Chapter 28: The Birth of the Resistance

Supreme Chancellor Bolsko drummed his fingers impatiently on his desk as he waited for the introductions in the Senate chamber to conclude. He glanced over his shoulders at the alien filth that he had been persuaded into allowing into his offices, and, amplified by the stimulants he often took before addressing a crowd, Bolsko's resentment and disgust threatened to overtake his excitement at the political thermal detonator he was about to unleash.

Finally, the new Senate Speaker's infernal droning ceased, and the Supreme Chancellor received the cue that it was time for his introduction. As the new speaker introduce him, his excitement dimmed in the face of lukewarm applause spiked with a smattering of boos. In time, he thought to himself as punitive fantasies began to play through his mind. He pushed the fantasies aside as a shiver of fear traveled up his spine as he considered the price of failure. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts; he needed focus. He must get this right.

As Bolsko approached the Speaker's pulpit, he heard the Senate chamber buzz with chatter and anticipation. Already, Organa had played into the narrative by fleeing Coruscant and taking Han Solo with them. The Palpatine girl had attacked Republic guards, and now she was with Organa. They had attacked Ben Solo, who was now garnering enormous sympathy due to his role in attempting to apprehend his mother followed by the death of his father, which Bolsko had carefully portrayed as Organa's fault. The boy would prove a fitting symbol, indeed. However, the applause from the Senate trailed off much faster than Bolsko had expected, stirring anger and resentment inside of him.

Shaking off the desire to lash out, he cleared his throat, and the chamber fell silent. "Senators, diplomats, and citizens of the Republic. My office recently hinted at news of a revelation that will change galactic politics forever. We are all familiar with the tragic losses of life on Savareen, Rakata Prime, Batuu, and Jedha. We are all familiar with the terrible refugee crisis and the suffering it has wrought. For months, our Intelligence has searched for answers to the cause of these disasters, and now we must search no further."

Bolsko paused to relish the anticipation. The silence in the chamber was palpable, and it was clear that the Senators hung on his every word. As it should be, he thought. "Two days ago, following the treasonous Leia Organa's escape from Coruscant, we received contact from an extra-galactic group called the Chiss Ascendancy. The Chiss ambassador brings tidings from his corner of the galaxy, and I have invited him here tonight to address this body as we negotiate a treaty of cooperation between the Galactic Republic and the Ascendancy with the aim of resolving a major threat to both of our galaxies."

The hushed whispering and shocked mutterings resonating through the chamber were music to Bolsko's ears. Smiling broadly, he bellowed, "It is my pleasure to introduce Ambassador Daqi'ihuli'luse of the Chiss Ascendancy."

Bolsko stepped back, gesturing toward a blue-skinned, red-eyed humanoid with chiseled facial features. The Ambassador stepped forward onto the Chancellor's podium. He did not speak yet as the rumbling ocean of conversation below was still too loud to be heard over. Gradually, the noise died down as Bolsko raised his hand to silence the audience.

When the noise subsided, the Ambassador spoke in a cool, resonant voice. "Citizens of the Galactic Republic, I greet you. For many thousands of years, our two sides of the galaxy have been separated by the Zanthodine Maelstroms in an area you refer to as the Unknown Regions. The Chiss Ascendancy has maintained control of dozens of systems, adhering to a policy of non-aggression except while defending ourselves from external threats. Our reign across Ascendancy space had been peaceful until a decade ago, when a species known as the Nemsis emerged. This species is a highly evolved, predatory invader who engineers atmospheres to suit its biological needs. We tracked them into your part of the galaxy, following their ships through a navigable lane through the Maelstroms."

Murmuring erupted throughout the Senate chamber again as Senators began to put the pieces of this news together. The Ambassador continued. "We believe that the Nemsis attempted to colonize four of the worlds in your galaxy to establish a foothold. We have fought them to a standstill, and within their territory, they are nearly out of resources. They have become desperate, and under the guidance of a dark Jedi named Veryx, they appear to have targeted your part of the galaxy for colonization."

The murmuring rose in volume and intensity as fear swept through the Senate. The Senators all knew by now the devastation raised on the four destroyed planets, and many of them were now imagining what might happen to their planets if left unprotected.

