AN: I don't own Naruto/Star Wars: Legends
GRS 4:10:7
Aboard The Breakaway: Cargo Bay
En Route to Coruscant
Lightsabers crashed against one another, with Quinlan dancing around Aayla as she fought back, trying to press her advantage while Quinlan showed his superior skills. Even with those, he found himself with a faint smile as Aayla tried to dance around him, moving with a confident series of blows between each of her strikes. Moving around her strikes, Vos was finding her doggedly on his heels, keeping him from having too much breathing room. He could remember a time when she was more timid, and scared of his size; now she acted like she were the bigger hound, and he the smaller.
Off to the side, Naruto was watching them, nodding slowly as they locked blades. Aayla had learnt in leaps, her skills as a Jedi returning rapidly, letting her utilize that retraining to grow perhaps even beyond the skill she had before. Naruto didn't know if she could beat Vos, but with the fight she put up, she at least was trying to give him as much of a run for his money as she could. Naruto had shown that the could give both a run for their money, with Quinlan winning near even with him during their spars, when Naruto only used his lightsaber. When he dual-wielded, Vos had a harder time keeping up with him.
Glancing to the side, Aurra watched them all, squinting at them occasionally, and trying to look uninterested. Naruto had quickly learnt better, her own training going better than she thought; she kept comparing herself to him, who had trained for years, and had fought in wars, fought Sith, and needed to have the skills to avoid dying nearly everywhere he went. She had tried to argue that she did too, being a bounty hunter, but Naruto had reminded her that there were those who hunted Jedi, and that the Outer Rim, for all its dangers, at least held a form of respect for Jedi, who they'd rather see dead.
So, she now was trying to follow the two before her. She had held a few days of sparring with Aayla recently, both proving to be formidable against one another, but just different enough for their styles to keep the other on their toes. Particularly when Aurra kept trying to pull a blaster out and fire stun rounds into Aayla, who tried to protest that it was cheating. Naruto had simply asked if others would play fair, and had allowed it, then pulled the same trick on Aurra later at the same time she did, causing them to have to pause their duel due to peals of laughter from them both.
The atmosphere on the ship was growing more homely, and calming. Yag, upon seeing all the starships that Aurra had accumulated, had asked to look them all over, taking his time and seeing what they all had to offer. Upon getting a hint at what was going on, Yag had initially been wary, and spoken to Vos about the members of the ship, asking a number of questions for a few days. Then, he'd surprised Aurra by asking if she needed someone to maintain her crafts.
So long as he wasn't involved with whatever business she was dealing with, and he could continue his own work. His subterine was still operational, and had been meant for mining more near dead planets, moons, or asteroids, but having a vehicle around would be beneficial to himself regardless of where he chose to work, however he'd been working to set out on his own, but needed a stable form of work. Having a job with Damask Holdings that sent him to Dathomir, in hindsight, was not the most stable form of work. Aurra, after some consideration, finally relented, offering him a place among her spacious ship as a pilot.
There was however, the combative nature of Aayla and Vos, as the two tried once more to spar through their feelings. Aayla had insisted she was fine, that she didn't need it, but each fight and each loss had shown her looking further frustrated, yet feeling a hint more of her old self bubbling up. Someone who was her, but not the her of now.
As their sparring ended, Vos smiled, bowing to Aayla respectfully. "You've been learning quite quickly it seems. Naruto hasn't been too much of a task master has he?"
"That and then some." Naruto leapt down, strolling up to them. "Your form is better, both of you, but I can only imagine that someone who was perfect with it doing better. So that should be your goal. As close to it as we can be, then squeeze out the little bits we can to get better."
"You're one to talk." Aayla winced, rubbing her shoulder where she'd been grazed to end the fight. "You just use Form six and ride off that."
"That form is meant to be balanced between those who want to fight, but also study and such. It's about balancing skill, form, and the Force. Which, if I could go all out, I'd dance around you with my clones." Naruto smiled, placing a hand on both their shoulders. "Mainly because when you're fighting that many people, you'll make many, many more mistakes."
"Unless you practice Shii-cho, the first Form." Quinlan nodded to himself, recalling relearning the basics. "That one is... difficult, yet simple. It's one where you are either a novice, or a master. Kit Fisto spoke of it, seeming to regard it well."
