Chapter 146

There was a long silence in the Millennium Falcon that was deafening. No one could believe what had just happened. One minute, she was there, fighting for her life. And the next, she was ... gone. Just like that.

Chewie was piloting the Falcon for everyone, since they were all out of it. Everyone was messed-up. Laetitia was a huge part of each one of their lives. She was the reason they knew each other in the first place.

Without Leah, Han would be a cold and emotionless smuggler, Ahsoka wouldn't be as happy as she was with her own family, and Thexan ...

His life literally turned around because of her. He turned back to the light because of her. Though he felt guilty for everything his father had done, she was the one person who wouldn't hold that against him. She was his everything ... and now, she was gone out of their lives for good.

None of them could believe she wasn't coming back. The Rebellion was now without a Leader, Ahsoka and Han without their best friend, Rex without the General he basically raised, Lux and Mon Mothma without their close friend and ally, Mina without her aunt, Thexan without his everything, and Luke ... without his actual sister.

On the way back to the Base, no one spoke a thing, but they all knew they were worried about Luke. He had lost his family when he was 10 and now, his one and only sister, who he loved more than anyone, was dead.

How would he be able come back from that? Could he? Could any of them?

Chewie and Han landed the Falcon in the Rebel Base. Once the door was open, they saw Luke waiting outside, pacing around in worry and fear. His blue eyes were filled with sadness and fear while they were begging for his sister to show up and smirk as she always did. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see her. She wasn't with them.

Luke stood there as Han angrily ran away from them. He wasn't angry, per se. He was so sad that he was covering it up with anger.

Ahsoka quietly walked away from him, not knowing what to say. Lux ran to his wife and held her closely as she sobbed into his arms.

Thexan was unlike any of them. He was unable to move, breathe or think. He didn't even have the energy to run away from them, be filled with rage or cry his eyes out. He just fell on the entrance door of the Falcon while Chewie was roaring in sadness next to him.

Luke was completely confused. He had a guess what had messed all of them up, but he didn't dare think that. He couldn't. So, he was filled with confusion to be absolutely sure that his terrifying guess was true.

Rex slowly walked to him. Even he had no words to say. His face was covered with tears and sadness.

"What happened?" Luke breathed out, as if he wanted to hear it.

Rex looked down sadly. He could no longer look into the eyes that were basically a mirror of his General's and best friend's. How was he supposed to tell him Laetitia was dead?

All he could do was put his hand on his shoulder as Luke froze, unable to cry, speak, breathe or stand.


The entire Rebel Alliance had never been more shaken by what happened. The Empire had done a lot of things to them and each time was hard, but this time ... It was completely different. It was like no one knew how to go on without their Leader.

The Command Center was being emptied. Before Laetitia went on the mission that cost her her life ... Her last order as the Leader of the Rebel Alliance was to evacuate the Yavin 4 Base and move to another one. After Borsk Fey'lya's betrayal, they couldn't risk their location being known to the Empire.

Luke, Rex and Thexan were in the Command Center, all of them trying to busy themselves with work but it wasn't working. None of them could get the thought of her out of their head.

Rex only stayed with Luke because he didn't want him to be alone. His family had a history of dealing with grief the wrong way and a bit 'angrier' way. Both his father and his sister. The last thing anyone needed was another Sith Skywalker.

But that wasn't why Rex stayed with Luke. He was genuinely worried about him. He had lost the only family he had. As mature and wise he was, Luke was a 13-year-old orphan boy. Anyone would break at this point.

Thexan, on the other hand? He was ... numb and exhausted from what happened. He knew that he would never get that picture out of his head for the rest of his life. How Laetitia looked in her last minutes, how her light body fell to the ground, how she took her last breath ... The look on her face when her heart was sliced by that Inquisitor's lightsaber was ...

Thexan exhaled deeply, wiping the tears off his face when he noticed an angry Han enter the room. Thexan could feel his rage in the Force and it was all directed at him. He stood there as Han walked to him and punched him in the face.

"Han!" Luke gasped in shock.

But Han didn't care. Thexan was responsible for Laetitia's death. He deserved to be punched. So, he didn't stop or pull his punches, and Thexan happily accepted them. Everyone knew he deserved it.

"Solo, let him go." Rex ordered firmly. It wasn't Thexan's fault that Leah died ... or that's what they wanted to believe.

"Han, calm down. Please!" Luke begged.

