Past Meets Future

Chapter Nine

The X-wings danced in the space, coloured smokes emitting from their engines.
Han and Chewie walked into the main room of the ship. they had landed an hour ago but Leia was dead set on for them to look like some posh bastards. So a quick sonic shower, which was rather hard to get that big old baby of a Wookie into, and grooming the shit out of themselves later they were finally ready to pass the dress code and make sure Leia's happy with their outfit.
They watched from the big windows as Luke and his squadron put on their show.
The great thing about rebellion was that their pilots outshined the hell out of any of the imperial ones. hell, he shot the dark lord himself, Vader! and let's not forget their kid Jedi who blew The death star!
He looked with Chewie by his side, he could see hope. The game has changed for the empire. now there was a chance!
"Captain Solo"
He turned. The guy wore a black velvet long coat with gold thread designed in a form of patterns all over it. His black hair slicked back, black penetrating eyes studying his features.
He held his hand out, he was wearing a black leather glove. "Mik Everlast, Lord of Endoler"
He reached for his hand and shook it." please call me Han" what did that rich bastard want from him? The room was full of influential people from different parts of the galaxy, Rebellion's high commands, and hell wasn't it Leia's job to entertain these rich snubs?
The man nodded "very well, Han." he stood by his side and gave his attention back to the flying show.
"It's quite impressive how a small organization like the Rebellion Alliance can pull this off while the Galactic Empire keeps disappointing. "
He looked at the man from the corner of his eyes. he stood tall, gloved hands clasped behind his back.
"Have you seen the old republic ones, Han?"
he straightened his back. and made sure to make his confidence evident in his voice. he supposed the high commands, Leia, all wanted him to impress this guy. "I was a child during the old republic. but I remember a bit. it felt like a magic show"
The older man nodded and kept watching.
With one last circling, the red squad was done. the audience clapped and with that, a buzz fell in the ballroom.
"I was expecting you there too, Han"
Han shook his head "Nah, I'm more comfortable here, and besides I won't pull out any of these stunts with my Falcon" the other smirked and nodded his head " I See. But you would spare me cause I didn't see you at the welcoming committee, after all, you're famous and one of the rebellion's leaders"
what exactly did this guy want? He was indeed interrogating him, he was being friendly and subtle but he knew interrogation and this one felt like one. Endoler was a rich planet. and not a single harm had came from the empire to them. After all, the empire needed Endoler and its riches.
"I'm not a big fan of balls or ceremonial greetings my lord"
The older man chuckled "please, Call me Mik Captain. it's only fair that you also call me by my first name" Han faked a smile and nodded "alright, Mik" the other man smiled in response.
"and truth to be told Han, I'm also not a big fan of balls and ceremonial greeting myself"
He faked a chuckle in response. There was something unsettling about this guy.
He felt a hand on his elbow. "You're finally here" Leia said. She wore a white gown which had a white cape attached to its shoulder. she had her hair up and in braids. She look beautiful but more over she looked like a general there to impress and work.
when he first met her, Leia felt more like Princess Leia but now with war and everything they've been through she felt like General Leia Organa.
"Lord Everlast " she greeted the man. the man gave her a polite smile. "Princess"
He studied Everlast from top to bottom. What were his intentions? Endoler was doing great with the empire. Everlast stood shoulder to shoulder with Palpatine himself during the empire day. hell, he wasn't even on the first invitation list. He was only invited after he contacted the alliance. He sought the rebellion out himself.
"you must excuse my straightforwardness my lord, but we're all rather quite curious about why you're interested in our cause. after all Endoler's loyalty is with the empire!"Leia went straight to addressing the main issue.
the older man nodded "It's quite understanding Princess, at the end of the day you have no reason to trust me "
He could hear the hangers closing, Luke and his friends had landed.
"All these years the rebellion was but a lost cause. some liked to call it a band of brave people fighting for freedom but I personally felt they were a bunch of morons throwing their lives away for a lost cause"
He could feel Leia's temper rising in the response to the rude comment, but she was a professional so she swallowed it and buried it deep inside.
The Lord put his hand up " I know I sound like an asshole but the truth is truth however unsettling and distressing it might be" He stared at the Princess. Han didn't like his stare.
"but I can't ignore the fact that you Princess and you Captain have brought massive change. the rebellion seems to be changed but perhaps still not on par with my previous expectations"
Han frowned "Well, Mik if we're still not up to your standards why did you grace us with your presence tonight?"
The Lord of Endoler smiled again. Han felt sick in his stomach. there was something unsettling about that smile.
The older man looked at the main door of the room "Perhaps we should go and greet Commander Skywalker and congratulate him on his spectacular show. And I also heard you three are rather very close "He glance at Chewbacca on his far right "sorry you four"
The realization settled on his stomach with nauseating heaviness. He was there for Luke!
" And for your question Han. I said the change wasn't on par with my previous expectations. in a span of less than two years the alliance blew up The Death star, has more allies than in the past two decades, more worlds are showing interest in joining your cause" he started to walk "If you lead the way" and pointed to the door.