The Ambassador paused before continuing. "What's more – we have reason to believe that individuals inside your own government have aided the Nemsis – dark elements bent on power and domination that seek to use the Nemsis to gain control and subjugate the galaxy. Our intelligence indicates that your former Chancellor, Leia Organa, and her brother, the Jedi Luke Skywalker, were part of this plot. They have introduced a Chiss calling himself 'Jax,' who claims to be a defector from an organization called the Order of Ren. What we do know is that Jax is the son of a Chiss Admiral who served the Empire under the name of Thrawn. After being expelled from Chiss society, Thrawn killed thousands for the Empire and later attempted to overthrow this very body. We believe this traitor has betrayed the Chiss Ascendancy by working together with the Skywalkers and the Nemsis. The Chiss Ascendancy pledges its support to the Republic in apprehending this criminal and bringing him to justice. We offer our support in apprehending Organa and Skywalker, as well."

The chatter in the Senate exploded into outright chaos as he concluded his speech. Many Senators were beside themselves in shock and disbelief. Shouting had emerged, and while Bolsko could not make sense of what was being said, the discord pleased him enormously. The Chiss stood motionless before him, gazing vacantly down on the Senate Chamber below. A thin, blue scar lighter than the rest of the skin on the back of the humanoid's skin caught Bolsko's eye, initiating a wave of disgust. Shoving the disgust aside, Bolsko performatively clapped a beefy hand on the humanoid's shoulder and led him away from the podium. Together, they walked away from the Senate chamber and through a corridor to the Chancellor's office. Bolsko had redecorated much of the office with garish artwork, although he rather fancied the ch'halla trees, which reminded him of his garden's at his estate on Kuat. He reached his desk with the Ambassador behind him and stopped. Officer Specks awaited aside the Chancellor's desk, silent and observant.

"Well, that ought to give them something to talk about for a while," Bolsko said jovially.

"Indeed," said the Ambassador without emotion. Sound rippled through the ch'halla trees at the brief exchange.

"Specks, is all that about Thrawn true? If Jax really is the son of a super genius. . ." Bolsko let the question trail off as he addressed his advisor without looking at him.

"True or not, the speculation itself will turn many against the Resistance. Thrawn hurt many people in the galaxy," Specks confided quietly.

"Good enough for me," Bolsko bellowed jovially before turning his attention back to the Ambassador. "One last order of business, and then we shall entertain you like a king, my friend!" Bolsko promised, gesturing to an anteroom where several Twi-lek women sat on a large bed, waiting for the Chancellor. The Ambassador glanced into the room, wearing an expression that suggested deep distaste at Bolsko's idea of entertainment.

Bolsko cocked an eye, then sighed in relief, "Ah, well." He then pressed a button to activate the holonet, which flashed into life. A man, cloaked and hooded, sat waiting in the holograph. Bolsko took a step toward the center of the room and bowed obsequiously.

"Lord Veryx!" shouted Bolsko jovially. "How grateful I am for this latest bit of political gold. How might I be of service to you today?"

Veryx removed his hood, revealing his cracked helmet reforged.

***

Leia watched as the Chiss Ambassador finished his speech as a complex storm of emotions swirled within her. More now than ever, the pieces on the board appeared clear to her, yet she had lost so much getting to this point. She scanned the Amaya's hold to assess the impact this bombshell had inflicted on her friends. Jax had vanished from the hold. Chewbacca moaned quietly to himself, hunched over Han's shrouded body. Luke was beside him, his hand on the Wookie's shaking shoulder. Kit's knuckles were white as she gripped the table before her, apparently attempting to ward off a visceral emotional reaction. Only Kira appeared reasonably calm, looking toward Leia was a cryptic expression on her face. Leia straightened her back and assumed a posture of determination that belied how shaken she felt at the insinuation that Jax was related to Thrawn.

Leia knew Thrawn from his incursion; she had faced him and helped to defeat him. Few in the Republic knew how close they had come to falling, but Thrawn's actions had been enough to cement his figure in popular lore as a menace and a villain. With Jax's name now attached to Thrawn's, it would not matter much whether the accusation was true. Bolsko's media empire would bang this particular drum ad nauseum, which left Leia with the suspicion that truth or lie was beside the point; this was a credibility assault to undermine her claims. Her thoughts turned to Ben, and she wondered how he would interpret this. In each of the potential futures she saw with Luke, somehow, the prospect of Ben turning against her had never materialized, even though so much of what had just happened was beginning to confirm some of the worst-case scenarios they had foreseen. She cursed herself for agreeing to cut herself off from the Force. Could this have been stopped if she could still see? She wondered if her relationship to Ben had blinded her from what now seemed an inevitability. Perhaps there had been something to the Jedi prohibition against attachment after all? Or perhaps not. Leia reflected that Ben's estrangement was the byproduct of choices that she believed it was necessary to make, and perhaps not seeing the outcome was her own strategy to protect herself – a strategy that she now saw as failed.