"Kit Fisto is a scary man, and I respect him." Naruto nodded to himself, recalling seeing some of the Nautolan Jedi's sparring matches. "If I ever spar against anyone to learn to better fight and defeat them, he'd be one who I think I'd enjoy doing so with, because he'd be the most trouble."
"You? Have trouble?" Aurra snorted softly, tossing a fruit at the three, which Vos caught. "I'd sooner think you'd just pull a blaster on him mid fight and be done with it."
"That'd be if it wasn't a 'clean fight'... you know, only lightsaber sparring." Naruto pointed to Aurra, waving his finger at her as she rolled her eyes. "Hey, sometimes you don't have a blaster, and other times you don't want to waste energy with shooting someone who can just send it right back at you."
Aurra opened her mouth to make a sarcastic retort, but seemed to pull back seeing the other two Jedi. "Well, yeah. But only if you're not careful."
"I know." Naruto stretched, shaking his head. "Alright, we're coming out of hyperspace in a couple of hours. Should be easy enough to get back to the Temple, and just... go from there."
"We're heading back?" Aayla asked, looking at Naruto quizzically. "... what if I say no?"
"Then..." Naruto shrugged after a moment. "Then we let Yag take Vos to Coruscant, drop him off, then we go see where we go from there. Fair?"
"I..." Aayla shifted in place, looking thoughtful. "Maybe we should talk about it first?"
Glancing to Vos and Aurra, Naruto nodded and asked the two of them to step out of the room to give them a moment to talk. Aurra seemed hesitant for a moment, then finally relented, smiling and stepping out to begin her new hobby; heckling Vos. Naruto didn't know what it was that had her finding him to be fun to taunt, but she'd grown amused with the process, and Naruto certainly wasn't stopping her.
Soon, the makeshift training area was empty, leaving the two of them alone. Slowly, Aayla sat down, shifting into a seated meditation-like position. Naruto slowly followed her, his more relaxed and informal, as she seemed like she was struggling to find what she wanted to say. Finally, she bowed her head, rubbing her hand across her arm slowly. "I... I wanted to apologize."
"For?"
Aayla shifted further, looking somehow more embarrassed. "For my anger on Dathomir. My anger towards... Quinlan, my... master, distracted you and Aurra. And, that could've gotten us all killed."
"... you can thank Aurra for that." Naruto bowed his head. "I was... afraid. Letting my mind be clouded, and troubled by my past. I-" Naruto closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I've told the story to you before, but I don't think that you remember it..."
"That's, another thing." Aayla gently ran her hand across her lekku, chewing on her lip worriedly. "I think I've, also been acting out of fear. Not... wanting to confront my past, or to... I've talked to Vos, and while I'm still very angry, and confused... I want to understand. I need to know." Looking at him with an imploring look, she began wringing her hands before she quelled it by putting them down nervously. "I'd like to request, we try seeing if the Mind Meld will...help me. Remember. And to be me, again. Or, more me. The me from before. I just - can you...you understand what I mean right?"
"You, were pretty clear." Naruto smiled, taking up a more formal meditative position, moving a bit closer and holding out his hands to her. "Here, take my hands, and breathe slowly."
Aayla hesitated, staring at his hands for a moment before slowly placing her hands in his, trying to follow his instructions. Her nerves made it harder, and it took far longer than she wanted to try and settle her nerves down. Minutes passed, and she felt frustrated, confused, and worried. Then, slowly, without anything more than a few minor bits of gentle prodding for her to relax, and to just take in that she knew he was there, she actually began to do so. Relaxing, and calming herself until she was in a state of rest.
Then, she felt something brush against her mind, and immediately steeled herself. Hearing Naruto hum, she winced. "I'm sorry..."
"Please, don't be. I'm just..." He gently let go of her hands, leaning back a bit. "I'm an intruder into your mind, and we can wait for you to be more comfortable."
"No!" She grabbed his hands, keeping him from leaving. "Please... you're - you're the only one I trust with this right now. Please... I can't keep not knowing. I can't keep second guessing, or wondering. If I do I'll just end up feeling crazy, and angry, and I just... I can't..."
Naruto sat silently, but nodded. Slowly, he let the Force reach out and brush against her mind again. Once more, the walls came up immediately. This time, Naruto waited, slowly letting himself give the impression that he had his hands against her barrier, waiting patiently. Slowly, more minutes passing, the walls began to come down, and he was allowed in.
