"Much better, now that Tycho is free." Winter slipped her hand from Luke's and again held Tycho's hand. "I under-stand you are spending most of your time in the Museum."
"True. There is a wealth of material there." Luke looked over at Wedge.
"I was hoping you'd introduce me to this Corran Horn."
"Gladly." Wedge looked around, caught Corran's eye, and waved him over.
Corran headed in their direction with Mirax on his arm and Qlaern Hirf following them like a shadow. "Luke Skywalker, it is an honor to present to you Lieutenant Corran Horn, Mirax Terrik, and Qlaern Hirf. This is Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and founder of Rogue Squadron."
Corran smiled and shook Luke's hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you, sir.
One of the first things Commander Antilles ever said to me was that I was 'no Luke Skywalker.' You set a very high standard for all of us to shoot for."
"Not my intention, but I'm not averse to being used as a motivational tool." Luke smiled, then shook Mirax's hand. "What you and Qlaern Hirf have done to save lives here on Coruscant is worthy of much praise and even more thanks."
Mirax shrugged. "I'm strictly transport, sir, Qlaern did the hard work."
Luke shot a glance back at Wedge. "A Corellian smug-gler without an attitude?"
Wedge shrugged. "She's smarter than most." Mirax laughed. "No profit in bragging, only working."
"Indeed." The Jedi held a hand up and brushed it along the Vratix's arm as Qlaern touched his face. "Our thanks to you for creating rylca."
"Verachen is what we are. Our joy is in our success."
"And your success will make many people very happy." Luke withdrew his arm--forestalling introductions to the rest of the squadron as they crowded around--and, for a moment, his dark cloak closed around his body.
When his hands again emerged from beneath the garment, he extended a slender silver cylinder toward Corran. "This belongs to you, I believe."
"No, sir. I returned it to the Museum, and the Jedi Credit, too." Corran tapped his breastbone. "I borrowed them when escaping from there and returned them when everything calmed down."
"I know that, Lieutenant Horn." Luke's hand remained halfway between them with the lightsaber held loosely in his grip. "What I mean is that this lightsaber belongs to you. They're often passed down from one family member to an-other."
Cotran frowned. "I think you're making a mistake here. That lightsaber belonged to a Jedi named Nejaa Halcyon. It should go to his family."
"So it shall." Luke advanced it toward him. "Nejaa Hal-cyon was your grandfather."
What? Luke's remark, spoken in a low, calm voice, sur-prised Wedge as much as it seemed to surprise Corran. "Cor-ran, you never said anything about your grandfather being a Jedi Knight."
"He wasn't. My grandfather was Rostek Horn. He worked for the Corellian Security Force. He wasn't a Jedi. He once partnered with one--liaised with him so CorSec could work with the Jedi on things on Coreilia--but that was it." Corran unfastened his tunic at the neck and pulled out the medallion he wore. He unclasped the gold chain and gathered the Jedi medallion in his right hand. "The Jedi on this medallion may have been his friend, but he wasn't my grandfather."
Luke's voice remained even. "Your father was Hal Horn?"
~'Yes."
"And his given name was Valin Horn."
"Yes, but everyone called him Hal." Corran blinked. "You don't think that was a rhyme for part of his name, do you? You think that was short for Halcyon, right?"
"What I think, Corran, is that Nejaa Halcyon died in the Clone Wars, and his friend, Rostek Horn, was there to sup-port Nejaa's widow and son through the tragedy. Rostek married your grandmother and adopted your father." Luke frowned momentarily. "When the Emperor began to hunt down the Jedi and kill them, Rostek Horn, given his position in CorSec, managed to change records so that Nejaa's family was hidden from Imperial scrutiny. You and I are alike in that we come from families with a strong Jedi tradition, yet neither of us were aware of our heritage until later."
Luke reached out and took Corran's right hand in his left. He pressed the lightsaber into it and closed Corran's fingers around the shaft. "You may want to consider finding this lightsaber a coincidence or luck, but there's no such thing. I'll have you know that of the other two-dozen light-sabers in those rooms, only three worked without recharg-ing, and this one had lain in a case far longer than any of the others."
"You mean my grandfather wasn't my grandfather?"
"Oh, he was very much your grandfather. He accepted the responsibility for directing you and your father into the sort of life that would honor Nejaa Halcyon and insulate you from the dark side of the Force. It was a difficult and coura-geous thing for him to do, and clearly he did it well." Luke smiled. "In fact, he did it very well. So well, in fact, I have an offer to make you. For thirty generations the Jedi Knights safeguarded the galaxy, and the Emperor was only able to succeed in our absence. I am dedicating my life to reestab-lishing the Jedi Knights. I want you to join me. Come with me. Train and learn with me. Become a Jedi Knight."
Wedge felt something hollow open up inside his gut in the wake of the hushed gasps of the rest of the squadron. He instantly recognized the void--I'm jealous! That surprised him for a moment, then he realized how the emotion had been born. Luke had always been a special friend, but as he had grown into his heritage as a Jedi Knight, distance had formed between them. They still got along well and had a great time in each other's company, but Wedge's inability to understand what it was to be a Jedi also forced them apart. Now someone who does not know him as well as I do, someone he barely knows at all, is being offered the chance to learn about a side of Luke I can never know.
Corran lifted the lightsaber up in front of his face. "You want me to become a Jedi Knight?"
