Chapter 36

Redeployment

Well the R&R has come to an end and it is time to get back into the action. This chapter is mainly just tying up loose ends.

"Time flies when you're having fun huh?" Aaron asked as he and Ahsoka stepped off of the Phantom that had taken them back up to the Glorious Victory. After two weeks, the fleet had been repaired and now they were heading back into active duty. It wad dark now, and Aaron and Ahsoka were simply heading for the nearest bed to get some sleep. "Personally I'm glad I'm still on this ship instead of the Twilight, I'm used to CCS-battlecruisers."

"And as always I'm glad I'm here with you," Ahsoka said smiling "Amber stayed on board the Twilight though didn't she?"

"Yeah," Aaron said, as they exited the hanger bay and began to walk through the ship. "She said that she wanted to spend more time with Nicole, I swear the amount of time they spent together I actually considered the possibility that they were lesbians."

"That they were what?" Ahsoka asked, looking at Aaron with a confused look on her face.

"I guess it isn't that popular where you're from," Aaron said, more of less to himself. "A lesbian is a term for a homosexual girl, and a homosexual is someone who is sexually interested in people of the same gender."

"You can do that?" Ahsoka asked, looking just as confused as she did before, if not more so.

"Yeah from what I've heard some people...I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you," Aaron said, an exasperated look on his face. "Is there any chance that we can just act like this never happened?"

Ahsoka giggled "Sure alright," she said looking as if she was trying to keep herself from breaking down and laughing. "It's nice that James came along with us, is there any reason he chose just now to come out of retirement all of a sudden?"

"Mom easy," Aaron said plainly "Now that she's back, there's no way in heck he's going to be outside the same star system that she is. You probably picked this up while you were at our house but..."

"He likes her doesn't he?" Ahsoka asked. Aaron nodded. "Your mother has this odd thing about her. Pretty much everyone that she talks to ends up liking her."

"Not really," Aaron said as he and Ahsoka rounded a corner, heading into a lower section of the ship were the barracks were. "Amber and I still love her, because she the same woman the raised us for six years, the same woman that we remember and love, and it felt weird for awhile but I'm glad to have her back. James knew her before I was even born and they developed a very special bond with her, and like the bond she shared with me and Amber, some bonds just don't fade with time. You on the other hand, well, you're just plain likable, it's no wonder she likes you."

Ahsoka blushed slightly as she slid closer to Aaron as they walked. "Oh you're just saying that," she said in a playful voice. "This is your room right?" she asked as they walked by one of the many entrances to the rooms that acted as quarters.

"Yeah, it's good to be back," Aaron said as they walked through the door, closing it behind them.

"Yeah," Ahsoka said, turning around to face Aaron "It is."

"It's nice to have a little alone time isn't it?" Aaron asked as he gently touched Ahsoka's face. "My god you're beautiful."

Ahsoka's blush turned an even deeper of red as she raised her hand to cover the one that was touching her face. "I'm alright looking," she said softly, clearly embarrassed "I'm nothing special."

"I beg to differ," Aaron said as he leaned forward, kissing Ahsoka lightly. The Jedi let out a soft moan as she leaned forward, deepening the kiss. Aaron slowly pushed her towards the bed, gently pushing her on to it. "I love you," Aaron said as he slid next to Ahsoka on the bed.

"I love you too," Ahsoka said as she slid close to Aaron, hugging him tightly.

On the Twilight, Amber, Emily, James and Nicole were sitting in the cafeteria, having a before bed snack. "Aaron and Ahsoka went back to the Glorious Victory right?" Nicole asked, looking at Amber.

"Yeah," Amber said "You probably didn't notice this but Aaron and Ahsoka..."

"I know, I know they're together," Nicole said, smiling with a slightly embarrassed look on her face "I...walked in on them kissing once. Heh heh, guess I should've knocked before going into Aaron's room."

"I know how that feels," Amber said, rubbing her forehead "That's exactly how I found out about them."

"Well when you're young and in love you tend to do stupid things every once in awhile." Emily said smiling. "Let the love birds have their fun. I imagine that they're a little scared that they're going to lose each other at any second. They're in the middle of a war, Aaron isn't as skilled of a fighter as Ahsoka, and then there's the fact that they have to keep it secret because Ahsoka's a Jedi...come to think of it we're not doing that good of that one," she said, chucking softly. "I mean how many people know now? All four of us, Padmé, does Anakin know?"

"I don't think so," said James, who had met Anakin when he had come down to the planet around a week ago "And I don't that he should find out."

"Why not?" Emily asked, looking at James."

"If you want grandchildren," James replied "I don't think that you should tell him. I get the feeling he's the like the overprotective father that would kill anyone that comes comes with a five foot radius of his daughter. I get the feeling that Anakin would make sure that Aaron could never 'violate' Ahsoka, if you catch my drift."

Everybody laughed at James' last sentence. "Alright," said Emily "For Aaron's wellbeing, and the possibility that Ahsoka may want to be a mother, let's agree not to mention this to Anakin." Everybody nodded.

"Speaking of kids, do you think Aaron and Ahsoka will be keen on having any?" Amber asked, a curious look on her face.

"Maybe," Emily replied "What would I kid that those two churn out be like? With Ahsoka's Jedi blood and Aaron's genetic augmentations what kind of super baby would that be?"

