Earthlings 2: The Dark Age

Post Credits

9 BBY, Tessen

(A few weeks later...)

The Hidden Path had lost the battle. The Empire had stamped them out of every corner of the galaxy they could get their hands on, including the headquarters on Jabiim. 

So now here they were, on a forested planet called Tessen. Not the best place Roken could have chosen, but the ship had to land  in order to get fixed...

He watched as half the children ran around in the woods without a care in the galaxy, as if they hadn't just been attacked a few weeks ago by Vader's forces. Ivan had taken the remaining escape shuttle to the nearest outpost with Haja to get the supplies necessary to fix the ship, Leda had decided to start a campfire (to which the girl named Veronica had commented, "If only we had s'mores..." ), and Eli was saying something inaudible to Noble and Asher. Meanwhile, Noble's dog, Dume could be seen entertaining Veronica and Casi, as well as his adopted son, Arion. How that thing was able to fit into the ship, Roken had no idea. 

Suddenly, Eli checked his comm before walking over. "Hey, Roken-?"

Roken turned to him. "Yeah? What is it, kid?"

"Haja and Ivan are back... and they have news." From the look on his face, Roken could only assume it was positive. 

He raised a brow. "News-? What news?"

"Well-" Eli began before whooshing was heard above. The Liberty II  landed smoothly next to its mother ship, its ramp promptly opening to reveal Haja and Ivan carrying spare parts... or rather, stumbling over them.

"AGH-! Would you not drop  the crate onto my foot, Estree?!" Ivan complained.

"I'm sorry, my hands are full as it is!" Haja shot back. "Take a chill pill, would ya? I just came back from delivering the kid to her parents before this supply run!"

"That can't be an excuse, you clumsy idiot. You're gonna end up using your  future kid as an excuse at that rate."

"We'll talk about that when we have  kids!"

"I swear, your kids will develop magnet brains just like you, I just-"

"Would you two QUIT IT ?!" Roken cut in, crossing his arms. The two held up their hands, muttering an apology. "Thank you. Now, I heard you have some news-?"

"Well, good news... we have the parts we need to fix the ship," Ivan said, holding up the crate. "More good news... guess who's here with a solution to all our problems?"

Roken blinked. "A solution-?"

"You got that right, boss," Haja said with a wink before looking back towards the ship. "All right, you can come out now!"

All the refugees gathered around as Kendall Chance stepped out, followed by 4 other people Roken was unfamiliar with. The Jedi Master carried a small chest in her arms, one that Roken could tell carried a long history behind.

From behind him, Asher drew in a sharp breath. "C... Cal?"

"Asher...?" The redhead's green eyes widened as he locked eyes with the Dathomirian before he ran over to embrace him. "Buddy-!"

"You know each other-?" Nica asked. 

"Of course!" Asher beamed as he patted Cal on the back. "This is my longtime buddy from the Temple, Cal. We had fun together, didn't we, Kestis?"

"Yep, those were the good old days," Cal agreed with a chuckle. "I hope we can live to see it happen again."

"We can only pray," Asher said before eyeing the box. "What's in there-?"

"Well... it's a compass to a planet hidden from the Empire's eyes," Cal explained, leading him to Kendall's location. "It's called Tanalorr, and trust me, it's great."

Tanalorr... Roken recalled hearing bits of it from Cere Junda. 

"Unfortunately, this compass didn't come without its costs," Kendall said grimly. "We lost two valuable members and many Anchorites to the Imperials shortly after it was completed, and the compass ended up having to be retrieved from our mole."

Roken nodded slowly, listening to her story. "May their sacrifice never be forgotten. Thanks to your efforts, we now have hope... and a place to go."

The whole campground erupted into cheers at the prospect of a safe haven waiting for them, and Roken shared their sentiments. This would be a new beginning for the Path. It would continue serving its purpose to keep force sensitives out of harm's way... and out of the Empire's reach. And it would all lead to Tanalorr- their new home. 

Every force sensitive individual the Empire couldn't reach was one more battle won. It was an act of resistance, and Roken was proud to take part in it. The spark had grown into a steady flame, and as long as the Imperials continued their evil deeds, it would not be extinguished. 

Not until the day when a phoenix rises from the ashes of the Galactic Empire. 

To be continued...