Meanwhile on mandalore… I did a few of these chapters back in the Ashla Spectrum while Soniee was on Coruscant and Korkie was still back on Manda'yaim. Now they find themselves apart once again, and though the chorus of the Goo Goo Dolls Iris was perfect for Soniee, the first verse is more fitting for the boy she left behind.

And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't wanna go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
When sooner or later it's over
I just don't wanna miss you tonight

Small rant (with spoilers for Rebels season 4) :

During the second episode of the fourth season of Rebels we were given an extremely brief info dump of what had happened on Mandalore in the years following the siege. Supposedly during this time the Jedi set up Bo Katan Kryze as the new leader in the place of her sister but she couldn't hold the position and what? Went into hiding or something until some kid who can make bombs and happened upon the dark sabre says, "Oh no I can't be the leader even though everybody wants me to be even though i developed a horrible weapon that can only be used against our people who are too stubborn to wear anything different. You be the leader instead." (honestly I do like Sabine but this was really unbelievable)

Here's the thing: numeral uno: the only person the Jedi council sent to help the Mandalorians during the siege was a teenage ex-padawan with half of the 501st battalion. What authority did Ahsoka have to set anybody up as leader even if they were heir by blood. And what self respecting Mando'ad would have listened to her if she tried?

And letter 'B': we know from the Ahsoka novel that the clones turned on her while the battle was still going on. If Ahsoka and Bo were teamed up and fighting side by side and the clones start shooting at Ahsoka, who's side is Bo gonna take? The clones are shooting at her now too. So if the clones are taking orders from the brand spanking new Emperor and Bo is fighting against them, and since Bo called on the help of the Jedi and the Jedi are now enemy number one, her reign as ruler of the system had to be extremely short.

End rant (and spoilers)

I plan to go on with the direction my story has been going all along and just say that the Empire, happy with their puppet prime minister Almec left him in charge and tried to pretend like everything was hunky dory after the siege was over and peace returns and let's rebuild the old Royal Academy of Government as one of the first Imperial Academies to churn out nice loyal cookie cutter cadets.

He had heard her call his name. It was as clear as if she had been right beside him. In fact when he had woken from a deep sleep the first thing he did was roll over and reach for her in the bed they had once shared has husband and wife. But she wasn't there. Hadn't been there for almost a year. As every world claimed by the Empire planned to celebrate the first standard year under that glorious new blanket of leadership, Korkie could only think that he and Soniee should be celebrating their son's first lifeday.

Mandalore was claimed by the Empire after all. The capital city of Sundari was the home to one of the first Imperial Academies, built from the ruins of the Royal Academy of Government. Now the cadets learned to shoot straight, march in lines, follow orders and were fitted for their identical white plastoid uniforms.

The mines on Concordia were back to full production but none of the ore was staying in the system it was all being shipped elsewhere for processing. Mandal Motors in Keldabe had been pressed into service for the Imperial war machine as well. After all the last of the Separatist holdouts had to be put down and the Empire must be ready incase any similar insurgency attempted to threaten our new era of peace and prosperity.

Even far to the north of the planet the village of Encari had grown to accommodate their new peacekeepers. The storm trooper barracks at the edge of town and the armed, white-clad soldiers patrolling the streets were a constant reminder that the Empire was here to stay.

Korkie saw a pair of them even in the middle of the night. He had quickly thrown on some clothes to get out of the house and take a walk. There they were looking for some excuse to use their limited authority.

"Hey there," One of them shouted at him and pointed. "What are you doing out after curfew?" The voice was male but the accent was foreign. Of course the Empire wouldn't send Mandalorians to police their own. No chance of sympathetic brotherhood there, although they were all supposed to be citizens of the Empire.

Korkie would have liked to attack, to demand to know why they would submit to such an evil, tyrannical institution but it would have done no good. One man against the entire galactic system. So he raised his hands to show he wasn't armed and said as gently as he could, "Couldn't sleep, mates. Just went out for a breath of fresh air."

