Hope Reborn - Chapter 11

Mon Mothma moaned as Luke bent her over the table in the lounge area. She had come back the morning he was supposed to leave for another round. Not only as a goodbye, but also to make sure his seed took root in her womb.

Luke thrust into her as she gripped the far edge of the table. He had no illusions this was about love, or a relationship. At best, it was stress relief. Normally, he would have worried that she would try to influence him. That wasn't an issue since he was going to leave in the next hour or so.

He gripped her hips and bottomed out. She leaned her head back to let out a low moan as he released inside of her. Her body shivered as her pussy desperately tried to milk every drop of his cum.

Luke pulled away. He wiped the sweat from his brow then pulled up his pants. Mon Mothma took a couple of deep breaths before she stood on shaky legs. She straightened her dress, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and headed to the airlock.

Mon Mothma let out a small gasp as the door opened. Leia stood on the other side. Neither woman spoke as one left the ship while the other entered.

Luke had moved to the cockpit once his pants were fastened once more. He heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. The signature in the Force identified it as Leia. He tensed. The smell of sex lingered even with the air filters. It would take a couple minutes before the scent was gone. He had the outside air circulating into the ship to let the onboard generator idle.

"She seems happy." Leia shot him a smile as she leaned against the wall.

Luke sighed. He really didn't want to lie to her. Well, aside from the 'going back in time' part of things.

"She wants a baby." Luke shrugged. "With me being a wondering Jedi Knight convinced her I was the best option."

"Wow." Leia blinked. "That's… something."

"What does that mean for us?" Luke asked softly.

"I don't know." Leia replied. "I like you, Luke. You're a sweet kid. You helped me stay together when I felt like I was going to shatter. I know you don't want to admit it, but you were the one to destroy the Death Star. It wasn't just that you fired the shot. Because of you, we had a chance. They would have tracked the ship back to us if you hadn't thought ahead."

"But." Luke prompted.

"But." Leia shrugged. "We're at war. One victory isn't going to end it. The Rebellion needs me here. It needs you too."

"I can do more for the Rebellion out there." Luke motioned to the sky.

"More Jedi?" Leia asked.

"One I know for sure." He offered. "Maybe more, but I won't know until I'm out there."

"That's a lot of work for one Jedi." She said.

"There are more than just Jedi." Luke gave her a muted smile.

"If you come back." Leia walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him in a loose hug. "I would like to see where this goes. Until then." She shrugged.

Luke kissed her. She melted against him. Before it could deepen, she pushed away.

"You still have to come back for more." She teased.

Luke gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Definitely." He smiled at her.

"Are you ready?" She asked as she slipped out of the hug.

The Rebellion had let the various smugglers they worked with that Han had died. They made sure that they knew it was in the hands of the Empire and that the Falcon had a new owner. The last thing he needed was a bunch of bounty hunters coming after the ship.

"I'm all set." He nodded. "May the Force be with you."

"May the force be with you." Leia smiled at him.

He watched her leave. It took a considerable amount of willpower not to follow her. His quest, even if it was one given to himself, was important. Now all he had to do was figure out where to start.

R2 whistled as the droid rolled into the cockpit.

"Don't give me that." Luke chuckled. "She wouldn't have come even if I asked. The Rebellion needs her."

R2 whistled low then high.

"No, I'm not going to send you away too." Luke rolled his eyes. "I need you."

R2 grumbled.

"I'm not bring 3PO for a reason." Luke replied.

R2 beeped a rapid chain.

"Because he's annoying and doesn't offer anything to the mission." Luke snapped.

R2 jolted back.

"I'm sorry." Luke sighed. "I know he's your friend, but I can only take so much of him. It's not too late if you want to stay."

R2 grumbled again as the droid rolled over the a newly installed port and plugged in.

Luke took his place in the pilot seat. He waited until the inner and outer airlock sealed. The pre-flight check went by fast. He lifted off once he had clearance. The Rebellion were still in the prep stages of their relocation. If he had waited another day or two, he would have been caught up in the migration.

R2 activated the screen on the control panel.

<<Where are we going?>> The droid asked.

"We're going to track down an old friend of yours." Luke replied.

<<Who?>> R2 asked quickly.

"Ahsoka Tano." Luke replied.

He laughed as R2 began to beep and whistle loudly. The droid calmed from the outburst after a moment.

<<Do you know where she is?>> The droid asked.

"Maybe." Luke sighed. "I know where to start."

<<And if she isn't there?>> R2 asked after a moment.

"Then we move on to the next on the list." Luke replied easily.

<<Are you going to tell me? We're partners in this, remember?>> The droid grumbled.

"There are a couple of Force Users out there that I need to track down." Luke sighed. "They aren't going to be as easy to find."

<<This plan doesn't sound like an actual plan.>> R2 whistled.

"I can stop by some potential allies on the way." Luke answered. "They might have some information. I don't think they'll join the Rebellion, but I think I can get them to start attacking the Empire on their own. Mandalorians, especially this one, are known to hold grudges. We'll start with them since they'll be easier to find. They might have information on the others too."

That quieted the droid. R2 let out a solitary low whistle. No text appeared on the screen.

"Don't worry." Luke smiled over his shoulder to where the droid rested. "At worst, they say no."

