The Count wrinkled his nose in disgust, as he entered the bar.
Mold curled at the corners of the ceiling and a musty, dank smell filled the room. It was rather dark too with only a few dim lights scattered here and there, then again, Darth Tyrannus supposed that that actually worked to his advantage, because the last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him here. Not only because he was a Sith Lord, but also because it would just be downright embarrassing for people to see Count Dooku mingling with such lowly life forms.
Double-checking that his hood still obscured his face, Dooku made his way up to the bartender, who eyed him with disdain, before gesturing with his hand as if to ask what he was having.
"I'm not here to drink," the Sith replied lowly, keeping his yellow gaze on the man.
A look of disgruntlement overcame the bartender's face in the shape of an angry scowl, "well, if you aren't here to drink, then you mind as well leave my kriffin' bar."
A mixture of hatred and anger flared throughout Dooku's very being, as his eyes glared daggers at the man.
"Go on then," the bartender grumbled, flicking his hand in a gesture, as if to tell Dooku to go away, "if you aren't going to drink, then get outta my bar."
Done with the pleasantries, Dooku pulled his lightsaber from his belt, before setting it on the table in front of the bartender, directed so that if he flicked it on, it would head straight into the bartender's stomach, impaling him.
"Do you know what this is?" The Sith hissed in a low whisper, as the bartender blanched at the sight of the curved weapon, "it's a lightsaber. Now, I'm going to ask you a question and you'd best answer me, because otherwise I think I'd rather enjoy driving this straight through your gut, while I get the pleasure of watching you squirm for your insolence, until the light fades from your eyes and you succumb to a well-deserved death. After all, the galaxy would be better off without scum like you tainting it."
Still seemingly shocked by the whole situation, the bartender's eyes turned frantic in surrender. "What do you want from me?"
Dooku smiled, finally they were getting somewhere. "Well, you serve all the scum of Coruscant, so tell me, friend. Where might I find a good bounty hunter?" Dooku's cold gaze slithered across the man's features, as he worked to assess him, "and please, no tricks, or I'll have no qualms carving your heart right out of your chest."
The bartender gulped and watched Dooku with a stress-ridden gaze, "there's a Clawdite, who lives not far from here," he surrendered, "her name's Agaria Clammath. She's one of the best." The man quickly then went to grab a napkin and a pen, writing down the directions, as to where Dooku could find her.
Dooku nodded with a shark-like grin, "thank you," though his words were devoid of any true meaning. Then, he grabbed the napkin and turned to head off into the night.
Yet, before he could, the bartender seemed to have more to say, "at first I thought you were a Jedi, what with your laser sword, but now I'm not so sure," he murmured.
Dooku just laughed, "of course I'm not a Jedi. I'm better." Then, with a swish of his cape, he spun away from the bar and all of its inhabitants, off to go find his newest bounty hunter.
Agaria Clammath.
Rey walked through the beautiful jungle forestry of Ajan Kloss with Ben, Poe, Finn and BB-8 at her side. Finn and Poe bantered up ahead with BB-8 right on their heels, while Ben hung back a couple meters with her, as they held hands, walking side by side.
Birds chirped and swooped through the air from up above. The atmosphere of everything was just so hopeful and full of light.
The sun shone down from up above and Rey knew that this reality was a paradise. There was no First Order, no Final Order, no Snoke, no Palpatine, no Kylo Ren. There was simply only peace and contentment.
In this life, everyone was free to just be.
She watched as Finn, Poe and BB-8 finally stopped once they'd come upon the slope of a hill, as if waiting for her and Ben to catch up, which they soon did.
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, as she listened to Ben join Finn and Poe in their banter, as the five made their way down the hill and into a beautiful meadow.
For a moment, Rey almost gave pause, because she didn't remember Ajan Kloss having many meadows, but almost as soon as the thought entered her mind, it was gone.
Everything was perfect, just how it should be.
And then it all disappeared and she found herself face to face with the one who called himself Qui-Gon Jinn.
A flare of disappointment ran through her, as she realized that she was dreaming. For, of course such a reality would never come to pass, because there had been a First Order, a Final Order, Snoke, Palpatine, Kylo Ren and now her and Ben were in the past.