The second trooper gestured with the standard issue blaster that was hopefully just set to stun, in case it accidentally went off. "Well, you've had it. Now get on back inside until the sun rises." Her voice was female and a different sort of alien. It was odd to hear a woman's voice come out of the identical armor as her companion.

Korkie had gotten used to hearing the voices of the clones, all variations of the Fett genotype, just like his friend Fox, come out of the helmet speakers. But even they had modified their armor to show that they were individuals. And the female Mando'ade might be just as comfortable in their beskar'gam and buyce but their armor was forged individually to fit them personally. It was easy to forget that inside the colorless, genderless, storm trooper get up that somebody's son or daughter, brother or sister, served a thankless machine.

"On my way, Ma'am." Korkie turned back toward the house. He didn't have to be a Jedi to feel them watching him go. They were probably bored out of their wits and welcomed the opportunity to tell someone off during the night shift. He wasn't in a hurry, however to make their evening any more exciting.

As he approached the house he slowed. He remembered waking up one night, it seemed so long ago now, after Soniee's Momma was killed in the explosion of Concord Dawn. Soniee had woken and yet not woken, leaving their bed and coming out here to the square. She had climbed up into the besilyk war droid and had begun to pace it up and down the street while reciting epic poetry.

Korkie looked at the square almost as if he could see her there now. If only she was. If only she was still with him on the same planet. But she wasn't here and she wasn't calling to him from wherever she was, parsecs away.

Lagos had gotten a hang-up comm from Onderon a couple of months ago. Could that have been her? Could she have been in trouble, trying to reach out? Was she in trouble now? It didn't feel that way when she touched his mind earlier. It had felt like…

"Hey you!" The male trooper called as the two of them started to pick up their pace in their pursuit. Both of them had blasters drawn now. "What's the hold up? We told you to move along home."

"Oh yes. I…" Korkie looked back at the door to his own house that he had been standing in front of while his mind wondered. He couldn't go back in there right now. He feigned confusion. "It's the wrong door. Couldn't tell in the dark or maybe I'm more tired than I thought."

"Well you'd better figure it out or we'll find you a bed in the lockup." The female voice grumbled.

"Right." Korkie nodded and pointed at the next house. "This is the one." He knew the code for the Jerecs' home for emergencies and entered it as easily as he would his own. "Thanks for the escort." He called back to the troopers. "I can't tell you how much safer we all feel with you all around to protect us." Then he didn't wait around for a response. He shut the door, reactivated the locking mechanism, and leaned back on it with a sigh.

Lagos was down the stairs in a moment with baby Veeka in one arm and a charged hold out blaster in the other. She looked like the epitome of the Mando buir ready to defend her home and family by any means necessary. "Korkie, it's you." She lowered the weapon with a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I couldn't sleep." He said shakily now that the excitement was over and the adrenaline began to drain away leaving him feeling weak. "I was just going to take a walk and get some air but…"

"You forgot about the curfew." Lagos set the blaster on the table and shifted Veeka to the other arm.

" Elek , I forgot about the curfew." He slumped.

"Come on. I was up with her anyway. I'll put on some shig and you can tell me about your insomnia." She turned and led the way to the kitchen.

"We won't bother Fox and Tracen will we?" Korkie asked, but part of him didn't care. He was just glad not to be alone tonight.

"Nah. Buir bal ad ! Those two could sleep through anything."

Korkie gave an uncomfortable nod. Like father, like son. Fox and Tracen were not actually blood related, but the boy couldn't ask for a more doting patriarch. Korkie liked to think it would have been like that with his son but he'd never know. His son was gone and he'd lost Soniee the same day, not to the Manda or the Force or wherever, but he'd lost her all the same.

He sniffed and Lagos must have noticed because she turned away from strapping Veeka into her swing and frowned at him sympathetically. "Kork. You were dreaming about her, weren't you?"

