commander of the Basilæa, admiral Vestor, has informed our intelligence force that after arrival at the star destroyer's last known location, a huge amount of space debris was floating at a large area, has been found," Kalip said, looking at the datapad in his hand, "The Basilæa has collected as much of the scattered remnants of the star destroyer as possible. Among those remnants is a heavily damaged holo recorder with distorted fragments of the distress call."
"So after almost two years of absence one of our missing star destroyers suddenly turn up, at a position light years away from the battlefield near Jakku. So why the star destroyer set course for an unknown cluster near the Unknown Territories and what the crew has done in the meantime will remain a mystery forever?" Valann commented, and in his voice Jerno and Kalip heard his serious concern.
"After we were informed about the possible betrayals and desertions of some imperial commanders our intelligence force have scanned large areas of the galaxy, looking for the traces of exhaust gasses which could identify the location of those missing destroyers. The cooperation with the Basilæa and her reconnaissance and surveillance mission has been invaluable. I never expected those defected commanders and their crew to return to Coruscant voluntarily, for they would certainly be brought before our court martial. Where this ship has been all that time will indeed remain a mystery."
"Ask admiral Vestor of the Basilæa to have the debris he has collected, including the holo recorder, transported back to Coruscant . The technicians of our intelligence force need to investigate the debris to find possible clues about all the ship's former locations or positions in the past two years. We also need to know more details about the exact location from where the commander has sent his last message," Jerno said, frowning, "How many casualties were there?"
"About two hundred men, four platoons," Kalip answered with a sigh, shaking his head.