What If...Mace Windu survived his fight with Palpatine? (Part 14)

Image credit to u/DudeItsSam on Reddit

Man, it's been an even hotter minute since last time, hasn't it?

I've been away from this for so long that I'd honestly forgotten where I was going with this. Luckily, having watched Book of Boba Fett has inspired me to pick this back up again...mostly out of disappointment with where that show went, but that's neither here nor there.

So, let's do the recap of last time, shall we?

Mace's friend Ram was killed by a Stormtrooper during the raid on Dromund Kaas. In that base, the Jedi, the Prophets of the Dark Side, and the Inquisitors all clashed. Several Jedi that had been imprisoned by the Prophets were freed. Kadann was cut down by Cal Kestus and Trilla, but was able to reveal to Boba Fett the truth of Jango's death to him and shatter the Mandalorian's entire worldview. A truce was called between the Jedi and the Inquisitors, each group going their separate ways.

With the death of Kadann, the Prophets of the Dark Side are pretty badly scattered and it seems the Empire has lost a great weapon in their arsenal against the Jedi and the Rebellion.

Well, after the Skirmish on Dromund Kaas, the Jedi Order is trying to rebuild. The return of Jocasta Nu in particular has aided greatly in restoring much of the Order's lost lore, although most of it is still lost after the attack on the Coruscant Temple during Order 66. Alongside Master Yoda and some of the other Masters, Jocasta is beginning to build back what has been lost.

The Council is rather worried about Cal's outburst during the battle that ended with the death of Kadann, since his actions dip dangerously close to the Dark Side. Anakin agrees to help Cal, having been pulled from a similar darkness himself. The Council also expresses some reservations about Merrin which, in spite of everything, are not at all soothed by the words of Cal. She is allowed to stay, however, and is offered a place with the Order if she so chooses. Merrin, as you might expect, is keen on keeping the secrets of the Nightsister magic to herself and not particularly up for joining the Jedi, which doesn't help with the tension.

Luke, Leia, Mara, and Galen are brought aboard Yoda's ship, Chu'unthor to begin the bulk of their training. With some advanced capabilities as well as planned routes well outside of Imperial space, the quartet can be trained in relative safety. When Sola is found to be Force Sensitive (if you recall, Anakin and Padmé had her back in Part 9), she too is set up to eventually be trained as a Jedi.

On the notion of the upcoming war, Mace and several other members of the Council are called upon by the Rebel Alliance to take part in a meeting. Kattada is a key Imperial world a bit close to Alderaan, and it is agreed by all parties that taking it would provide them with a spectacular springboard from which to take back Alderaan. The Battle of Kattada is brutal, but surprisingly short. Given their intel, the Rebels are able to attack at a time when Imperial forces are at their least prevalent.

Unfortunately, Kattada is the spark that the Empire was looking for. They declared war on the Rebel Alliance of Free Systems before the blasters had even gone cold.

The next two years, however, see a terrible conflict - the Siege of Alderaan. Tarkin has sent the best of his fleets and his troops to the planet against the instructions of Mas Amedda. Without Kadann as a balancing act, Tarkin is able to enforce his famous Doctrine. Displays of horror meant to break the Rebels and the Jedi are displayed upon Alderaan, mass killings of civilians, bombings, and other (seemingly) random violence to crush hope and resistance.

Despite this, the Rebels and the Jedi do not relent in their attempts to take Alderaan, although there are some severely close calls. Many Rebel soldiers and even a few Jedi fall in battle. This all gets broadcasted over the Holonet, which is seen across the galaxy despite the Empire's attempts to stop it. The end result? Mass rioting and revolution. Amedda has to further conscript soldiers as even several Imperial-aligned planets are starting to fall out of lockstep.

Mace is on Alderaan, by the way. He's one of the key leaders of the offensive trying to retake the planet. Two years of fighting and struggle finally comes to a head with a raid on the Alderaanian capital of Aldera and the capture of the Imperial governor. With the Rebels almost on their doorstep, Mas Amedda is getting quite worried. Tarkin is miffed, having been handed quite the defeat by the Jedi and the Rebels. Needless to say, Mas gets more than a little bit of a surprise when Tarkin uses the lack of an Imperial Senate to take control.

Now we have Regent Tarkin, which I'm sure is going to get along just swimmingly!

The Jedi Council convenes after the Siege of Alderaan. Despite the big upswing in the side of Light against the Dark...the Dark Side still remains strong. Terrifyingly strong, in fact. Finally, it is Yoda that suggests that something has risen that is even stronger than Sidious had been. The Masters meditate on this, reaching out to the Force for answers. The answer comes as they are all at once granted a vision.

In the depths of space, a single green moon orbits around a gas giant. In the orbit of that moon, a massive structure is being built. Spherical, it is clearly not complete. Within that sphere, sitting upon a throne, the bent, twisted form of a man sits...and laughs...

Palpatine, somehow, is alive, and a new Death Star is being built...

. . .and that's where we're going to leave off with Part 14. Somehow, Palpatine has returned.

. . .heh. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Unlike that, don't worry, you'll actually get an explanation for how Palpatine has returned because I actually care about making this halfway decent. That's coming up, however. We have the Empire under new management, the Rebels poised to take them down...or at they?

Not all is as it seems, and more is to come in Part 15...which will hopefully be sooner than it took Part 15 to come out.