For both of them, her life began as a slow scrolling of days. Then, the memories she had deemed important, ones that she would have thought on as she grew up, trained, and experienced. Each piece flashed before her; from her as a child, barely able to remember the young boy who had saved her from a monster - a wampa, to pirates, and three-headed Terbeasts. Friends like Xiaan Amersu, Kit Fisto, and Plo Koon who everyone enjoyed being around. The moment her pet T'da died, and how she'd tried to save her uncle, only to push Quinlan into a strike he hadn't meant to hit him with. She remembered the Stark Hyperspace War, and the young man on Tattooine who was covered in scars, a tattoo that covered up a branding.
Suddenly she wasn't in her own mind, seeing flashes of Naruto's own. While she wanted to pull away, she found herself curious. She felt each second, and tried to understand what she was being shown. Why show her all this? His youth, fighting against the man named Xanatos, his 'adoption' with the rancor, pieces of flashes of the war. Each piece stood out to her, showing a boy trying to save a child, a boy screaming as the sky burned, the man who he became to send a message. Then, the man who cried when slaves threw themselves upon him with screaming, when they thanked him and wept, when he realized he had gone too far and come back to the light on his own, and never knew if he'd succeeded or even believed that he had all this time. Still lost, still standing and looking at the galaxy as though he was alone. Then, she was back in her own mind, feeling him push her back as he took a deep breath himself.
"... why?" She asked, her mind suddenly clearer than it had been. Suddenly seeing everything so much clearer for the first time in a long time. "Why did you...?"
"It's fair." Naruto's voice was soft, thought it was clear he was reliving both his own memories, and seeing hers. Shaking his head, he blinked his eyes, a few tears streaking down his cheeks. "It's only fair..."
"But you didn't - you really didn't have to." Aayla tried to protest, then froze, hand outstretched as she began processing what she was beginning to comprehend.
She had reached out to him, physically, and in the Force, and for the first time, she felt his mind. He was not just hurt, or badgered. With their meld, and the feeling of him almost helping 'encourage' her Force abilities, she suddenly saw him, and his mind, with a truth she couldn't understand before. She'd seen it, but she didn't understand it. Now, with his own help, she could now see it fully, and now she could understand fully as well.
He was wounded. Perhaps a metaphysical, or perhaps not a true wound, but one there all the same. In his mind, and perhaps even the tiniest bit of the Force wept for him. And so she wept for him, as she reached out to touch his face, the Force moving around her mind, and suddenly realizing that while she had been building walls, moving to wrap herself and become immune to the effects of Anzati mind tricks, his own was a fortress. He had built up walls, and when he'd let her in, it had likely been a struggle and a strain to do so, as he was not only blocking others from getting in, but himself from letting out those feelings, worries, and emotions.
He'd made himself a prisoner in his own mind.
Tears brushed against her hand, and she felt her own well up. He didn't sob, he didn't cry, he made no sound. Yet the tears finally began to flow freely from him. Shifting forward, she pulled him into a hug, letting him cry, as she herself wept into his shoulder as well. Too many memories, to much all at once.
She was herself. She was another person. They were one and the same, yet different. And Naruto had helped coax her out, helped make her whole, and then allowed her a glimpse into his own. He didn't ask for anything, didn't want anything from her. It was the most he could do to help her, and now she wanted to help him.
So they sat there, and cried, and let the other have their moment to feel, and to let their tears flow freely; perhaps for the first time, for the reasons they could both finally remember fully.
[=-x-=]
Aurra picked at her dinner as she very slowly ate, staring at it with a look on her face that seemed to scream 'leave me alone'. Yet, she kept having various droids come around her and ask for her assistance, or to get her feedback on things. She hadn't minded it, and it had relieved her of some of the stress she felt, but only fleetingly.
Hearing someone come in, her head perked up, then drooped slightly. "Hello Gonk."
"Boss friend doing the distressed? Gonk is here to help!"
"No, I'm not distressed." Aurra flicked another piece of her food idly, leaning back as she stared at it, almost like she wished to have it destroyed through looking at it alone.
"Sensors say your food has not reach mouth." There was an audible click, and Aurra had to snap her hands up, pointing at Gonk with a look on her face of frustration. "... if not eating, making it go away-"
"I'm eating, I'm eating Gonk." Aurra glared at Gonk's blasters, idly wondering why Jabba had ever chosen to install automatic blaster rifles into a droid like a Gonk, but each time she saw it she had to remind herself just how dangerous it could be. "Jeez, ease off the trigger there."