~ꬸ~

Luke dipped to the side as a gauntleted fist slammed into the wall beside him. He had seen people in the past punch Mandalorians in the helmet. It never made sense to him. Even if it wasn't pure Beskar, it was still a helmet.

He hopped back against the wall and kicked out with both feet. They hit the Mandalorian square in the chest, knocking them back a step. He could have used that moment to draw his blaster, but that would move this from a brawl to an actual fight. That would definitely end any hope of working together.

The other three Mandalorians cheered as their friend rushed back toward Luke. It wasn't a real fight until they got involved. They should stay out of it as long as nothing more than a blade was brought into the fight.

Luke sprang back to his feet. The smart move was to stay on the defensive, let the Mandalorian wear themselves out, and then take them down. That would take too long. He lunged toward the approaching warrior. Their arms passed over him as he ducked down. His shoulder slammed against their unarmored thigh and knocking their feet out from under them.

They landed flat on their front beside him. Luke whipped around and straddled the Mandalorians back. A quick twist removed the jetpack. His hands grabbed the edge of the helmet. He yanked it to the side to obscure their vision. A couple of the others had their helmets off, meaning that removing it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but it was still an insult.

This was his best shot. He buried his knee in their lower back between the armor plates then hit the release on their flame gauntlet. The other one looked like a control panel, so he left it alone. Mandalorians weren't just human, there was a chance that they needed the helmet for something important.

The Mandalorian tried to get a grip on him. Instead, their hands slapped against his side. The position made them unable to grab anything.

Luke knocked on the helmet.

"Now." He let out a breath. "As I was saying. Do you know where I can find Bo-Katan Kryze?"

"Who wants to know?" A stern, female voice asked.

Luke looked over his shoulder at the new Mandalorian. She wore blue armor with the Nite Owl crest on her helmet.

"Luke Skywalker." He flashed her his best 'farm boy' smile.

"Skywalker?" The Nite Owl cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"Two reasons." Luke hopped up from the Mandalorian on the floor. He took a couple of steps away to make sure he was out of their reach. "Information and negotiation."

"I'm listening." The Nite Owl removed her helmet to reveal an attractive woman with short red hair.

Luke looked around the cantina. The brawl had gathered some attention. Most of it had faded now that it looked like the fight was over, but there were still interested parties.

"We could discuss this somewhere private?" Luke nodded to the others around them.

She motioned with her head to a door to the side. He held out a hand to the Mandalorian on the floor. They adjusted their helmet then took it. A firm slap on the back knocked Luke a step forward, but it lacked any sort of anger. The Mandalorian joined their companions at the table. A round of good-natured jeers and jokes followed as the defeated warrior bought drinks for the rest of them.

Luke followed the Nite Owl to the private room. She had already taken a seat at the lone table in the room. It was a bigger one that looked like it was mainly used for card games rather than conversation. She had her helmet on the table in front of her. One hand rested on it while the other was below the table, no doubt on her blaster.

"Skywalker." Bo-Katan said as the door closed. "I haven't heard that name in a long time."

Luke nodded and took a seat opposite her.

"What do you want, Skywalker?" She asked.

"I need information." He replied. "Ahsoka Tano. I need to find her."

Her eyes narrowed.

"And why would I know who that is, or where she is?" Bo-Katan asked, her arm under the table shifted ever so slightly.

"She was Anakin Skywalkers Padawan." Luke kept his hands on the table in plain sight. "You two worked together a few times. She worked with Bail Organa before the Empire destroyed Alderaan."

"So, it's true?" Bo leaned back in her chair. "They really blew it up?"

"Alderaan and Dantooine." Luke shook his head. "We were able to destroy their station, the Death Star. They can't destroy any more planets, for now at least."

"We?" Bo arced an eyebrow.

"The Rebellion." Luke replied.

"You're with the Rebellion?" She laughed. "They are recruiting children now?"

He held up his hand. Her helmet floated off the table and did a slow circuit before it landed back in place.

"They are recruiting Jedi." Luke gave her another charming smile.

"You know." Bo studied him. "There is a standing bounty on force users."

"I don't think you'll do that." Luke shrugged. "They betrayed you and bombed your planet to glass. You don't want to help them any more than I do."

Her eyes narrowed. She glared daggers at him for a long moment.

"Show me I can trust you." She said after a moment. "Then we'll see what information I can find."

"Sounds fair." Luke nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"An associate of mine ran into some trouble on a job. She managed to send off a beacon before things went to complete poodoo." Bo explained. "I was about to round up a team when you showed up. Bring her back and we'll talk."

"Do you know where she is?" Luke asked.

Bo pulled a bounty puck from her pocket. She activated it and slid it over to his side of the table.

"What can you tell me about her?" Luke prodded.

"She's Dathomirian." She explained. "A bounty hunter. She wears a black and orange helmet with a snake emblem."

"Who captured her?" Luke asked as he pocketed the puck.

"The Empire." Bo smiled. "She's on a prisoner transport that's docked on Navarro."

"How do I contact you?" Luke stood up.

"That puck is modified." She stood and put on her helmet. "She'll know how to activate it."

"I'll see you then." Luke gave nodded. "One last thing."

Bo inclined her head for him to continue.

"What's her name?" Luke asked.

"Ventress." Bo replied.


~~~
AN:
The timeline and events of the source material are subject to change as I need. I haven't watched Rebels, so that aspect of things is pretty much ignored.