"Yes. Together we can make certain no more Emperors can rise up to enslave a galaxy. Everything you were raised to do within CorSec you will be able to do in the whole of the New Republic. The Empire is but one manifestation of the Force's dark side and we will stand as a buffer between it and good people everywhere."
Mirax hugged Corran's left arm. "A Jedi Knight. This is quite an honor."
Corran shook his head. "No."
Wedge nodded at him. "Oh, it is quite an honor, Cor-ran, one I envy you."
"You're not hearing what I'm saying." Corran's head came up. "I realize it's an honor to be asked to train and become a Jedi Knight. Believe me I do, but my answer is no."
Borsk Fey'lya's jaw dropped open. "No?"
"No." Corran frowned. "I have things I have to do. Erisi and Iceheart have crimes to pay for."
Luke's cloak closed around him and his face became impassive. "Beware revenge, Corran. Such black emotions open the way to the dark side of the Force."
"This isn't about revenge." Corran shook his head and pain washed over his face. "It's about obligations I have to people. People who helped me, other prisoners were on the Lusankya when it blasted out of here. I promised them I'd come back for them. Well, we know where they are: Thyferra. It's time we go get them."
Wedge nodded. "We clearly cannot leave Ysanne Isard and Fliry Vorru in charge of the galaxy's bacta supply. We're producing rylca now and might be able to produce some bacta later, but that'll never be enough. We're going to have to go after Iceheart, and I'd prefer it to be sooner rather than later."
Borsk Fey'lya's fur rippled. "But, in fact, Commander Antilles, your quest will never take place."
"What?"
The Bothan clasped his hands together at his waist. "The Provisional Council will never sanction an operation against Thyferra. We have your orders to join the Mon Remonda and head out after Warlord Zsinj."
"Those orders were issued before Iceheart escaped with Erisi and Fliry Vorru. It was before she took Thyferra. We can't be expected to follow those orders." Wedge stared dis-believing at the Bothan Councilor.
"That's not right."
"Oh, it is quite right, Commander. Remember, the peo-ple of Thyferra overthrew their own government and in-stalled Ysanne Isard as their leader. This makes the revolution there nothing more than a case of internal politi-cal maneuvering."
A cold chill ran down Wedge's spine. "And the Provi-sional Council cannot allow itself or its agents to interfere in the internal politics of a world, because that would frighten off potential member states from joining the New Republic."
"It might even convince some others to leave and break the New Republic apart." Borsk Fey'lya glanced at Corran Horn. "You might as well accept the Jedi's offer because your unit can do nothing on Thyferra. Rogue Squadron has other duties now."
Corran arched an eyebrow at the Bothan. "Okay, I quit."
The fur on the back of Fey'lya's neck rose like a rocket. "You cannot.
Antilles, talk sense into him."
Wedge snorted. "l've heard sense, and it's coming from him." Fey'lya's tone of voice had told Wedge there was no way he could advance the Vratix case before the Council. The Vratix were the backbone of the Ashern, the native inde-pendence movement on Thyferra and Isard's only opposi-tion.
His proposing that the Provisional Council back the Vratix and their claims to self-determination would meet with equal enthusiasm as any other idea about interfering with Thyferran internal politics. I promised Qlaern I'd do what I could for its people, but the New Republic is prevent-ing me from keeping that promise.
Wedge rubbed a hand along his jaw. "I joined this Re-bellion to fight the Empire's tyranny. Just because we have Coruscant doesn't mean it's ended.
The New Republic might not be able to strike at Thyferra, but there are Rebels around who can." He smiled. "I quit, too."
Borsk Fey'lya turned to his left. "It would appear, Cap-tain Celchu, that Rogue Squadron is now your command."
"I don't think so." Tycho shook his head. "It's been a long time since I've been a civillian. I'm out as well."
Corran's Gand wingman rested a hand on Corran's shoulder. "Ooryl resigns."
"Nawara and I are out," Rhysati Ynr chimed in.
Gavin smiled. "I quit, too."
Aril Nunb, Inyri Forge, and Riv Shiel all nodded in agreement. "We're out."
Asyr Sei'lar slipped in under Gavin's arm. "I resign."
Borsk Fey'lya stiffened. "You're a Bothan. You cannot."
"I'm a Rogue. It is done."
The Bothan councilor snarled. "You can't do this. You have no ships."
"Begging your pardon, Councilor, but I never signed my X-wing over to the Rebellion. I have a ship."
"Very well for you, Lieutenant Horn, but no one else does." Borsk Fey'lya's amethyst eyes burned with fury. "The rest of you have no resources for getting ships. One X-wing and some broken-down tramp freighter will take on a Super Star Destroyer?"
Mirax shot him a nasty glance. "The Skate isn't broken down. They need ships, I can find them."
"And pay for them with what?"
Tycho smiled. "As I recall, the New Republic made a great deal of noise about a number of bank accounts belong-ing to me with a significant amount of credits in them."
"That money was supplied by Isard to frame you."
"So much the better to use it against her, wouldn't you say?"
"This is insanity! You cannot do this." Borsk Fey'lya raked his fur back down into place. "Jedi Skywalker, con-vince them of their folly. They will fail if they try."
"As my master told me, there is no try: one can only do or do not." Luke nodded solemnly. "It seems, Wedge, those are your choices."
"No choice at all, Luke." Wedge smiled broadly. "We're, ah, we were Rogue Squadron. We do."