I do not own Star Wars or any of the characters.
Relaxing
Damian frowned as he sensed the presence again. Something was on the planet, calling to him. It felt ancient. He sighed, standing. Ezra was currently away on a mission to retreive Y-wing bombers, so he supposed he had nothing better to do than to explore. He walked out of the ship, finding Barriss, Zera, and Ahsoka engaged in a three-way sparring session. After a few more moments, Zera defeated Barriss, who was focusing on Ahsoka too much, only for Ahsoka to beat Zera. Damian clapped.
"Well done Zera," Damian said, Zera smiling at the praise and bowing. "Ahsoka, have you sensed anything on this planet? Something Force Sensitive?"
"Oh, that's right!" Ahsoka said. "I totally forgot to tell you about him."
"Him?" Damian asked.
"His name's Bendu," Ahsoka said. "I met him before we went to Malachor."
"Alright," Damian said. "Come on. I'm going to go meet him."
Ahsoka nodded and the four Jedi left the base, letting Hera know they were leaving on the way out. They stopped at the fence, however, as Zera shied away from the spiders.
"Calm yourself," Damian said. "They won't hurt you as long as you are calm. If you're afraid, you'll scare them."
Zera nodded, taking a moment to calm herself before they continued, the spiders walking with them, seeming curious, but not bothering them. After a while of walking, they met Kanan, who was also walking with spiders, seeming far calmer than the last time Damian had seen him.
"Hello Kanan," Damian said. "You seem different."
"I met a Force sensitive creature who taught me to see again," Kanan said. "You're going to meet him, aren't you?"
"I figured I should greet the neighbors," Damian nodded. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."
"Thank you," Kanan said, continuing on his way.
After a little while longer of walking, Damian and the others reached a depression in the land and watched as a creature rose from the ground before them. He had silver eyes, rock-like growths on his back that liked the same as the rock formations around them, and a red beard below his mouth.
"Hello again, Bendu," Ahsoka greeted him.
"Hello Ahsoka Tano," Bendu said. "Who are these?"
"My name is Zera," Zera greeted him, bowing.
"I am Barriss Offee," Barriss bowed.
"My name is Damian Shan," Damian said.
"A Shan?" Bendu asked. "Here? I wasn't aware there were any more Shans. It is nice to meet all of you. Why have you come here?"
"I felt your presence and wanted to see what I was sensing," Damian said.
"I see," Bendu nodded. "And now that you've seen me, what do you intend to do?"
"Nothing new," Damian shrugged. "I was merely curious, and now I'm not. You being here changes nothing. You're not an enemy, or you'd have attacked us by now. And since you're not an enemy, we have no reason to do anything different."
"I see," Bendu mused. "Very well. If you do not mind, I would like to sleep."
"Of course," Damian bowed. "Rest well."
"Thank you," Bendu smiled, eyes sweeping over them again before stopping on Zera. "Wait. You. You are conflicted. Why?"
Zera glanced at the others before sighing. "I am beginning to think differently from what I once did, and I am not sure what it means."
"Must it mean anything?" Bendu asked.
"In this case, yes," Zera said.
Bendu hummed thoughtfully. "Sometimes things change. And sometimes they do not. However, change is not always bad."
"But I don't want to change!" Zera said.
"Perhaps you are not changing," Bendu said. "Do you still feel as you always have?"
"Yes," Zera nodded.
"Then allow me to say this," Bendu said. "It can sometimes be difficult to tell one from another, and sometimes if there is too much of one, it can blend with something similar, and become a replica. However, no matter the case, There is no law in life, that says there can be only one. It is possible for there to be as many as you can count, if you only choose for it to be so."
"So, you're saying I'm choosing this?" Zera asked.
"Are you?" Bendu asked. "Well, if you're sure."
"But I'm not sure!" Zera said. "Please, tell me how to stop it!"
"You can't," Bendu said. "Nor should you. It will be as it should. Trying to refuse it will only cause pain for everyone. Allow it to run its course and it will work itself out."
Zera was silent for a moment before bowing. "Thank you."
