Epilogue:
Jaina took a deep breath and felt the last bit of nausea finally end. It was roughly six weeks since she and Jagged found out she was pregnant, and two months since the Sith conquest of Coruscant.
Any enthusiasm and morale which might have come from the Republic's decisive victory on Corellia faded instantly when word spread of what happened to their capital. Jaina struggled to get the image of Darth Arkous decapitating First Senator Derra over the holonet out of her head.
The entire senate was brutally executed alongside whatever military leaders were present. That wasn't even mentioning the two Jedi High-Masters, three-hundred Jedi Knights, one thousand padawans lost in the Temple, as well as tens of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire of the Sith invaders and what Republic forces defended the capital.
Jaina's stress from the conquest alongside her pregnancy was only alleviated by her connection to The Force. Jaina couldn't imagine what non-force sensitive women went through. Sitting beside her was her now Major-General husband in a service dress uniform with Lieutenant-General Kix, General Garv Tomas, Admiral Syndulla, and Fleet Admiral Antilles to his right.
To Jaina's left sat her brother, Tenel, mother, uncle Luke, and senator Cal Omas. Cal was one of the few senators off-world at the time of the invasion and was the favorite to become First Senator as soon as an election could be organized.
Until then, Leia was acting head-of-state at the behest of the other government officials who hadn't been on Coruscant. No one protested this decision.
Leia tried to keep herself calm as they waited for the Sith delegation. The chamber they sat in a fine conference-room lined with royal red carpets and walls with golden lining. A dozen or so nemodian security guards stood around the chamber with a Nemodian official sitting at each end of the table.
Beside the Nemodian Guards on the Republic side stood four Squads of Republic Special Forces commandos from the 501st, including the Bad Batch, and half-a-dozen Jedi Champions, Jace Sydulla and Lowbacca among them.
Han and Chewie also joined the Republic defenders and kept a watchful eye on the doorways across from them.
The Republic was taken in disbelief when they heard a peace offer from the Sith Empire after Coruscant was taken. Leia suspected their victory on Corellia was more costly for the Sith than originally thought. While many protested the peace talks after Coruscant was attacked, most were ready for a respite.
Luke advised the remaining politicians to accept the peace talks on Cato Nemodia. Now they were here to do just that. Jacen and Tenel weren't particularly enthusiastic about making peace when so much of the galaxy was under Sith occupation.
Jaina, and Jagged, however, like so many others, were ready for the fighting to end. So many had been lost in the war, one way or another. Jaina held her stomach for a moment as she thought about their baby growing up in a galaxy still at war, or not at all if she died fighting.
The room grew colder, and Jaina took a deep breath as she saw the Sith delegation enter. Leading them was Darth Nox, with several others behind him. Two were another pair of true Sith Lords. A man and a woman. According to the information provided, they were Darth Serevin and Darth Drachie, new members of the Dark Council overseeing diplomacy and logistics, respectively. Close behind them came Thrawn, Grand Admiral Quinn, Grand Moff Delia Mycine, and another Sith Lord.
Jaina and the other Jedi sensed an overwhelming fear in her mother as she stared at the true Sith Lord, who sat beside Grand Admiral Quinn. According to the information they'd been given, he was Darth Draikor, the Emperor's Wrath, the one who personally led the attack on Coruscant and killed Celeste.
However, from the way Leia trembled before him, Jaina knew something else was going on, something personal. When Jaina reached out to the Sith Lord again, she now began to shutter. Draikor's aura seemed to frighten Jaina in a familiar way, but she couldn't figure out why.
Draikor looked at Leia with a satisfied smile, almost as if they'd met before. He then looked at Jaina with intrigue. Darth Draikor's power in the Dark side exceeded anything Jaina thought a Sith could possess. Even Malgus paled in comparison to the true Sith now before her. His mere presence shifted the entire planet's Force alignment. He wasn't along either, Darth Nox's aura gave similar terror with Jaina unable to tell who was more powerful.
"Shall we begin then?" Darth Nox's voice sent a shiver down all but Luke's spines. His voice echoed almost as if he spoke multiple times.
"Yes." Leia said, doing her best to remain calm.