Shaking her head to quell the onslaught of rumination – something she'd have plenty of time for later – she turned her attention back to her friends. "Kit?" she said softly.

Kit looked up, her jaw set and her knuckles still white. Leia saw her unclench slightly, realizing that she did not want to snap at her hero. "I. . ." Kit began, but she could not find the words.

"I want to remind you that Luke saw into his past. Whatever Jax might have been or whom he might have been related to, he isn't that now," Leia explained.

Kit's mouth opened then closed as if she was weighing the right response, or as Leia wondered, the right theory and counterattack to shoot Leia's assertion down. To Leia's relief, Kira spoke up.

"Kit, you're surrounded by the children of people who did monstrous things," Kira said gently. "It's not where we come from that matters."

Kit's tension ebbed slightly and her body relaxed as the truth of Kira's statement began to take equal footing with her reflexive rage at the mention of Thrawn.

"Kit?" Leia asked, noting that some of the tension had returned as if she was anticipating a rebuke or a lecture.

"Yes, Chancellor?" Kit asked, slightly bewildered.

"Just Leia." Leia corrected. "I know my husband kept an extensive array of contacts in the underworld. He wouldn't have happened to know a master codebreaker?"

Kit gazed into the distance as she ran through a mental inventory of troublemakers and pirates. Her gaze snapped back to Leia, and she replied, "Yeah, there's one. But he's been on the run from the Hutts since he exposed their slave trade."

"Can you find him?" Leia asked.

"Umm. . ." Kit began uncertainly, then catching onto to the determination in Leia's voice, she steadied herself. "I'll get right on it."

"Jax?" Leia called out, and Jax crept back into the galley reluctantly and tentatively. Leia smiled warmly at the terrified Chiss and said reassuringly, "Jax, Luke saw into your past. You've proven yourself willing to do what it takes to resist the Order of Ren. Whoever you may have been or whoever you're related to, it does not matter to us."

Relief stole over him as he leaned into the wall of the Amaya's galley.

Leia continued, saying, "Jax, Luke and I both sense your strength in the Force. If you are willing, I would like to assist in your training. Kira, would you be willing to help?"

"Of course, Master," Kira replied.

"Just Leia," Leia corrected once again. She turned to Jax, and noting his apprehension, she added kindly, "Of course, you are welcome to decline."

Jax mulled it over for a moment, then turned toward Kira. Kira smiled gently. Jax nodded toward Leia, saying, "Han suggested it before the battle. I want to. I want to help."

"Good," Leia said, nodding. "Kira, if you would. Please begin showing Jax the basics."

A silence fell over the room, and as if there was a magnet drawing their attention, each of their focuses settled on the shrouded body lying in an alcove. Chewbacca now sat silently over the body, lost in grief. Leia broke away from the group and sat next to Chewie. She put her arms around the Wookie as her shoulders began to shake. Luke turned away from Chewie toward his sister, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as the trio shared in their grief for their lost friend. Kit, Jax, and Kira kept to themselves, each processing their own sense of loss at Han's death. Kit had gone from aggravation to admiration and now to sorrow. Kira's grief was mostly for Leia, but also for Ben. She struggled to keep her mind shut to him, although occasionally, she could feel the distant echo of his grief through the Force. Jax knew Han the least, but he had liked the man, and he owed him a debt of gratitude for helping him escape the Acronemsis.

After a prolonged period of silent grieving, Luke stirred first. He spoke, "It is too risky to bury him on a planet. We will have to bury him at space."

Chewbacca rumbled a mournful sigh, and he picked his friend's body up. With Chewbacca carrying Han's body, the group walked toward the ship's cargo port, which opened from the inside and the outside. Chewbacca laid his body down on a slab. Leia pressed her lips to the outline of Han's forehead, shrouded by the blanket they had draped him in. Leia stepped away, and reaching out through the Force, Luke, Leia, and Kira lowered Han's body into the hold. The hold sealed itself, and Kira triggered the manual release for the hold's exterior door. Han's body drifted out of the hold and into space.