Bendu inclined his head in an attempt to return the gesture and they all headed back to the base, finding that the fleet was gone, aside from a handful of personnel who stayed behind to look after the base. Shia met them almost immediately, passing Alina off to Ahsoka before wrapping her arms around Zera's neck.
"Do you have some free time, love?" Shia smiled seductively. "I've missed you lately."
"I'll always have time for you, Sister," Zera smiled, kissing the Twi'lek for a moment. "There's something I want to talk to you about anyway."
"Alright," Shia smiled, the two of them walking away.
"I wish Zera was more open to fun," Barriss pouted. "It'd be so much fun to invite her over. Her or Shia."
"Wait, you haven't fucked Shia yet?" Damian asked. "After all this time?"
"No," Barriss pouted. "She says she won't sleep with me or Riyo without Zera's permission."
"Damn," Damian chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when you, of all people, wouldn't be able to pick up a chick."
"I know," Barriss said. "It's so frustrating. Fortunately, those other two Twi'leks and Maylene are always happy to lend a hand."
"Or two," Damian smirked.
"Even better," Barriss smiled. "Since the incest babes are going to get it on, I'm going to go seduce my wife. You two should stop by."
Damian rolled his eyes as Barriss walked away, then turned to Ahsoka and Alina. "So, now what?"
"I think we should spend some time with our daughter," Ahsoka said. "We've been busy a lot trying to fix Ezra since we got back."
Damian nodded and they walked away, toward the small shelter that had been made for people to live in while the ships were away. Alina had some of her toys there, most of them being either wood or plastic hammers and rattles, and as soon as they set her down, she began to beat Damian with one. Ahsoka laughed.
"She's already getting excited to train with you," Ahsoka smiled.
"If she keeps this up she'll be better than me by the time she's ten," Damian laughed, taking another hammer and poking her in the nose with it.
Alina scrunched her face up, then laughed. Damian smiled and did it again, and again she screeched it delight. This time, she tried to take the hammer, but he kept it just out of her reach, Alina screeching in a mixture of happiness and frustration as she tried to grab the hammer. Then, finally, Damian let her have it, only for her to promptly drop it, pushing herself up to her feet and staggering away from them. Damian smiled, crawling after her and she squealed in delight again, fleeing from him, only for him to catch her and toss her into the air before catching her again, Alina absolutely loving it. He began to fly her around the room with the Force, keeping her within an arm's reach, and Alina once again loved it, especially once Ahsoka began to chase her around and Alina made several close escapes. Finally, after a few moments, Ahsoka caught Alina and began to tickle her with one hand, Alina screeching and trying unsuccessfully to push Ahsoka's hand away. Finally, Ahsoka relented and they set Alina down again, allowing her to keep playing until Jek and Shaeeah walked into the building, both smiling and sitting with them.
"Welcome back," Damian said. "How'd it go?"
"Well, Ezra slipped up a bit and lost control of his anger and aggression, and ordered his team to switch from a recon mission to a recovery one," Jek sighed.
"And instead of the original fifteen Y-wings they found there, they managed to get five, since two were shot down when the empire showed up and the other ten were destroyed before they could get them," Shaeeah added.
"And in the process of getting them, Ezra got stuck on the station when it began to fall out of the sky because the Phantom was destroyed," Jek said.
"So not great," Shaeeah summarized. "Plus, it felt like we got away too easily."
Damian sighed, nodding. "I'll go talk to him."
"Don't," Jek said. "Kanan's handling it."
"And Sabine looked like she really wanted to make sure Ezra was okay," Shaeeah said.
Damain chuckled. "Alright then. I guess I'll stay here, then."
"Anything new happen while we were away?" Jek asked.
"Not really," Damian said. "We met a Force Sensitive creature, he gave Zera some cryptic advice that she may or may not have understood, and then we've been here."
Jek nodded, and they all stayed there for a while longer before he excused himself to go spend time with Enfys, and Shaeeah to spend time with Sapphire. A little while later, Alina began to get tired, so they headed back to the Wraith to put her down for a nap.
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