"There's much to discuss." Senator Omas said, taking out a few datapads while Grand Moff Mycine did the same. Thrawn looked over his adversaries across the table with his calculating gaze. Leia warned the others of his particular talent. She'd only met him once, and this was decades ago when she was still a senator. Needless to say, the Chiss left quite an impact on her. Leia knew the rebellion would never have won if Thrawn had remained in the Empire.
"First things first, there's the matter of Coruscant. When might we expect your forces to withdraw?" Omas asked.
"Coruscant belongs to the Empire." Draikor's voice echoed like Nox's, sending more fear into the Republic delegation. However, his proclamation seemed to carry a greater impact.
"Coruscant is the Republic Capital! You're not keeping it!" Hera almost stood up before Wedge guided her back down. Hera's outburst made the Special Forces and Imperial Guardsmen come to a more reactive position with a few reaching for their weapons.
"Coruscant was conquered, by right of conquest it belongs to the Empire." Darth Drachie said full of pride as she smiled towards Draikor.
Leia took a deep breath.
"Surely, you must understand Coruscant's importance to the Republic."
"Exactly, it's why we invaded." Quinn added with a similar smile as Darth Drachie.
"Surely enough fighting has happened. We've both suffered greatly as a result of this war. There's no need for fighting to continue over a mere symbolic prize for you." Luke argued.
"Your assessment is flawed, Master Skywalker." Thrawn interjected. His glowing red eyes pierced Luke, but the Jedi Grandmaster endured.
"It is true we've suffered casualties. But as it stands, the Republic alone has lost territory in the war. You no longer have access to the resources and manpower you once did."
"And you have too many systems to rule with too few men to do it." Jacen said. Thrawn shifted his eyes to the Jedi Battlemaster and remained watchful.
"Why else would you ask for peace after conquering our capital. You need to recover more than we do!" Tenel tried her best not to shout and quickly retreated when she felt Thrawn reach inside her with his eyes.
"You assume much, Queen Mother." Darth Nox said. He wasn't wrong either. Both the Republic and Jedi Coalition were in a poor position. While the Jedi still had tens of thousands of Knights spread across the galaxy, their numbers had greatly thinned since the war began, including many of their greatest masters. But the Republic was all but on the brink. Even with their victory on Corellia, the sheer casualties and now Coruscant's fall left them on the ropes.
Leia gave a stern look to her delegates as a reminder that they desperately needed this peace.
"Surely, we can come to an agreement that will allow us to have Coruscant back?" Leia asked.
"Perhaps, if your victories gave you something over us." Thrawn said while clasping his hands together.
"We neutralized an armada at Corellia, along with three armies, and two Dark Councilmen." Wedge said.
"All can be replaced. Worlds, less so." Darth Serevin chuckled. Leia tightened her fist. He and Thrawn were right. The Empire held Coruscant, and both sides wanted peace. There was nothing they had to trade for Coruscant, and at the moment, they didn't possess the means to take back their capital.
"So be it."
The peace talks dragged on for hours, all the while Draikor remained silent and exchanged glances with Jaina. Surprisingly, it only took one day for an agreement to be made. One that heavily favored the Sith Empire, but ensured peace for the foreseeable future.
Leia, Omas, and the Dark Councilmen sighed the treaty along with a signature encryptor from Emperor Vowrawn entered by an Imperial Guardsman officer. Just like that, the war was over. Leia and the others thought a great weight would lift from their shoulders, but none truly felt satisfied.
One by one the delegates left, until only Draikor and the Solo family remained. Jacen and Han tried to take Leia by the shoulders as she stared the Sith Lord down, but she jerked away.
Tears filled Leia's eyes as she looked towards the doorway behind Draikor.
"I know you're there."
Darth Draikor smiled.
"Darth Invidious, come." At Draikor's command, another Sith Lord entered the chamber. Han, Leia, and Jaina's mouths dropped while their bodies trembled as they saw Anakin walk inside.
His smile matched Darth Draikor's, and he was joined by Jaesa, who came in behind with Kol in her arms.
"Anakin." Jaina muttered. Her body went limp, and Jagged had to support her. Chewie let out a sad groan, but Han's face turned red. A mixture of sorrow and fury in his expression before charging forward.