"It…" He plopped down into one of the dining chairs, with his elbows on the table, his head bowed and his hands tangled in his hair. "It wasn't a dream. It wasn't much of anything but for a brief moment I could feel her call out to me."

"From Onderon. Where she is alive and well." Lagos was a little less sympathetic when it came to the fact that he had kept this information from her.

"I don't know. Well, I mean yes, I know she's alive, somewhere…"

She let him remain silent for a couple of minutes and then when he wasn't forthcoming with any more information, she pressed, "Well, what was this contact like? Did she seem angry? Sad? Was she in trouble of some kind?"

"No, no." He was trying to remember what it was. "She was happy, I think and then… embarrassed?"

"Oh." Lagos went back to preparing the shig.

"Oh? What oh?" Korkie asked.

"It…" she seemed to be trying to find a way to put this gently. "You remember when she was on Coruscant. She was with Fox but she wasn't quite awake and she said your name…"

"Kriff." He was up out of his seat and pacing. "You don't think she was… is… with someone else?"

"Korkie." She said softly. "You named her cuy'val dar . It's not a stretch to think that she might start her life over with someone else."

He swore again, punched the wall, and then rubbed at sore knuckles.

Lagos glanced up at the ceiling as if checking to see if her husband or son would come running at the noise. She looked at her daughter who was too young to start repeating the words she heard come out of Uncle Korkie's mouth. Then she sighed, "But…"

"But what?" He stared at her grasping at hope.

"Well, it might not mean anything… but if she said your name. It's been almost a year. I can't help but think that means she still has feelings for you."

He closed his eyes and slipped back down into the chair. It was like a punch to the stomach and his greatest wish granted all at once. He didn't want to get his hopes up. He couldn't. He had let her go to save her from the Empire. He couldn't hang on to the dream of their being together.

A sob escaped him and then the tears came. Lagos left what she was doing and went to put her arms around him.

"She… she deserves to move on and be happy," he croaked.

" Shabla di'kut !" Lagos swatted him affectionately. "If you miss her this much and you can sense that she misses you, why don't you go and find her? Surely if you searched. We could start looking on Onderon. You know she wanted to see where her birth mother was from. Or she was friends with that senator Bonteri. Fox knew him too. Maybe we could contact him and ask if he's heard anything."

"Lux Bonteri thought she was dead after Concord Dawn. And besides Fox still needs to keep a low profile as well. And where would we start looking on a whole planet, even if we could… No!" Korkie shook his head fiercely. "I shouldn't even be considering this! I can't start digging around to find her and put the Empire on her trail."

Lagos hated to see him like this. She had fought so hard to get the two of them together. She had been so sure that they were meant to be. But if he couldn't bring himself to go to her, to try to make it work… She remembered how lost and confused Soniee had seemed when Korkie was missing while she was on Coruscant. Finally she sighed and looked up at her friend who was now on his feet and pacing. "Then you should find a way to contact her and let her know that you officially let her go."

His expression was so full of hurt and betrayal that in broke Lagos' heart. "I can't. I will never break my vows to her. If she… if she wants to move on and find someone else then I won't blame her. I'll understand. But for my part Ni kar'tayl kaysh, darasuum ."

"Then what will you do? Stay here and torture yourself?"

"No."

She started. "No? You're leaving? You've thought about this?"

"I have." He gave a single determined nod. "You're right. I can't stay here. Especially not with… Empire Day coming up." He ground his teeth. "Fenn asked me some time ago but I hadn't given him an answer. He's taking a few of the old protectors and setting up a base on Concord Dawn."

"But Concord Dawn was destroyed." Veeka began fussing and Lagos when to pick her up but she hardly took her eyes off Korkie.

"The geologist say that what's left of the planet has settled. There are no more quakes and it's perfectly positioned in the system as an outpost."

"He wants you to help build this outpost?" She asked.