"If was on the trigger, food would be blasted."
"And me, and the walls, and everything else!" Aurra threw up her hands, clutching her head as she felt a splitting headache coming over her. "Aah, I feel like I want to just shoot something."
"Please do not. Already covered in blaster marks."
"It's a turn of phrase Gonk, I'm not... I don't actually..." Aurra sat down, took a deep breath, then covered her face. "... fuck emotions."
"Why's that?"
Her heart skipped a beat, and she slowly peaked out from between her fingers. Slowly, she dropped her head into her arms, making soft groans as Naruto entered the room. "Nooo..."
"No?" He sat next to her. She could feel his weight shift her seat next to her, and then his hand gently rubbed against her back. "Something wrong?"
"No. Yes. Maybe. I'm in a fork and I don't know what to do."
"... okay. Maybe, not in the commons area?"
"Perhaps needing to get a new shipment?" Gonk tried to offer, helpfully.
"No shipments Gonk."
"Aw."
Helping lift her to her feet, Naruto helped guide her back to her room. To their room, really, as Naruto hardly spent time in what had once been his own room, but she hadn't been brave enough to refer to it as such. It was a step in the direction she wanted, but she was afraid if she said it aloud, he might back off, or... something. Foolish insecurities, but then he was the first person who had always come back, and been where she could find him after she woke up. Most others she'd known had just left.
Moving into the room, Aurra watched as Naruto immediately disabled his lightsaber and set it aside, before doing the same for his blaster. His routine he called it. Both were fixed in seconds upon waking, but at the same time it made him dangerous only after those few seconds; making it easier for those who were not enemies trying to wake him to avoid coming nearly into harms reach. She still told him he was silly for still doing it, but he'd been insistent that he wanted to be sure.
Watching him seat himself on the bed, she paused, moving over to him and slowly gripping his face. "... who made you cry?"
"Aurra?"
"You cried. I can see it." She gently brushed under his eyes, a fire seeming to ignite with such speed that she almost felt she could throw the ship to a full stop from where she stood. "Was it Aayla."
"Aurra."
"I swear, if she made you cry, or - look I know you're strong, but if she did, I swear-"
"Aurra!" Naruto waited for her to stop, her hands gripping him tightly, yet he didn't flinch in the slightest. His touch was gently, and it softened her as she pulled her hands off his face, and he pulled her closer. "I made me cry." Seeing her confused look, he smiled - such a sad smile, the one she couldn't recall having seen before. "I... I did it."
"... why?" She asked, slowly touching his face again. Seeing where her nails had dug into his face, she pulled back, looking at her hands with shame as she turned away. "I-"
"I had to made a choice... and I think I'm just going to be the galaxies biggest fool."
Avoiding just smacking him for saying something so foolish, she instead moved up and sat next to him. Laying an arm across his shoulder, she gently gave him a shake, sighing softly as she leaned her head into his. "... alright. You're going to have to tell me why though. I'm not going to root around in that brain of yours. You know me... I want to hear it."
"I know. It's just so... difficult."
"Hard?"
"Not the word for it."
"It's a word for it."
"Aurra I'm trying to be serious..."
While he said that, there was a hint of a smile to his face, and it brought one to her too. If she could still make him smile, then she was on the right track to helping him relax. That's all she wanted. It was what he needed; even if he wouldn't say it.
"I've made some... questionable choices. And I'm pretty sure they're going to haunt me."
Shifting, she leaned back, grabbing him and gently tugged him so he was forced to fall back with her. Laying on the bed, pulling him to lie next to him, she gently played with his hair. "Okay... tell them to me."
He was silent, and for a moment, she thought he wasn't going to actually tell her. She didn't mind it, it was for him to choose whether to say it or not after all. His life, not hers. Yet, that made it more startling when, after a moment, he began to speak, regaling her with the parts of his tales he'd never written down, and some recent events that had happened that he hadn't yet told her.
"I had to condemn my people." That was a bold way to start off. "When I went into the Star Chamber, I saw my planet. It's called Ibonihs, and I ... they could have found a way to use it to get into the galaxy."
"... aren't they the ones that you said were dangerous? That they're assassins, warriors, and such?"