***

Ben Solo sat in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, running his fingers over the grimy control panel. Republic technicians worked on the exterior of the ship, repairing the damage and readying it for space travel. Ben had ignored the address from the Senate, and he had ignored calls from the Jedi to report. He had remained in the cockpit as the crews worked on, alternately lost deep in thought while fighting against waves of grief. He could hear what Master Melso and Master Rancisis might say; cold, comfortless words about attachment. But his father was dead, and he could not save him. His mind burned with anger at the one who had done it. Ben would not allow himself to mourn for long. He would devote himself wholly to his training, attaining the power that his uncle had kept from him. And then, when the time was right, he would kill the dark Jedi and make sure his mother and uncle were held accountable.

"Master Solo, the ship is ready for flight," spoke a technician's voice over the intercom.

The message snapped him out of his reverie, and he began flipping switches to initiate the ship's launch sequence. The Falcon shuddered back to life. As he prepared to guide the ship off the ground, he had a brief sense of Kira, also lost in grief. He had felt her close her mind to him after the battle against Veryx, but she appeared to open it for the briefest of moments. He had a vision of his father's body drifting out to space, and then the connection closed once again.

***

Kira turned her focus away from Ben and watched as Han Solo's body drifted away from the Amaya. Leia's face was awash with tears. Luke appeared more stoic, but Kira could still feel grief radiating from him. Chewie was silent in a corner, withdrawn into his own grief. A question arose in Kira's mind, and after the body receded from view, she turned to Leia and asked, "What do we do now?"

Luke was the first to speak. Speaking directly to Leia, he said, "I am sorry, sister, but I must go."

Kit, Kira, and Jax all looked shocked at this pronouncement, but Leia appeared unsurprised. "I was afraid you would say that," Leia said, recalling an echo of old pain from a time when Luke rushed off to confront their father on Endor.

"The one calling himself the Prime Jedi calls to me," Luke said. "I promised I would go. I hope to persuade him to join our cause. If he could be persuaded, he would be a powerful ally."

Leia nodded, and Kira had a sense of her worry and fear below her calm exterior. Leia stepped forward and embraced Luke. When the two separated, Luke turned to Kira.

"Kira, you are as strong in the Force as anybody I have ever met – Yoda and my father included." Luke said, a hint of pride showing through. "Great trials await you, but I want you to remember. You aren't just your father's daughter; you are also your mother's."

"I understand," Kira said. "Anakin helped me see that."

Luke and Leia both smiled at the mention of their father. Luke then turned and walked toward the portal connecting to his X-wing. With a last look back and a furtive smile, Luke entered the airlock, and the door slid shut behind him.

Leia inhaled deeply, then exhaled as she addressed everyone remaining in the hold. "Before Han helped me escape from Coruscant, I activated a secret surveillance system inside the Chancellor's office. It will record every action Bolsko takes," Leia explained. "I have no doubt that Specks will enact new encryptions. If we had the Falcon. . ." Leia's voice trailed off as a wave of pain threatened to break through her calm.

"We could decrypt anything," Kit finished for her, allowing Leia to retreat into silence. "But without that, we'll need some help."

Leia fell silent, unable to respond as a stab of grief pierced her heart while she watched Han's body drift away from the Amaya. Luke's X-wing entered position to jump to hyperspace, leaving Leia with a deepening sense of hollow sadness. With a flash, the Luke's ship vanished, and Leia felt a stab of apprehension over when she might see Luke again. Luke had been cautiously optimistic about the one calling himself the Prime Jedi, but Leia felt that the battle was here and now – not the abstract philosophical plea that Luke had described the Prime Jedi making. The visions of the future she had glimpsed years ago shifted and slipped in and out of focus with each choice, reminding her of childhood games of Shah-Tezh with her father, where each move she made led to an infinite number of new possibilities and risks. With Kira and Jax huddled together in discussion on the Force, Chewie continuing to mourn privately, and Kit deep into her research, Leia's jaw set with determination. The game had begun long before they knew the board was set, and Leia wondered just how many traps lay ahead. Her blindness had cost her Han, Ben, and possibly even Luke. Her grimace shifted to a tight smile as she recalled that the Force was with her once again, and no Shah-Tezh match was ever over until it was over.

She sighed deeply, a tear streaming down her cheek as she sealed away her pain, regret, and grief. Kira, Kit, and Jax looked at her expectantly, wondering at Leia's sudden loss of composure.

Kira interjected, hoping to snap Leia back into the moment, "So, we expose the lie and bring the galaxy back together?" Kira asked.

"Precisely," Leia concurred, her composure recovered.

"And until then?" Jax asked.

"We resist," Leia said, the steel and determination returning to her voice.