"Yeah, build it and then stay to man it after it's built." He looked at he like he was asking her permission.

"Well you've trained with them, proved yourself in battle along side them. I think he's made a fine choice."

He nodded.

"Trace will miss you." She bounced the fussy baby on her hip. "So will Fox. And… and I'll miss you, di'kut ."

"Well, it's not like I'll be going away forever. I can come back and see you all. You know where I'm going. We can comm back and forth any time." Not like Soniee .

"When?" She asked after a pause.

"Like I said, he's been asking for a while. I could probably head out tomorrow." He glanced at the chrono on the panel of the reheater. "Or uh later today I guess."

Lagos took a deep breath and then she might have been hurt or angry or just determined to do what needed to be done. "Alright, when the curfew's lifted, we'll help you get packed.

Korkie was a little disappointed. He had thought they might fight harder to get him to stay. Still, he couldn't back out now. And this would before the best, he tried to convince himself. There was nothing left for him in Encari. It was better for him to go someplace he could be useful. "Thank you, Lagos. I appreciated your support in this."

"What are friends for?"

…

Elsewhere on Manda'yaim, Prime Minister Almec was also entertaining an unexpected late night guest.

"Relax, Prime Minister." The being, Almec had no idea what species she might be lounged on the throne not unlike the way Maul had done or Pre Viszla for a short while before him. Almec had become used to bowing and scraping before the next tyrant in line to keep his own head on his shoulders. Of course this helmeted creature was not the one in charge. She answered to a higher authority. Still it didn't hurt to show a little deference to the hired help. "We don't want to hurt you or cause any upheaval to your peaceful society. That's why I arrived in the off hours so we might speak privately."

"I do appreciate your discretion." He bowed but he had no idea by what title to address her. He had gathered that this was one of the rumored inquisitors who were dispatched to hunt down the last of the Jedi. And if this one had only half the power of some of the Force users he'd had the opportunity to witness in action, he definitely didn't want to cross her. But then he supposed if her boss was inclined to let him live and continue in his position, then he didn't have a whole lot to worry about from her.

"What we need from you right now is simple? Just a little information. We want to know everything about your former employer. The zabrak trusted you, did he not? Well, at least he let you live so that has to count for something." Was she making a joke?

"I was never privy to his long term plans only the part which concerned me directly. But of course I would be glad to help in any way I can." And so he told her everything he could remember about Maul and his brother, and how they had worked with the death watch and then double crossed the terrorist to gain control themselves.

He told her of how Maul went into hiding and for a while he had still received instructions.

"This was after the death of his brother, correct?"

"Yes." Almec continued. "I believe he went back to his home planet of Dathomir in an effort to secure help from the surviving night sister witches."

"We know all that." She sat up and rested her chin on her templed fingers. "What we'd like to know is if Maul was in contact with any other Force users here on Mandalore. Was he, for instance, trying to train another apprentice."

"No, I…" He stopped and considered.

"What is it? You remember something?"

"There was a girl." he rubbed his throat thinking of her. "She was untrained but powerful. He kept a close eye on her but kept her at a distance. I believe he may have been wary of taking on a student after what happened to his brother."

"Yes? What happened to this girl?" the inquisitor asked.

"She was killed in the disaster at Concord Dawn."

"You are sure she was on the planet at the time of the explosion?"

"I…" was he sure? Her home and her adopted mother were there on the planet. "Come to think of it, no. It was always assumed that she was there when it happened but there was never any proof. Half the planet was gone and tectonic shifts in what was left of it made it impossible for crews to go and provide aid for some time. It is possible, I suppose that she was not on the planet at the time."

"Who was this girl?"

"Her name was Soniee Ordo. She was…"

"The Mandalorian representative to the Republic senate."

Almec nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

"And she was a powerful Force sensitive?" she sounded incredulous.

"Yes." Again Almec rubbed at his own throat. "She was."