"You little shutta!" Han snarled as he seized his son by the collar of his armor. Tears streamed down Han's face as he did so. Anakin's smile didn't fade. Instead, he grabbed Han's wrists and pulled them away with ease. Jaesa and Draikor chuckled as they saw him bring Han to his knees while the older man groaned in pain.
"Stop it!" Jacen used The Force to pull Han back and to safety.
Leia didn't seem horrified like the others, instead just pained like she knew what would happen.
"I've been looking forward to this. All of you now get to see me in my glory!"
"Anakin, we're your family." Jacen pleaded as he approached and extended his hand.
Anakin's expression hardened as he knocked his brother's hand away and emphasized Jaesa with Kol.
"I have a new family now. One who truly cares about me." Jaina's eyes filled with years while coming forward.
"Anakin, we always loved you."
"That's a lie! Mother and father loved you both! I was never anything but an inconvenience!" Jaina and the others now felt years of hatred that had clearly built up inside Anakin surround him entirely.
"Anakin, I'm sorry." Jaina muttered as she tried to approach him. Anakin stared intensely at his old lightsabers, which sat on Jacen and Jaina's belts.
"I see you still have them." Jaina froze in place as she and Jacen only now realized that fact. Anakin smiled full of malevolence while taking out another lightsaber.
"It's fine. They're all that remains of Anakin Solo. I have a much better prize."
Jacen went pale when he looked closer at Kenth Hamner's lightsaber.
"I want you to know, killing Hamner was perhaps the third happiest moment of my life." Anakin said before glancing at his wife and son. Jaesa shared his evil smile.
Jacen's fist hardened for a moment, and Tenel put her hand on his shoulder. After a moment, he relaxed and came forward with tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry for how he treated you. I should have seen it and done something, all of us should have. I hope you can forgive us one day, Anakin." He pulled away and walked back towards the other Sith.
"My name is Darth Invidious, and I'm with my true family now." With that, Darth Invidious turned his back on the Solos, never to return.
Darth Draikor, however, approached Jaina and smiled. The two stared at each other for an eternity before the Sith Lord placed a lightsaber in her hands.
"I believe this is yours." Darth Draikor turned and departed, leaving a trembling Jaina holding her lightsaber from before the war. The same lightsaber she gave to Kyp Durron. Only now did Jaina understand why the Sith frightened her, why she recognized him.
On Scarif, Jaesa and Anakin returned to their estate with Kol to celebrate while Quinn returned to his own manor to be with his family. Pierce went into the city to celebrate in his own way.
Darth Draikor stood on a balcony in his estate with Talon and Dâmsûr in his arms, and Vette with her arms wrapped around him. The lethan twi'lek smiled with a relaxed passion as they gazed out at Scarif together.
"Are you going to be alright? War is your life." Vette whispered. Draikor smiled.
"There will still be fighting for our children and me one day. The Emperor's Wrath will always find himself destroying his Emperor's enemies." Vette was still getting used to Draikor's new voice, but it didn't stop her from kissing his cheek.
"I'm glad the fighting is done. It means we have more time here. Which gives us the opportunity have more kids." Vette giggled while turning her kiss upon Draikor's lips.
The Vigilant slowly moved in orbit over Mon Calamari alongside hundreds of other ships and a dozen space stations. Jaina and Jagged watched from a window as colossal tracker ships dragged water-bearing comets onto the surface. Terraforming ships worked day and night to restore Mon Cala to its former glory as thousands of Mon Calamari, quarren, nautolan, and gungans worked planetside to rebuild the cities and coral.
Aside from peace, one other gift the Republic received from their treaty was Mon Cala's return. It was decided that the world would be recolonized as a symbol of hope. Moreover, it would serve as the Republic's new capital.
Jaina looked back for a moment at a few dozen Jedi Knights and even more padawans moving throughout the ship. Luke decided that if Mon Cala was to bb the Republic's new capital, it would need a Jedi temple. Thus he placed Master Jaina Fel as the leader of the new enclave.
Jaina teared up slightly as she saw the ocean world slowly returned to its former flory, with life teeming across its surface. Jaina wrapped her arms around Jagged and held him tight while smiling. General Jagged Fel hugged his wife back, and both rubbed her stomach.
"I was thinking. If it is a boy, there was a name we could give him." Jagged said as Jaina exhaled in a peaceful manner.
"What would that be?"
"Anakin."
"Yes."