Redemption: A Star Wars Story

The Master and the Apprentice

"Again!" Master Skywalker shouted across the class, there were about twenty of them, each holding their own lightsaber. There was a mix of colours in the class, from red to blue, to yellow and to silver. Just like there was a mix of saber colours, there were also a mix of species. There were Humans, Togrutas, Twi-Leks, Rodians and more. The turn out was surprisingly high.
This was his senior class, which was filled with a bunch of sixteen to eighteen year olds. Each one had shown promise in their Force abilities, hence why he had chosen to train them. The most advanced student he had was Aayla Dresk, a seventeen year old human girl with an athletic build, blond hair, and a bright yellow lightsaber. She showed promise with her combat skills.
"In the field of combat, an enemy isn't going to hesitate to take the kill, so you need to be quick to draw your saber should things look south at any moment."
"With all do respect master, but aren't the Jedi meant to be the guardians of peace?" Aayla asked, retracting her lightsaber. "That was the original idea, yes. However, I have come to the conclusion that keeping the peace is impossible should the Jedi simply sit around in a grand old temple all day. It would be arrogant to assume that we will be able to prevent every conflict to come in the future." The other youngsters slackened their battle poses to listen to Luke more clearly.
"And since I can tell I have just lost the concentration of half the class, we'll call it a day for there." The other kids retracted their sabers, hooked them to their belts and left the training hall, all except Aayla. "What's wrong?" Luke asked her. "Did you ever fight first and ask questions later?" She answered, an unexpected question that threw Luke off for a minute.
"That's not what I was trying to teach you, Aayla. The lesson is merely to know that not all conflicts can be avoided, therefore we must be prepared for a fight should it happen."
"That wasn't an answer." Luke hesitated, choosing his next words carefully. "Yes, I did," he said at last. "And I lost more than just my hand because of it."
"What happened?
"It was a long time ago, before the end of the Galactic War. My friends had been kidnapped, and I had had a vision of what would happen if I didn't rush to save them."
"And it was a trap?"
"Yes, And I suppose that could be another lesson. Never fully trust visions that the Force sends you, they're often not what they seem." Aayla smiled, "thanks, I'll keep it in mind." She left the training hall, while Luke stayed in the hall, alone with his thoughts. He wished Ezra was here to help him with the training, but since he went a-wall, it was down to him, alone.
Gradually, he began to catch sense of an in-balance in the Force. A sudden wave of Dark Side energy shuddered through his body, the last time he felt something that powerful... he sat down, his legs crossed into a basket shape, and closed his eyes. "Where did you come from," he muttered to himself. He navigated through the stars in his astral form, guided by the Force, the further away he got the harder he found it to keep focus, but eventually he got to an ice covered planet in the unknown regions of the Galaxy.
He felt another wave of Dark Side energy pulsate from the planet, making him shiver. It was a Force signature he recognised... although it had changed, twisted into something dark... then he had the realisation. "Ezra?" He said aloud. Dropping to the ground with a thud, unaware that he had started levitating. He looked up to the stars through the glass roof of the hall. They"re in grave danger.." he thought to himself.

Aayla sat in her small bed chambers, the walls were bare, but she did what she could to make it feel like home. Including holo-photos of her family, and items from her childhood. One such item was no larger than her thumb. A chance cube, the one she used to play against her dad with. They'd bet on everything when she was younger on their
farm.
Which animal would sell first? Which fruit would be the ripest, the one he planted, or hers? She missed those days, they seemed far away now, but she knew that she'd see them again soon. It wasn't long until Master Skywalker was sending them back home for some much needed time off, and she couldn't wait to see them
again.
Suddenly, she heard a nock on her door. "Enter," she called over, the door opened and Master Skywalker stood in the doorway, his expression glum, she hated it when he had that look. "Aayla, I have a task for you." She got up from her meditating position to face him. "What is it, Master?" Luke walked further into her room, examining the trinkets from her childhood.
"I've felt a great disturbance in The Force. An old... ally, has resurfaced on a distant world."
"Who's this ally of yours? Is it Master Bridger?" Luke hesitated for a moment. "Yes, I think so, but something's changed about him... he's surrounded himself with the Dark Side, and I can't leave the children here alone. You know what I'm about to ask of you, don't you?"
Aayla sighed, "Yes I think so, but Master, are you sure?" He walked over to her. "Aayla, you're my most gifted student, in both lightsaber training and force ability. Go to him, tell him to come home, and if you can't convince him..." Luke reached into the pocket of his robes, and pulled out a small holo-disk. "Then give him this." She placed it into Aayla's hand.
"Now go, take my X-Wing, I've plugged in the coordinates for you, my most trusted droid will accompany, he'll keep you safe."
"Master, are you sure? Even I don't know if I'm cut out for this." Luke turned to walk out the doorway, but before he walked through he turned back to her. "Remember, the Force will be with you, always," and with that the chamber doors closed, leaving Aayla alone. She sighed, hoisted herself up straight, grabbed her lightsaber and jogged through the hallways of the academy to the landing pad, where Luke's X-Wing stood waiting. Sitting in the droid seat was an Astro-Mech with blue markings.
It made some beeps, greeting her. "So, R2-D2, huh? Pleased to meet you. Now then, you know what we've got to do."