"How, Luke?! If it wasn't for this son of a bitch, Leah would still be here! She went there to save his sorry-ass!" Han shouted in anger while frustrated tears fell from his eyes.

"That's enough!" A female voice shouted from behind.

It was Ahsoka. Lux and Mon Mothma were standing behind her, all witnessing how Han was directing his anger at Thexan.

Once Han stopped and stood up, Luke and Rex walked to Thexan and helped him up. He groaned softly, but ... he had been through worse. And he did nothing to stop Han, even though it would have been super easy for him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Ahsoka demanded. This is what Leah would have done if she were there. She would protect Thexan in any way she could.

"Beating up the bastard responsible for this." Han replied, panting.

"It wasn't his fault." Lux argued.

"No, he's right." Thexan quietly said.

"Either way, this is not what Leah would have wanted." Ahsoka tried to reason with him.

"We don't know what she would've wanted, thanks to HIM!" Han shouted in rage.

Everyone flinched in pain when he said that. He was right. She was no longer there. It hadn't even been a day. It all happened so fast ... They couldn't wrap their head around the fact and thought of Leah never coming back again.

"We don't need Laetitia physically in our lives to know what she would have done or wanted to do. If anyone knew her for an hour, they would know that she would protect the ones the loved, no matter the cost. I'm not going to let that be forgotten or let you disrespect my sister's memory by doing what you want in her name!" Luke strongly said, using his Senator voice, being offended by what Han said.

Han looked down in shame. Luke never lost it but when he reached his limit, he was as fearsome and formidable as his sister, and his parents before them. They all knew that if he got angry and showed it, it was because he was feeling very emotional.

"So yes. You will stop blaming Thexan because THAT is not what Laetitia would've wanted." He repeated himself to make sure there was no blaming Thexan.

That was the end of it. He would make sure of that. Leah cared about him, maybe even more. That was more than enough reason for Luke to respect him. He may have been the only one, besides him, that could make her smile in the hardest time. For that, Luke would always be grateful to Thexan.

He didn't care if he was literally the devil's son. Thexan was his friend. No one would treat him like that ... not as long as Luke was around, now that Leah was out of the picture.

When Han didn't say anything and understood what Luke meant, Luke turned to Thexan, who was groaning softly in pain. He even looked bad. His left eye was purple-bruised and his nose was bleeding from the punches he just received.

"Can you come with me?"


Luke led Thexan into his room. It was hard for both of them to be there because Laetitia's room was right next to his. Her room felt so empty without her in it.

Thexan grunted as he sat down and waited for Luke to say something. Did he, too, want to blame him for what happened to her? Or, did he want to lash out on him because of what his father did?

"Everything alright?" He finally broke the silence.

Luke took a deep breath to get a hold of himself. Thexan could feel how devastated he was feeling in the Force, which made him worry about him even more. What was he going to do that his hands were trembling like this?

He finally took a box out from underneath his bed and offered it to Thexan. Thexan frowned in puzzlement and was really confused. He just took the box out of Luke's hands and opened it. He gasped in shock when he saw what was inside it.

It was a lightsaber. It was clearly made for royalty, seeing there were golden markings on its silver and black handle.

Thexan had a feeling who had built it and who it belonged to. Laetitia had built it. Only a Skywalker is able to design something so delicate and so beautiful. He couldn't help but smile at the thought that Leah had made him a lightsaber.

He grabbed the lightsaber and ignited it. It was a yellow-bladed lightsaber. In the Force history, yellow Kyber crystals indicated a Jedi Sentinel, a Jedi who honored their skills in a balance of combat and scholarly pursuits. The protectors of the Force and the people of the Galaxy ... Exactly like how Thexan was.

"Don't let what Han said get into you. He's just upset." Luke finally broke the silence.

Thexan's smile disappeared. He deactivated his new, yellow lightsaber on his belt and looked down.

"He's right, though. She went there to save me ... Shouldn't have done that." He quietly said out of guilt.

"You know, better than anyone else, how fiercely independent Laetitia was. She didn't need a man to complete her ... But that doesn't mean she didn't want you." Luke softly said, trying to make him feel better.

Whether they liked it or not, Thexan was now a part of their family. It was going to be hard as hell, and messed-up, and would take a long time to get used to it, but ... he was their family as much as Leah was.

"I am sorry, Luke ... For everything."

Luke weakly smiled. He was so much like his sister in that part. Forgiving and strong, even when they were broken.

"I know."

Done :(