Epiphany

Epiphany

by

Lordhadrian

"All pilots, report to the hanger bay! All pilots, we are now at code blue for launch!"


Ahsoka Tano ran to her X-Wing as the fleet prepared to make the final jump. She joined her squadron, exiting the Mon Calimari carrier.

The squadron quickly went into formation. Ahsoka had been a part of one of the dozens of briefings shared around the fleet. This was a big deal, and all the years of hiding and planning were about to come to fruition. "All wings report in." She opened the channel quickly as the fleet prepared for the jump. The final jump to what could be the final battle.

Her squad flew in formation next to one of the cruisers, sounding off one at a time.

They had waited as a team led by General Solo went on ahead to disable the shield generator around the massive super weapon the Empire had been building.

The launch soon came and the Rebel fleet made its jump, in the hopes that General Solo had accomplished his mission.

Ahsoka contemplated her life, and all her efforts as the fleet stormed through the hyperlane to its fateful destination.

They exited hyperspace, and there up ahead was the prize. A Space station with a terrifying Imperial agenda.

Ahsoka's squad joined many others as they went full speed towards it.

But Ahsoka had gotten a terrible feeling. Something wasn't right. General Calrissian, who had been leading the charge, also figured it out with less of a connection to the Force.

"All units, break off the attack!" Calrissian pulled awayIt looked to easy, and they realized they had played into the Emperor's trap. Admiral Ackbar had spotted the Imperial fleet.

They were surrounded.

What made this trap doubly crushing for Ahsoka was the sensation of Vader on board the station. She also sensed Luke Skywalker. The conflict and energy of the Force between Vader and Luke was almost a ton of bricks weighing down on her heart. But it was insignificant compared to the black void aura that surrounded Emperor Palpatine.

Ahsoka concentrated on the present, concentrated on the enemy Tie-fighters now engaging the rebels.

But she could feel Palpatine's arrogance. Ahsoka could not help but remember a time when she thought she could trust Palpatine, that he was a leader who wanted to restore the Republic.

How he fooled everyone. The worse feeling she had was knowing he was always one step ahead of the Jedi and the Senators who tried to preserve the Republic. He had been one step ahead of them all.

Ahsoka blasted two more fighters. "Cover the Admiral, there is a squadron of bombers closing in!" She split up her group. Half would keep up the pressure on the Imperial fleet, while she went back to pick off the heavy Tie Bombers that slipped past the front line.

A large explosion happened behind her, and she felt such a cacophany of noise within the Force. One of the Mon Calamari cruisers had been obliterated, not by the Star Destroyers, but by the Space Station itself.

She could hear Calrissian's shock, and Ackbar's desperation. hsoka almost felt her own heart sink.

Trapped between a fresh fleet led by a Super Star Destroyer and a near impregnable space Fortress, it was just a matter of time.

She fought on, giving orders, letting her combat training take over and shutting off the mind. No need to keep dwelling on the battle that raged on board the battle station. The fighting was ferocious enough in space.

She blasted three more fighters, covered by her wingmen. They fought hard and started to feel a weight lift from their minds.

Something had happened, and Ahsoka had felt her heart become lighter.

Somewhere, in the twisting and turning maelstrom of the Force, the tide had turned.

The heavy Darkness that was Palpatine had somehow been vanquished.  The tremor in the Force became a shock wave, though she was disciplined enough to concentrate.

But the joy in the Force had become tremendous.  The Emperor was Dead and she knew it!

She felt another great tremor in the dark heart of a brutal warrior she once called "Master".

That one moment in time clicked, and a heart had changed. One heart in a billion billion hearts. But, For Ahsoka, it was the one Heart in a that could change the course of history forever.  Vader was dead.  And Anakin had returned.

And suddenly, Ahsoka felt elated. An inexplicable joy swelled up within her as she fought around the Battle station and made a havoc amongst its guns and defense towers.

She and her squad mates realized that the station was a hulking beast swatting at insects and failing miserably.

Her joy, which she had felt in the deepest parts of her heart, had observed an infectuous change in the battle around her.

Victory was being won on the planet after General Solo blew up the shield generator protecting the Fortress.

The menacing Super star Destroyer was obliterated along the surface of the beastly Space Station.

The Imperial fleet, which started out on a superior footing was now in a shambles. Star Destroyers were being blown up and sent into disarray.

What had become a catastrophe for the rebels became a reverse catastrophe.

The final victory was one nobody else could witness. Nobody saw it, but she had felt it. She could feel it in her heart that the blackness of Emperor Palpatine had been erased. And with his death, another shadow had been lifted.

She could feel it, even in the heat of battle. It lifted her soul, and she found herself fighting more fiercely, more victoriously.

The shadow of Vader was gone. The darkness that had ruled Anakin for over 20 years was finally gone, extinguished by the hand of Luke Skywalker.

Ahsoka sensed it. Anakin had returned.

But just as quickly as Anakin was whole again in the light, she had felt his light dim and dull. The light in the Heart of her former Master was almost gone.

Tears had poured from her face as Calrissian and Akbar had given orders to move away from the Battle Fortress. The final victory was at hand.

Everyone could sense the energy overload that consumed the Death star from within, and she rejoined her squadron by the Rebel fleet.

She felt Luke's escape, and then came the brightest explosion of the battle, maybe the brightest since the destruction of Aldaraan.

She landed an hour later, after the Imperial forces had been scattered and defeated.  She joined a massive rebel celebration taking place in the grand tree city of the Ewok people.

Something tugged at her heart.  She hugged old friends and greeted new ones.  Her heart felt the wave of the Light and the presence of several beings that she had not felt in many years.  She spotted the young Skywalker by a tree.  Anakin's son.  She knew of him, worked with him on many missions.  Especially after he learned the terrible truth about his father.

Ahsoka saw what he saw, and she rejoiced quietly to herself.  The three great Masters of her golden youth.  Men who had shaped her path for good.  She felt united with them once again.  Her smile connected with Anakin's.  And all was set right in the galaxy again.

For the Rebels, it was a tremendous victory against a faceless, brutal Empire.

For Ahsoka, it was a long 20+ years journey to inner peace. The long journey that burdened her heart was now at an end.