Any hope of such a reality seemed impossible.
"Why were Ben and I sent back into the past?"
The former Jedi Master shrugged with a look of indifference, "I already told you the answer to that question."
Frustration creased Rey's brows, "no, you didn't actually, you just gave me a cryptic, jumbled mess of words that make absolutely no sense." She watched, as an odd look overcame Master Jinn's face, almost as if she was reminding him of someone.
Qui-Gon Jinn finally just sighed, "you know enough, Rey."
She narrowed her eyes, as a flicker of annoyance ran through her, "fine, then maybe you can answer this question. How are you planning to guarantee that Ben and I don't accidently wipe ourselves from existence, Master Jinn? I mean the man that we're trying to dispose of is one of my… one of my ancestors ," Rey choked on the word, "how do we avoid paradoxes, if our very actions threaten our own lives?"
Master Jinn eyed her with a look of surprise, as if she was missing something very important, before it morphed into a look of pity, making Rey suddenly very uncomfortable and now a bit unsure if she truly wanted an answer to the question.
"I thought you'd have figured it out by now," Qui-Gon Jinn sighed, "but I suppose not." A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between the pair before the former Jedi Master finally spoke, "Rey… I don't believe that you completely understand how time travel works."
A flicker of fear flared throughout Rey's very being, "what do you mean by that?"
"Rey, in going back into the past, you entered a new timeline. The one from which you came is now beyond you, for in that timeline, you simply no longer exist, since you're here now, I suppose to say it in the simplest of terms. However, Force willing, if you make it through to the end of this, you and Ben will be provided the choice to go back or stay here," Qui-Gon let out a breath, while Rey stared at him, increasingly horrified by this new revelation, "anyways, paradoxes are impossible, solely because this timeline is separate, but with the same past and players, from the one of which you came. The only difference here is you and Ben. I suppose that you could think of it as an alternate universe," Qui-Gon paused for a moment, before continuing, "after all, if you were sent back into the past of your own timeline that would hardly work, because many of the moves that you've already made have had a high probability of making grave changes to who you are as a person or even ending your presence altogether, which means that you would no longer exist as this version of yourself, thus making such a thing impossible," Qui-Gon passed a thoughtful hand through his beard, "that Rey, is why you are in an alternate timeline."
Rey's breathing quickened with anxiety and her heart felt like it was about to explode in two. If what Qui-Gon was saying was right, then it was actually rather probable that both her and Ben could be wiped from existence and no one would care or even notice.
Would that mean that Finn, Poe, Luke, Leia and everyone else who'd ever mattered to her could be wiped away to? Just like that?
Yes, her mind supplied, they very well could, and more than that in her own timeline, did they now think that she'd died on Exegol? Probably, unless she and Ben were able to go back.
The thought almost destroyed her.
"Why?" Rey cried out, "why?" Her fists clenched and unclenched, as she began to fully realize the implications.
Qui-Gon just watched her with sad eyes, "'why' what, Rey?"
"Tell me, why we're here. Why… why couldn't The Force just have allowed Ben to live. We could've figured things out and then, I'd still have Finn and… and Poe and BB-8. I wouldn't just have to constantly do The Force's bidding. So, why?" She cried out, as pain unfurled throughout her very being.
"To have been blind is to-"
Rey cut Qui-Gon off before he could finish his mantra. "You've already told me that and I still have no clue, as to what it means. So, let me get this straight. The Force sent Ben and I back into the past for some strange reason that we only have a nonsense riddle to try and figure out, ripped us away from our timeline, thus leaving us with the possibility of erasing ourselves from existence, Finn and Poe probably think I died on Exegol, and… and a bunch of other things that I just can't think of right now! Why couldn't The Force just let us live in peace, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, why couldn't Ben and I just be happy for once? Why does almost everyone always leave me behind to a life of seemingly eternal hardship and tough decisions!" Tears cascaded down Rey's cheeks, but she couldn't find it in herself to even care or be embarrassed. "Is a peaceful, quiet life too much to ask for?"
The former Jedi Master eyed her with a look of infinite sadness, "I know, Rey and just as I said earlier, if you fulfill the wishes of The Force, then you and Ben can choose which timeline you wish to follow. Until then, there's simply nothing more that I can really say."
