Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage

Officially done with our spar, the three of us headed down to the Skyforged living space. We had a steady rotation of actual food, something the Rebellion lacked, especially on this station. Rather than just throw something together, I took over the kitchen and decided to finally do something I had been dying to try since I arrived in the Star Wars universe.

I was gonna recreate pizza.

This attempt was more than a few weeks in the making. First, I started putting together a list of what I wanted, which I brought to our quartermaster. I had assumed it would be a long, complicated process of finding stuff to replace the ingredients I was used to. Surprisingly, as I talked to the quartermaster, he assured me almost all of what I needed existed. Wheat was grown on Lothal and several other agriworlds, so of course flour existed as well.

Obviously, mozzarella didn't exist, but the galaxy had thousands of different cheese types made by hundreds of other planets. The quartermaster assured me that finding a mild, meltable cheese would be easy. Tomatoes also actually existed, though I would have to make my own sauce. Thankfully, that was a relatively straightforward process as long as I wasn't determined to make one that was super deeply flavored. At least, not without a whole lot of prep time.

They even had instant rising powder, an additive that removed the need to wait for the dough to rise. It was intended for bread making, but I'm sure it would work here.

As I cooked in the kitchen space near our quarters, Luke and Ahsoka sat nearby at the table. Luke was fiddling with his lightsaber, the energy cell out, as he cleaned and inspected the shell. I spotted what he was doing, and after sparing a look at Ahsoka, I decided to

speak up,

"Luke… would you like to make your own saber?" I asked, the young adult jerking his head up to me, his eyes wide. "I know that that is your father's saber, but you might connect better with your own."

"I… I don't know how," He admitted, looking at Ahsoka with wide eyes. "Ahsoka explained the basic stuff like Kyber crystals and how to maintain my dad's, but…"

"A Jedi's weapon is important to them," I explained. "While they should be able to fight with most or no weapons, the lightsaber is a symbol, a powerful tool. Finding your own crystal and constructing your own lightsaber will help you connect more deeply with it."

"I… might know someone who can help with that," Ahsoka admitted. "I could teach you the basics…But they would be the best option. I would need to find them, however."

"I can help with that. Finding things just happens to be something I'm good at," I commented. "And you would need a Kyber crystal. One that resonates with you,"

"How would I get one of those? Ahsoka said that the Jedi got theirs from Ilium, and the Empire locked that planet down."

"There are dozens, if not hundreds, of sources of Kyber crystal in the galaxy," I responded. "All crystals that are in tune with the Force are considered Kyber, which means technically any place with a heavy force presence can technically grow them, though the conditions still need to be right. I know of one location where there are crystals, plenty of them, but I also know of a few other potential places."

"Where?! "He asked, sounding excited. "I thought… I was worried that future Jedi would struggle to find their crystals..."

"Even if they did, there are other solutions," I assured him. "But if you're about to go on a quest for your saber… I want to come with you."

"What? Why?" He asked, sounding confused. "I can't imagine it would be very fun."

"One, I can almost guarantee something is going to happen. The chances of this going cleanly are damn near zero," I assured him, Ahsoka nodding in agreement while Luke looked confused. "Second, if my first location doesn't have anything that you could match to, you're going to need my help finding the other locations."

"I… guess?" He said. "I would need to contact General Syndulla to get time off, but…"

"I'm also going because Falia should come with us, so she needs an escort," I pointed out. "She obviously isn't ready to build a lightsaber, but she can keep the crystal with her until she is."

"... If it's going to be a group trip… Then I believe I have someone we should invite as well," She said. "An old friend who I recently rescued from deep in the Unknown Regions."

"Who?" I asked, looking confused and wracking my brain, trying to figure out who she could be talking about.

"Oh? I half expected you to already know," She said, a small smile on her lips. "Ezra Bridger. He sacrificed himself in the process of stopping Admiral Thrawn-"

I cursed, the sudden name drop causing me to drop the spoon I was using to mix the simple tomato sauce, spattering me with hot tomato juice. Both Luke and Ahsoka looked at me with concern, but I waved their looks away. Luke shrugged and accepted the dismissal, but Ahsoka locked eyes with me, giving me a look that told me she could feel how unsettled I was. Eventually, she looked away, dropping it for the moment.

"Ezra managed to persuade a pod of purrgil to pull Thrawn's ships into hyperspace. The Chimera, Thrawn's flagship, was badly damaged, but Ezra was still captured. He was tortured for information and then locked away. Sabine Wren and I rescued him after I recovered from a… previous issue."

"Well… Where is he?" I asked. "I can't imagine he was in good shape after returning from being in Thrawn's hands."

"He wasn't, but he is doing better. He is adapting to his prosthetics, and the facial reconstruction surgery was successful."

I shook my head, and for a while, the room was quiet, the heavy topic sucking the energy out of the room. I began putting together the pizza itself, pouring the sauce and adding the cheese. I considered attempting to put some sort of meat topping, but I decided it was best to keep it simple at first. Once I slid the pizza into the oven, I set a timer and dropped into a seat beside Ahsoka.

"He should come with us, then. I'm willing to bet finding a crystal that he resonates with will help him get over what he went through," I pointed out, Ahsoka nodding in agreement. "Unless Luke would prefer to go at this alone?"

"No, the more the merrier," He said with a smile. "I would love to meet Ezra as well. I've heard good things about him. Plus another trained force user..."

"Great. Then it sounds like we have a good old-fashioned Jedi adventure," I said with a smirk. "When we are done eating, I'll start talking to Tatnia about what's going on. I've been looking for an opportunity to have her and some others run missions on their own since I can't run everything, and this is a great opportunity to do that. We can take the Starcaller since it would have more than enough room for everyone."

