A/N: And so here we are at the very end. I have to give a huge thank you to all the readers, followers, and reviewers that have come along on this journey with me. I appreciate every one of you so much. Its hard to believe that this is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this short epilogue to Kat's story. If you want to be notified when I begin posting my next Star Wars story (a Kat AU) make sure you've hit "follow author." Again, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. :)
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HAMK: Thank you. This wasn't an AU so I wasn't going to change anything major but I do plan on doing an AU. :)
1More: Thank you. :)
LoveFiction: Thanks!
thechosen: Aw, thank you. I'm so glad you found it and liked it.
SpeechBubbleMe: Thank you! Hope you enjoy the epilogue. If you have me on follow you will be notified when I start the new story.
emilia: They are indeed. :)
kaia: Yes, I felt things needed to be known. :)
Lovely: I'm afraid this one is over but I do have a new Kat story I'm working on, an AU this time. Thank you so much for your kind words and I hope you'll join me when I begin posting the new story.
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All credit goes to GL. Kat goes to me. :)
1.5 years after Endor ...
Speeders zipped overhead in the traffic lanes, the streets were full of the sounds of the Capital's citizens going about their lives. For most of them each day would be just like the ones before, nothing different; everything seemed just like it was the last time she'd been there almost thirty years earlier. Besides the laws the Emperor had imposed, the lives of the citizens here had not been greatly disrupted. They had not been the ones on the front lines fighting the battle for the last twenty some odd years. They might have felt inconvenienced by some of the restrictions put in place but they had not lost their homes, their loved ones, their way of life. It seemed a bit strange that so much had happened to her, so much had changed in her life since the last time she'd been on the Capital. She had gone by Kane's memorial, forgotten near Chancellor Valorum's old estate. Thaya had stood off to the side as she'd tried to wipe the dirt from the plaque bearing his name. Such a small thing to do but yet it was something she could do for him, the friend that had loved her despite knowing her own heart belonged to another. Kat had shed a few tears there, remembering her failure to protect him.
And so the sounds of the city had not changed from the last time she had been there, Coruscant itself had not changed, but here where she stood, it was oddly quiet. Here, things had changed. Standing there again was completely different from her quick visit to Padmé's old apartment. The Nubian senators that had followed in her footsteps had chosen not to live there out of respect to their former queen. It had been cleaned - all of their personal belongs were gone - and was kept up but it had remained empty since she and Padmé had left it to head to Mustafar all those years ago. It had been sad to think back on those days but what she had felt there was nothing like what she was feeling now. What was before her was only a shell of its former self.
All that remained of the elegant Temple were the five spires soaring high above everything around them; the statues of Jedi masters were gone from the entrance, the decorative façade had been removed, and symbols of the Empire were still highlighted on the walls. Grief flooded over her as she, again, contemplated all that had been lost because of the Emperor: all the knowledge, the lives that were wiped out, a galaxy that would take quite some time to heal. The only ones that could have stopped him had been wiped out at the very beginning. She longed to walk the Temple halls, to remember her time there with Obi-Wan, to see if any of the Archives had survived but she didn't dare. The stench of the Dark Side still hung heavy and she wouldn't venture any further. Palpatine had turned the former home of the Jedi into his Imperial Palace, desecrating its halls with his presence. There was no reason for her to go in anyway. She might have been a Jedi once but all that she had known and loved, except for her daughter, was now gone. That was in her past. Luke and Thaya were the future of the Jedi now. She was tired.
"Mama, are you ready to go?"
She turned to her daughter. "I believe so. I ... had to see it with my own eyes one more time. The Jedi Order the way I knew it is long gone."
"Don't talk like that."
"I have seen more than I ever cared to, Thaya. I'm ready for some peace and quiet."
"Your transport is waiting whenever you are ready leave, Kat," Luke said, coming to her daughter's side. It was still some what of a shock to hear, after all the years that had passed, her real name. Once the Emperor and Vader had been defeated she refused to hide behind her assumed name any longer. For the first time she would be able to be known as Katavé Kenobi. He looked up at the structure in front of them. "Perhaps there is knowledge still hidden inside, waiting to be rediscovered."
"If it is, you will be the one to find it," she replied with a smile. Her eyes swept over the Temple that had once been such a source of comfort for her and sighed. "I'm ready to leave now."
14 years after Endor ...
Kat held out her arms and Thaya gently handed her the baby. She looked down into the face peeking through the blanket, its eyes staring up at her inquisitively, and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"She is beautiful."
Her daughter smiled in only the way a new mother can. "She is our little ray of light. We may have named her Sarela but we've taken to calling her 'Rey' as a mix of your name and how we see her." Thaya leaned over and ran a finger down the baby's cheek. "She is strong in the Force."
"How could she not be with parents and grandparents that were Jedi ... or could have been Jedi?" Kat gave Rey her pinky finger to grab a hold of, delighting in the strength in the tiny hand. She closed her eyes and reached into the Force, hoping to see what the future had in store for her granddaughter. It was foggy, as so many things were to her now, but she got the feeling of purpose. "Where is Luke?"
"Meditating on one of the balconies."
"It is the perfect place to do so. I always enjoyed coming to the Lake Country when I lived with Padmé's family and I had always hoped to return here with your father."
"It is certainly a comforting and peaceful place and he sorely needs it."