"I guess we just have to wait and find out," James said "Unless you feel like swiping some of Aaron's sperm, harvesting one of Ahsoka's eggs and then artificially fertilizing it."

"Yeah," Nicole said, a slightly amusing look on her face "We should just wait for them to decided that they want to have a little bundle of joy to take off."

"It might take awhile," James said "But I've seen the way that the two of them look at each other, it'll happen before we know it."

On the bridge of the Twilight, Hanson looked at Kit, Anakin Obi-Wan and Core who floated above the rest. "Core, is the fleet prepared to head back into Republic territory?"

"I do believe so," Core replied "Just let me run a thorough scan of the fleet. Scan complete, yes everything is ready, we should arrive at this Coruscant approximately one day."

'Fast scan,' Hanson thought "Very well, is Councilor 'Vadam aboard the Glorious Victory?

"Aayla contacted me from there," said Kit "The Councilor has boarded the ship, and Vadmare is ready to leave with the rest of the fleet."

"Not to be rude," said Obi-Wan, concern in his voice "But many of the Jedi council and the Senate still do not approve of the Allied Species, since many still believe that the attack on Coruscant was launched by you. Not to mention Vadmare's brutal tactics have spread around, and not many approve. There's also the fact that Ramore and Master Windu were two seconds away from trying to kill each other last time that they met."

"No one every said that diplomacy was easy," Hanson said as he rubbed his eyes in an exhausted manner "The same goes for politics, it's manly just old men and women shouting at each other and rarely getting anything accomplished. The only exception to this is the occasional revolutionary figure that pops up a couple of times per century."

Hanson smiled "Now that I think about it, Councilor 'Vadam is one of those leaders. He did lead the revolution that brought the Covenant to it's knees, and was a major leader in the War on Salvation. And with all due respect, I hope this Mace Windu doesn't try to pick a bone with Councilor 'Vadam.

"And why would that be?" asked Anakin.

"Because I doubt the Republic would appreciate Windu being dead," Hanson replied with a slight smile.

On the bridge of the Glorious Victory, Aayla and Vadmare were talking on the bridge. "I'm not sure that you should go on the ground when we arrive," Aayla said, a concerned ton in her voice "Not many people in the Republic won't take very well to you being there, from what I've heard you aren't very popular right now."

"I will not remain in my ship while my crew is on the ground. The last time my crew went to Coruscant they were nearly arrested by your Jedi council, I will not stand aside and allow that to happen again."

Aayla gave a sigh that had a slightly amused air to it. "Once you've made up your mind there's no changing that is there?"

The ghost of a grin flitted across Vadmare's face. "I see that you're a fast leaner when it comes to Allied Species. That's good."

Aayla looked like she was going to reply, when the door to the bridge opened. Aayla and Vadmare turned to see a Sangheili walk in. The Sangheili was wearing a dark gray armor with runes inscribed over every last visible inch. The Sangheili was also wearing a thick fur cloak over his armor, that coved a fair portion of his armor. "Councilor Vadam," said Vadmare, looking at Thel and bowing slightly in respect. "I am glad that you could join us."

"Likewise," Thel said, mirroring Vadmare's moves and bowing slightly. "I trust that you are Aayla Secura?" Thel asked, looking at the Jedi Master.

Aayla nodded. "If I may ask, why do have that cloak? I've never seen another Sangheili wear a cloak like that, is something only Councilors wear?"

Thel chuckled softly. "A fair question," he said "I made this cloak long ago. Cloaks like this were commonly used by ancient seafaring Sangheili, made out of Doarmir* fur. I fashioned this one long ago after a sparring accident that resulted in me being injured. I do not wear it very much anymore, mainly only wearing it on long spacefaring journeys, as a remember to myself that if I let my guard down, I can make horrible mistakes."

"I suppose it is critical to learn from your mistakes," Aayla said.

"Always," said Thel smiling slightly.

The door to the bridge opened again, and Sergeant Johnson walked in. "I just heard that the old son of a bitch was on board. How are you doing Arby?" Johnson asked, extending his hand to Thel.

Thel grinned as he took Johnson's hand and shook it. "I had to see it to believe it, you really are still alive."

"Alive and better than ever," Johnson proclaimed "So you really have no idea where the Chief is it?"

"The popular belief is that he is dead," said Thel "But with you still alive, who knows?"

"Who is this Chief you keep talking about?" Aayla asked.

"A SPARTAN that served during the Human-Covenant War," Vadmare replied.

"Chief isn't a SPARTAN, Chief is the SPARTAN," said Johnson "You've never seen someone fight till you've seen Chief fight," said Johnson.

"It is true," said Thel "I have seen the SPARTAN IVs train, and they pale compared to what the Spartan was capable of. He was lost on the other side of a portal during the Battle of the Art and he was assumed to be killed in action."

"But he's out there, trust me," said Johnson, grinning like madman "Just you wait."

Thel jumps on board, with a badass cloak. Let me tell you something else, he hasn't spent the last 45 years sitting on his ass twiddling his thumbs. He's even better than he was in Halo 3, so prepare to be amazed. Next chapter, back to the Republic as always review and tell me what you think.

*A Doarmir is a furry animal native to Sangheilos.