A blinding colorless light filled Rey's senses.
She awoke with a gasp and for a long moment just laid there in bed, silent tears slipping down her cheeks, as she thought about all of the terrible implications that surrounded her and Ben being in the past. It quite honestly, really made her head hurt. Then, as Rey realized that if she waited any longer that she'd miss her scheduled meet-up time with Ahsoka, she forced herself to get out of bed and get ready for the day.
It was midafternoon when Obi-Wan came by again to pull Anakin out of his state of now seemingly eternal state of boredom.
The Halls of Healing were the absolute worst and if Healer Che wasn't constantly having an eye kept on his room, he would've already snuck out by now. It was just so agonizingly torturous having to wait docile in here, when he felt like he should be doing more out there.
So when, the familiar face of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared, Anakin was relieved, because finally, he'd have someone to talk to, rather than just having to sit there with sleeping being his only real option. Plus, on a side-note, maybe Obi-Wan would even help him escape, because Anakin knew that after all, Obi-Wan also hated the Halls of Healing just as much as he did and would probably understand and resonate with his predicament.
"Hello there," Obi-Wan greeted, before closing the door quietly behind him, "how have you been, old friend?"
Anakin watched, as his brother took a seat in the chair at his bedside.
"Alright, I suppose," Anakin shrugged, from his elevated position, before his eyes suddenly seemed to come alive with a spark of curiosity, as he remembered the tail end of their last conversation, "so are you going to tell me who that special someone is?" He teased, to which Obi-Wan just shot him an annoyed look.
"Anakin…" he protested, but Anakin just shrugged, not up for games.
"Please Obi-Wan, I'm really curious about this mysterious woman."
For a long moment there was a great span of silence from his brother and just as Anakin began to lose hope, words suddenly sounded from Obi-Wan's mouth.
"Her name is Satine," he began, as a fond look overcame his kind blue eyes.
Anakin's eyes widened with a mix of shock and surprise, "you mean Duchess Satine of Mandalore? I thought you couldn't stand politicians."
"Most politicians, Anakin," Obi-Wan corrected, "Satine was and always has been… different from the rest. I met her on a mission with Master Jinn," his eyes flickered with a brief sadness as he mentioned of his former Master's name, "there'd been an uprising against her rule on Mandalore, leading to a civil war and when the conflict became too much, the Jedi Order felt the need to intervene," Obi-Wan paused, his gaze seeming to get lighter, as he immersed himself in the memories, "we were constantly on the run with no certainties, as to what the next day might bring for nearly a year. The insurgents sent a seemingly endless stream of bounty hunters after us, so those months were filled with grand challenges and adventure, but somehow with her there…" Obi-Wan paused, as if he didn't even have the words to describe how Satine made him feel, "somehow with her there everything was just… just lighter," he finally decided. "Afterwards, once the uprising was defeated, she returned to her duties on Mandalore and I returned to my duties as a Jedi. Still, I've never forgotten about her and no matter what the Jedi Code says she'll… she'll always hold a very special place in my heart," Obi-Wan confessed.
"Sounds romantic."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan chided again, shooting his former Padawan an exasperated look, but then he gave pause, as he seemed to actually consider Anakin's statement, "though I suppose it was. Still, that was a long time ago and it's been years since we last saw each other. From what I've heard though, apparently, she's managed to bring about peace on Mandalore, which is inspiring, given that planet's history with their conquering warrior past," he paused, deep in thought, "I have hope that I'll eventually see her again, but only time will tell."
The two fell into silence, lost in their own thoughts, before finally, Anakin spoke.
"We should pay her a visit," he offered, hardly subtle.
A flicker of longing filled Obi-Wan's eyes, as if he wanted to do just that, but then he just shook his head with a sad smile, "while in another lifetime, I would leap at that chance, I can't right now, Anakin. It's best that we just leave things as they are… at least for now."
With a disappointed sigh, Anakin acquiesced to Obi-Wan's wishes and once more, the two fell into silence, before discussing much lighter matters, and when Anakin asked Obi-Wan if he'd help him escape, just as he was leaving, Obi-Wan declined, much to Anakin's chagrin.