The former smuggler reached for Leia's hand she took his and squeezed it, assuring him.
They started to walk, exiting the ballroom and passing throw the hallways.
"and you can say I was absolutely astonished when I first learned of Death Star being blown by a boy from the rebellion. after two decades of hopeless attempts, the rebellion had finally came threw!" they had finally reached the hanger. Han reached for the keypad lock and punched in the pin. "I was stunned when I heard that the boy wasn't only a great pilot but a Jedi!" the Lord continued.
The door opened. The red squadron had already climbed down from their ships and the astromechs were already lowered from their holds.
Artoo beeped happily as it saw Han and Leia.
The pilots acknowledged their commander and started to leave but not without glancing at the new incomers first.
Luke was beaming with excitement and happiness. The kid loved flying. but that wasn't all. The Jedis had contacted them, well him. and Mon Mothma gave him the green light to meet them, and the cherry on top was the high general didn't tell him to wait till they were sure of them, she gave permission for him to meet them as soon as he could, and that was TOMORROW! He knew she was hiding something from them. He was sure that she knew who they were but refused to let out the knowledge. Nonetheless, the kid was high on happiness!
Everlast's smile widened at the sight of Luke walking toward them. The aristocrat stepped forward and took his right hand's glove off. He didn't do this when he shake his hand. he could bet he didn't do that while greeting Leia or anyone in the ballroom.
"Commander Skywalker" Luke reached and shook his hand. Han looked at the man's face. His smile felt like a hunter who finally caught his prey. His frown deepened. He could see Leia stepping forward, tense like a rock. Well, she wasn't the only one tense, his own hand was fisted.
"Mik Everlast. and that was an astonishing show" Luke smiled genuinely making the other man happy (?) "thank you, sir. I'm happy you enjoyed it" he said with his farmboy's charm.
It seemed Luke's attitude and the sort of innocence that was laced in his era only made the other man more cheerful. the other man chuckled "you have your father's skills and obviously his features " Luke's eyebrows rose in shock. but it wasn't just Luke that was shocked. Neither of them expected this response from Lord Everlast.
"you knew my father?"
Everlast laughed "Well Anakin and I were not each other's biggest fans. But indeed I knew your father. Back then I was a young ambitious man. yet to become the Lord of Endoler." he looked at Luke's eyes. "Back then it was a different time. a time laced with the force." he wore his glove back and reached into his pocket and grabbed his commlink.
"you have your father's eyes Luke" and he clicked on his commlink "we're leaving"
Luke studied the guy's face. "thank you " he said.
Everlast turned and faced Leia " General Organa, I can't say Endoler backs the alliance or stands up in a suicide move to the empire but I can say Endoler's not an enemy of the rebellion"
The Endolerian royal guards reached their master. they wore shining silver armors, laced with the same golden pattern as the ones on Mik Everlast's coat. They had a blaster attached to their waist and one on their hands, held across their chests.
"Very well my Lord. It's rather an honor to not have Endoler standing against us. Let us walk you out" Leia finally stated.
The man nodded and they all started to walk toward the Endolerian ship. It wasn't hard to tell which one it was. It screamed rich. The silver ship was one of the most advanced ships they saw. More advanced than empire's. It was modeled to look as elegantly as a ship can. After all, Endolerians were known for looking elegant and rich, not only in their clothes or homes but also in their everything!
The bridge was open, the guards stood by the side of it.
"it was nice meeting you, Mik" Han said although he didn't feel so. There was something about that man. something dark.
The lord nodded "likewise. it was nice to meet you all" and climbed the bridge with his guards following him.
suddenly he stopped on his way, his back facing them" you look like your mother, Luke"
Luke's eyes widened. The man kept his back to them " I used to be jealous of your father for having your mother but I was a young naive stupid man. What happened to them was a shame" he had entered the ship. "your parents were very brave, you seem to inherited that too"
the guards were all inside the ship now "your father used to fight by the light side"
The bridge started to close. the Lord turned around and stared straight into the young Skywalker's orbs "but the darkness looms over everyone, even you Skywalker"
Luke tensed and his hands unconsciously fisted. "I'll never fall to the darkness. I'm a Jedi like my father before me!" Luke said loudly. He could feel the kid's anger at Everlast's comment. He reached for Luke's shoulder and put his hand over his shoulder guiding the kid toward his chest.
The bridge closing made a rush of wind, making Lord Everlast's coat and hair dance in it.
The smile that man schooled for the whole night was wiped away and something dark fell on his face. His eyes turned cold and his gaze on Luke hardened "anyone can fall, child"
the bridge closed.

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This episode was brought to you by procrastination!
Imagine Lord Everlast hot af.
and I promise the next chapter's gonna finally be The meeting! This whole ball thingy and talking with Mon Mothma has happened the same time as Anakin and Obi-Wan's visit to Naboo.and they're both directly after the encounter in Vehra.
The whole ordeal till now has happened in a span of a week , so it's been a damn crazy week for everyone.