CHAPTER TEN– DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?

Disclaimer: I don't own the Clone Wars. It belongs to Disney. I also don't own Agnes. She belongs to Kasai1214.

There was a time we killed the King We tried to change the world too fast. Now we have got another King. He is no better than the last.

-Gavroche, in "Les Miserables"

SIERRA

Ahsoka calmly deactivates her lightsaber and stows it on her belt. This is the first time I've ever seen one of those things in the flesh, but my awe has nothing to do with that.

"D-Did you just kill a Mary Sue?" I stammer.

Ahsoka nods. "They are human, to an extent. I mean, nothing can survive without a head."

Best. Sister-in-law. Ever.

Lux, if you screw this up I will never forgive you.

I don't think I have to worry too much about that. The look beaming off Lux's face roughly translates to Best girlfriend ever!

Steela takes her hit list out of her pocket, grabs a pen off table and draws a huge line through "Mary Sues." The list now looks like this.

AHSOKA

THE BIG KAHUNA

MARY SUES

DENDUP

She's underlined Dendup's name several times. The other three names are crossed off.

"Are you ready to do what we were planning to do in the first place?" Lux asks Saw.

"I was born ready, Bonteri."

Steela blinks. "Wait. You guys were plotting to overthrow Dendup before I was even in the picture?"

I shift my weight. "Uh, Steela? When we were in jail, do you remember me telling you that I was in the slammer for breaking out before?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Lux and I were at Saw and Hutch's house to watch the University of Onderon game, and they lost. Hutch kind of went berserk, so we left his house after curfew to go home. And then we got arrested."

"Really?" Steela asks, giving Saw the dirty eye.

"The next day, we were posing as waiters so we could steal money to fund our rebellion. And the cop who arrested us was at one of my tables." I finish.

"Wait," Ahsoka asks incredulously. "You're saying that you found out about the Lazarus Project, rescued Steela and Agnes, saved me from execution, and got Tarkin arrested, because the University of Onderon lost a game?"

It sinks in for a second.

"Basically."

"I've never been happier that they suck!" Agnes exclaims.

"The Rupings do not suck!" Hutch yells. "They are the best bolo-ball team in the galaxy!"

"Sure, Hutch." Hero says through a mouthful of caviar. "Just sure."

Steela claps her hands. "All right, you guys. We need to go back to the Bonteris' and get Tandin. If we're taking down Dendup, the new king should be present."

"Are you sure the people want a new king?" Ahsoka asks. "It's like what Dendup said last time, about the will of the people."

"If the dirty looks people have been shooting at the palace are any indication, they want him gone." Lux supplies.

"They also wanted Rash gone, but it didn't spur them to do anything." Saw says. "We have to give them something to fight for."

All eyes go to Steela.

"What?"

We stare at her some more.

"They really liked your public speaking…" Saw goads.

Steela throws up her hands.

"Fine! Padme already blabbed it to the Senate anyway."

STEELA

"I have no idea why I'm allowing you to do this." Mina says.

"We've gotten rid of corrupt kings before." Lux puts in.

"That still doesn't answer my question." Mina mumbles. "General Tandin, are you sure you can keep them all safe?"

Tandin nods. "When I was a young militiaman, my group was investigating a slavery ring. When it was time to run the bust, I was the first person to charge in. My group heard what the slavers called me when I ran at them, and they made it my nickname."

"What was it?" Ahsoka asks.

Tandin sighs.

"They called me 'Ho Lee Schitt."

John cracks up.

Mina rolls her eyes. "Just be careful, all of you. We have no idea how the people will- Steela, pull your hood up!" she whispers, running forward to fix it.

I fix my gigantic sunglasses. "They're going to be coming off any time now."

"Save it for the big moment," Mina replies. "Remember, after you get the people's attention, you have to give us to the count of five to start broadcasting the transmission across Onderon."

"Five seconds. Got it. And what is it again that we're using for the distraction?"

Saw smiles devilishly, and holds up a firecracker.

"Oh my Force."

"Ready to wow a city?" Ahsoka asks.

"Come on."

Ahsoka and I climb a nearby building's fire escape up to the roof and walk over to the edge. Below us, people go about their shopping in Malagan Market. Merchants are selling their goods, parents are trying to watch their kids while haggling with the merchants, kids are ignoring their parents, and a young couple is leaning against a market stall attempting to swallow each other's faces. In short, a typical market scene.

The poor, unsuspecting people are about to get the shock of their lives.