We agreed and settled down to wait for lunch. Luke reassembled his father's lightsaber, and I served them slices of pizza before sitting down with my own. Unsurprisingly, the meal was a massive success, and both of the pies that I made were devoured. I made a note to get more ingredients so I could make more for the team later.

Once we were done eating, we split up to complete our tasks, eager to get the ball rolling. I needed to talk to Tatnia and Nal, while Luke, who was very eager to find his own Kyber crystal and construct his own saber, needed to contact his superiors. Ahsoka was confident they would give him the time, especially since General Syndulla had the final say. Ahsoka went to her ship, the T-6 shuttle she arrived in, to gather and consolidate some of the info we would need for the first half of the trip, finding Ahsoka's expert on lightsaber crafting. I honestly had no idea who she was talking about, so I hoped she had enough for me to cast Clairvoyance with.

She also needed to reach out to Ezra, who was apparently still on Lothal with Sabine Wren.

I didn't plan on leaving that day, but it was clear there was a level of eagerness for everyone. Ahsoka was, despite her trepidation, clearly enjoying the process of training and helping Luke find his way, and Luke was unsurprisingly eager to prove himself in any way he could. I was interested for no other reason than it promised to be an adventure… plus, finding another stable source of Kyber crystals meant a lot to the sustainability of my enchanting. Plus, it was hard not to want to go on a lightsaber crafting journey. They had always played a huge role in so many of the books.

When I finally found Tatnia, she was enjoying her downtime with Julus. After I revealed I knew they were together, they seemed to have stopped hiding it, which was probably for the best considering how poor a job they were doing in the first place.

"Tatnia, do you mind if I interrupt your downtime for some business talk?" I asked, sitting down on the far corner of a couch, facing the couple.

"Sure, Boss. What's going on?" She asked, leaning forward from her spot beside Julus.

"Ahsoka, Luke, and a few other people are going on a Force-related mission, looking for their Kyber crystals," I explained. "It's likely to take a week at least. They will be visiting that place, but the journey might not end there."

"Okay… I'm sensing a heavy addition there, Boss."

"That's 'cause there is. I'll be going with them."

She looked at me for a moment before reaching for a remote and turning off the holo-projector that had been playing in the background so she could focus on me.

"Why?" She asked, now in full business mode. "We need to go on our recruitment drive."

"I fully trust you and Nal to do that, and you both know I'm a bit too much of a softy to really be any help," I pointed out, shaking my head. "When you've selected a group you like, I can come in after and show them magic, as well as use the Calm spell on them to make sure everything is good. Other than that, I'm useless."

"I think you are underestimating your ability to attract quality people, but fine, I understand what you mean," She admitted. "Why do you feel the need to go with them?"

"Besides them needing my help to locate stuff?" I asked, getting a nod in return. "We are looking at the seeds of the new Jedi Order, Tatnia. This is a group of people who could potentially grow into a massively important faction in the future. They would form the core, the very heart of the New Jedi Order. When we talk about getting in on the ground floor and making important friends? This is that. Besides, traveling around with this many Jedi means something is going to happen. I have no idea what, but with the right person on board, it could also be a major opportunity."

Tatnia looked at me for a long moment before eventually nodding in understanding. Part of me suspected she had realized I was working with a bit extra information than even I let on. I was careful, at least I thought I was, not to say things that had to do with the future, at least not as a solid fact. But Tatnia was smart, and out of everyone, she had heard the most of my little tidbits of information.

In truth, I desperately wanted to work myself as close to the New Jedi Order as I could. They were the center of so much of the galaxy's issues for a long time, and being around to whisper into Luke's ear about Kyp Durron or Corran Horn would lead to massive shifts. Not to mention, being good friends with Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and Hero of the Rebellion, would open a lot of doors.

Seeing that this was important, Tatnia agreed to gather everyone for a quick meeting where I explained that I would be away for a while, investing in our friends and potential future assets. As we talked, we discussed what we would be up to. First, Nal and Tatnia would travel on the Talos Chariot to a few well-known recruitment planets in the Mid and Outer Rims. They would have two clone troopers and some BX droid support to cover them. Meanwhile, Vaz and Julus would work with the Clone Trooper ground team, as well as the Intervention and the Loyal Hound, to work on bounties. They would also help move around repair materials should Miru figure out what she needed while I was gone.

Tatnia would be in command of one mission, and Vaz would be in command of the other. I was worried that Lieutenant Rider would be upset if I handed over command to her, but he happily accepted her leadership. Apparently, she made an impression during her time on the Loyal Hound.

With a general plan set, I passed command of the Skyforged Vanguard over to Tatnia, who rolled her eyes at the over-the-top salute I gave her. She promised to gather some serious recruits but added that we would need to do some serious asset gathering when I got back.

"If you want everyone to have the same uniforms and equip any potential ground teams with our heavy armor, we need more metal," She pointed out, and I nodded in agreement.

"I know. I have a couple of ideas, but I think we should discuss them when I get back," I said, really not wanting to mention Jabba right before I left for a while. "Until then, focus on getting the best you can. Starfighter pilots and repair crews first. We are already putting way too much on Miru as it is, we need to give her some people to work with."

We discussed Tatnia's plans for a bit longer before we went our separate ways. My second-in-command went to spend the rest of the day relaxing, as much as she could with the new responsibility at least. Meanwhile, I went to prepare for the trip. I quickly packed a bag but left it in my room before heading out and moving my armor, newly gone over by Pola, to one of the Starcaller's bedrooms.

The rest of the day was spent touching base with everyone who wasn't at the meeting, discussing what was going on, and warning them about my absence. They were surprised that I would be leaving, but no one doubted the importance of supporting our Jedi friends.