The Jedi From Earth: A Star Wars Story #Wattys2023

Part 141

Toronto, May 3rd 2016
After the Empire gathered up all their forces and fled the city they'd set off charges destroying much of the inner city highway system clogging traffic, craters also littered all the former Imperial installations and bodies were still being collected both friendly and the white armored stormtroopers all piled into truck beds and driven away. Except for the martial law life went on as if nothing had ever happened like it was any other day before the Empire had shown up either before they were known or afterwards, resistance groups were allowed to keep their weapons as compensation for their efforts but had to register all members and minor members who'd never told their parents they'd been in the Resistance were greeted with angry,sad yet proudness though it was different for everyone.

Clara however knew this couldn't be the end of all of it especially when she strolled around town to see chunks of buildings blasted off some crushed cars or were still being swept up. She turned the corner and stopped to see a mother crying over her dead son who'd been loaded into a truck bed, from what Clara saw he'd been shot several times by blasters one was right in his neck, she quickly walked past all that using the cover of a passing army humvee to get away. Her cousin Adam had also been thankfully brought back from the star destroyer before the attack and now he was back at their former hideout where she was heading too.

--
"Well I can say it was an honor to have had fought with you all" Marcus said to the all the assembled fighters, "but now we can put our guns down and go home, well I can't say the same for this Rebel Alliance though". "That doesn't mean we still can't protect those around us, you can all enlist if you weren't called for the draft or-" Marcus said but Clara spoke up "I wanna join the Rebels!" She said. The Alliance officer there gave her a funny look "really? You'd leave behind this world the one you've ever known, to fight in a war against powerful enemies" he said. "Yea I gladly would, I volunteer" Clara said walking up to him, "you do? Well then my dear you're the first one of this world to volunteer for the Alliance, at least on record" the officer said smiling in a praising fashion at her. "I volunteer as well!, me too!!" Others spoke up and Clara smiled too hoping that she could at least make a difference in the world- the Galaxy for others, she'd lost her freedom once she would never lose it again and hopefully she could find Shawn out there too.

---- Devastator
The Imperial fleet had exited hyperspace over Mars regrouping with the rest of the fleet that hadn't been lost over Earth and the Seventh Fleet. After the Executor was damaged extensively after Tatooine the Admiralty predicted it would still be a long while before the ship could return from repairs, at the moment the Devastator served as Vader's personal flagship. Shawn still wondered where they were going whether it was Coruscant or elsewhere as Palpatine hadn't sent word for him yet he suspected that he was to watch something and could feel it. "Captain" Vader spoke up as Corssin walked up to him "return us to Coruscant at once, the fleet will remain on the defensive still" Vader said to him. "Of course my lord, but they've arrived for the counterattack surely they should advance too" Corssin replied.

"Those are my orders Captain, I expect you to obey them" Vader said, "as you wish my lord" Corssin responded nodding his head then walked past Shawn who stood nearby,"you are in luck Mendes, I've decided to show mercy unless the Emperor says otherwise" Vader said and Shawn walked over to him as the ship entered hyperspace. "What's gonna happen to me? Can I go home?" Shawn asked his tone sounded strained and worrisome "on that matter I can offer no opinion" Vader replied. "The Emperor will want a word with you when we arrive, tell him of what you saw and what other gifts in the Force you hide from me" Vader said, "I haven't hid any-" Shawn began, "on Naboo myself and the Emperor conversed in Balc which I know you've never heard yet appeared to understand" Vader said.

It now occurred to Shawn he hadn't ever told either Vader or the Emperor of this strange ability to comprehend writings and languages he didn't know as if they were plain English, but now that he was essentially cornered being honest for once looked more appealing than lying knowing that the latter would detect it being for more powerful. "I can understand it, if I listen to someone saying something in another language it sounds like they aren't, same thing for writing" Shawn said staring at the midnight orb lenses of Vader's helmet. "Most intriguing, the Emperor will want to hear of this, just know that you have a rare gift use it wisely" Vader said as the viewport window tinted black for hyperspace.