Saw and Lux appears on the rooftop next to me. Saw digs a lighter out of his pocket, but for some reason the firecracker won't light.

Lux sticks his hands into his pockets in frustration, and then seemingly has a revelation.

First he turns himself to block Ahsoka's view, but not mine.

Then he hands Saw the firecracker, while he pulls a death stick out of his pocket and lights up.

"Is that a-?" Ahsoka stammers.

"Lux is on death sticks?"

But it turns out our fears are unfounded. Lux simply uses the death stick as a torch to light the firecracker, then drops the little stick and stomps out the flame.

Ahsoka starts to breathe a sigh of relief that Lux isn't using death sticks, but it's cut short when a certain idiot known as "Saw" lobs the firecracker straight at us.

Ahsoka and I jump out of the way, and the firecracker goes off on the roof.

There's a boom, and then silence falls.

One…Saw, I will yell at you for being an idiot later. Two…But I am not about to blow my second big moment in the sun. Three…Four…Five.

I step up to the edge of the building.

"People of Onderon!"

The people turn to face me, more or less.

"People of Onderon," I repeat. "It's true, what the Republic Senate says. King Dendup has betrayed us, just as King Rash did. He has stripped you of the rights we fought for, only to inflate his own power. But more than you can realize, he has lied to you."

I pull the hood down, and take the giant sunglasses off my face.

The young couple stops mouth-mashing and instead decides to scream.

Some lady trying to buy jogans drops everything in her arms.

And a boy who can't be any more than five years old says "Mommy, didn't we just go to her funeral?"

So true, little boy. So very true.

"My name is Steela Gerrera," I announce. "And I am not dead."

THIRD PERSON

News travels quickly on Onderon. One half of the teenage couple immediately whipped out her phone and posted a video of Steela's speech to social media. She knew she was going to be HoloNet famous.

Almost simultaneously, Sierra posted the Oswald Ruby film to the HoloNet.

In the six minutes it managed to stay up before Dendup's administration took it down, the video had one million views.

But even though Dendup could take down a video, he couldn't take down word of mouth.

"Did you hear what happened in the marketplace?"

"Steela Gerrera is alive!"

"Did you see the video on the HoloNet? Dendup pushed her off the cliff! In cold blood, just pushed her just like that."

"The man who recorded that film is dead. Dendup's goons killed him."

"And that's not it! Senator Mina Bonteri is alive, too. She and her whole family were victims of the same thing Gerrera was."

The citizen who heard that took a deep breath. "Force help Dendup when BonScary gets ahold of him."

"Isn't that right? She loves children. But Dendup's really going to get it if General Tandin is taking care of business."

"Why General Tandin?"

"He gave his kidney to the Gerrera girl! Well, Dendup would have forced him to do it anyway, but he still gave it. And she says he checked on her every day, and took care of her."

"General Tandin values people," someone else said. "He loves everyone."

"But he's too weak!"

"When he was a young militiaman, his enemies called him 'Ho Lee Schitt'. He stands up for what he believes in."

A former rebel named Talia, called Tally is talking on the phone with her friend.

"I have no idea what's going on. People are saying that Steela's still alive. But that's impossible!"

Her phone made the signal for an incoming call, and she looked down at Caller ID.

"I'll call you right back. It's Hero, maybe she knows something." She selected Hero's line. "Hero? What's going on?"

"Sorry, Talia…this isn't Hero."

Tally collapses against a wall. "Oh my God."

"Tally, don't freak out. You have to stay calm." Steela's voice orders.

"Oh my God! How is this even possible?"

"Take a deep breath and calm down. I'll explain everything later. Listen, I need you to alert the rest of our brothers and sisters and tell them to gather the people in Yolahn Square."

"What? I don't understand."

"It'll make sense soon, Tally. But you need to do it, and you need to do it now."

…

And then someone, finally, says what the entire planet had known for months.

"I think we made a mistake."

(A/N: On a scale of one to ten, how dead is Dendup now that the will of the people seems to be going against him? As you can probably see, this story is winding up. There will be two more chapters coming, hopefully on schedule.

Also: would anyone be interested in beta reading an original, post-apocalyptic short story of mine? I'm writing it for a youth organization, and I would need it done by July 7. If you're interested, just PM me. Thank you.

Thank you starwarshobbitfics, StarwarsRulz, and Kasai1214 for your reviews! And while we're on the topic, please drop a review on your way out. Until next time!)