Kat glanced up from Rey. "I had sensed he was troubled."
Thaya sighed. "Troubled, unsure. We had thought with Vader and the Emperor's defeat that we had seen the last of the Dark Side."
"The Dark Side will never disappear, my dear. We could only hope to destroy those that sought to wield it." She took in her daughter's troubled expression. "What has happened?"
"Nothing, its just a feeling that something is not right. It tears at Luke because its centered around Leia's son."
"Ben?!"
She nodded. "He has been ... unsatisfied of late and I fear he is being influenced from elsewhere." Thaya gave her mother a concerned look. "Ben has been fascinated with Vader for years and his questions only become more numerous and troubling."
"Perhaps it is his age." Thaya didn't look convinced. "Luke must understand that the Jedi Order that once was can never be again. It must change, evolve, to fit the times. That is where the Jedi failed Anakin Skywalker. They were so set in their ways that they did not understand that the Sith had changed ... and they were unable to meet that challenge when it finally presented itself. Whatever is causing these troubles, as long as he keeps that knowledge in mind, I am sure Luke will be able to figure out what to do about it."
"That is why he spends so much time in meditation. He is hoping to find some answers from father or Master Yoda."
Kat placed a kiss on top of Rey's head and handed her back to Thaya. "If anyone can give him the answers he seeks it will be one of them but I do not know how much they will be able to help. Their presence in the Force has seemed ... less strong as of late, wavering. It may be that one is only afforded a certain amount of time in which they are able to still talk to us."
Thaya cuddled the baby against her chest. "I can only hope they have enough strength left to help Luke with whatever it is that he seeks."
"I have faith in you both ... in all three of you."
Her daughter gave her small smile and then left the room, leaving her to her thoughts.
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The moon was high, its bright light reflecting off the lake and bathing everything below it in a soft, pale glow. A gentle breeze blew in through the open balcony doors, rippling the sheer curtains. Kat enjoyed the feel of it across her face and closed her eyes contentedly. When Luke and Thaya had married she had been unsure where she needed to go. Coruscant was out of the question; there was no way she could have seen what had once been the Jedi Temple every day knowing what had become of it. Her choices had been either to stay on Tatooine or to return to Naboo. The latter had been the more appealing choice. Though she and Obi-Wan had spent their married life on Tatooine when she had the option of returning to the trees and water of her home planet she had decided that was where she wanted to end her days. She had purchased a house in the Lake Country and lived in peace and quiet, just as she'd always wished she and Obi-Wan had been able to do. Thaya and Luke visited when they could but his task of rebuilding the Jedi Order had taken up much of their time and if what her daughter had told her earlier was true, it seemed as if they had some trouble brewing. Despite the small fear that knowledge gave her, she found she was content.
Thaya's concerns are well founded.
I'm sure they are but I am too old for adventures now.
Kat heard Obi-Wan chuckle and it brought a smile to her face. She found herself missing him more and more as time passed; the ache his death left just would not heal.
I was not suggesting you go to fight the Dark Side this time.
So it is the Dark Side.
Yes. What you told our daughter today was nothing but the truth: the Dark Side will never disappear. We can only hope to be victorious over those that hope to use it. Anakin's grandson is strong with the Force but I've seen that there is someone or something working to turn him to the Dark Side.
Can you see who it is?
No. Just as it is with you, much is hidden from me these days. My ability to actually be seen is fading. I only hope I will be able to continue speaking to Luke until this threat is passed.
Kat did not answer and a pleasant silence filled the room. She could feel Obi-Wan still by her side. She did not like the thought of her daughter having to face the same troubles she had but there was nothing she could do about it now. She was old, tired, and could do nothing but offer her love and support.
Are you finally ready, my dear?
It is time.
I will be waiting for you.
I know.
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The morning sun was warm and the day promised to be comfortable and clear. Thaya decided it would be the perfect day to take her mother for a picnic down in the meadow. She and Luke would be leaving in two days to return to the Academy and she felt it was important to spend as much time with her as possible.
"Mama, what do you say about a picnic with me and Rey for lunch?" she asked, poking her head around the door after knocking. Kat lay with her eyes closed, seemingly still asleep, but a strange feeling settled in her stomach and she slowly approached the bed. "Mama?"
There was no response.
She bit her lip and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her mother's hand; there was an expression of peace and happiness on her still face. Taking a deep breath she wiped at the tears that had been making their way silently down her cheeks. Kat had not been young and she had mentioned more than once during this visit that she was tired but despite that her heart clinched. Thaya could not imagine not hearing her mother's voice, her laugh, or seeing her smile.
"She is one with the Force now and with Obi-Wan." Luke placed his hands gently on her shoulders. "She would not want you to grieve too deeply."
"Oh, I know," she replied, wiping again at the tears. "I know she missed father dreadfully but ... "
"It still hurts." She nodded, then turned to bury her face in Luke's tunic. He put his arms around her and hugged tightly.
"She and your father will always be with you." Thaya didn't respond, merely tightened her hold on her husband. She was glad they had made the time to visit after Rey's birth, glad that her mother had gotten the chance to see her only grandchild. There was also a small measure of comfort to be found in the thought that she knew without a doubt that her father had been there, ready to take her mother's hand. After several moments of silent sobbing, she leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her mother's cheek.
"May the Force be with you, mama."