"Yeah."
"So, you did a good thing."
"I... told them to turn off their half of a gate for a thousand years."
She hummed softly as that, thinking it over for a moment as she considered that. "... only a thousand years? Why not just, turn it off?"
"Aurra," He looked up at her, his eyes looking gentle and lost. "They don't have a way offworld, or out of their part of space. Without that gate, they are stuck there. Even if they get the ability to go into space, the chance they'll get out is... they won't."
"So, you gave them a chance? Why is that bad?"
"Because I had to condemn them. I had to make a decision, but for the first time it... I had to make a decision for an entire planet. An entire people. Every shinobi and civilian on that planet. For one thousand years, they'll have no way offworld. For however many generations they go through, however many kids they have, they'll have to stay on that planet. And I made that choice."
Taking a moment to think, Aurra suddenly understood his apprehension. He was forced to, in his own words, condemn his own people, the people he'd come from. Trying to find words, she eventually just pulled him closer, gently playing with his hair and letting him talk.
"... I just... I have so much going on. I have that on my head, I have ghosts following me-" Pausing, he seemed to think about it, then grumbled into her chest. "From the war, and... a few real ones."
"... huh?"
"I..." he tried to look away, but she gripped him and held him, trying to help encourage him to keep talking. He didn't struggle against her, but seemed to just need to take a moment to realize she was listening to him. "There are spirits that are... following me. I don't think they're just, watching me, but they pop up and just, are there. One of them was in the lightsaber we got. I think... it had been trying to take over someone, and then just, failed to take me. And another one is a soul from my home, a guy named Jiraiya."
"You've seen him too?"
"... you've seen him?" Naruto sat up, staring down at Aurra with wide, wild eyes. "He showed himself to you?"
"On Dathomir. He... said you were heroic, and that you weren't dead. Just before Brutus brought you back here. Speaking of, are you okay that you let Brutus go and just...run free?"
"It wasn't like we were going to take him off the planet. Bad enough we had to relocate him to Dathomir. I know it's the rancors homeworld and all, but moving him all around just wouldn't be right." Naruto rubbed his face, slowly dropping back down to lay next to her. "Just... I just hope he's okay."
"Mm, yeah. He'll be fine. He'll find plenty of gals who will love him, he'll be the baddest boy on the planet, and be surrounded by even stronger women."
"Haha, I get it, rancors are matriarchal." Naruto gently poked Aurra's side, getting him to lightly smack at the back of his head. As he laughed, the mood seemed to lift for a moment, before he slowly just stared up at the ceiling, and he closed his eyes. "I just... Look, I just, don't..." Struggling with his words, he finally just pushed them out, getting it all out in a rush. "I just don't feel like I'm doing enough in the galaxy."
"Enough?" Aurra found herself poking him at that, staring down at him as he turned his head away. "What do think you've done so far?"
"... not enough." It wasn't a question. He truly was believing that he hadn't done enough for the galaxy.
"And can we just, think for a second that we're still plenty young?"
"We can talk about it, sure." He shifted slowly, giving her his full attention to listen and think on her words.
"Well, think about it like this. Unless you're deciding to have your midlife crisis now, you're not going to die until you're well old, and seen the galaxy, or maybe just the parts you want to go to. And, you'll outlive most people, because you're crazy, and people will expect you to die from stupid things, but our secret is that we use that crazy to our advantage." She waved her hand in the air, then slowly let it flop on the bed. "... I better live a long time. Give me something after all that life threw at me."
"You living a long time would make the galaxy interesting." Naruto laughed lightly. "You, living forever, causing them trouble even when you get older, and making people have to wonder how long you'll keep going good in the galaxy."
"What I do is hardly 'good' for the galaxy." Aurra mumbled to herself, shaking her head. "I just take bounties, and do... stuff."
"The stuff you do is really good though. You choose what to do, and you try to make the best choice with what you're given."
"Yeah, well, I botch it up sometimes."
"And we do better."
"Exactly. That's what you do, you do better."
She could positively feel the sudden realization from Naruto as she said that. That she'd managed to get him to discuss her, but in turn say exactly what she herself couldn't think of the right words to say. Instead she let him say the words he needed to say, to her.
"That's ... not how that works."
"That's exactly how it works." Rolling her eyes, she shifted and threw herself so she stared down at him.
"I can't just, be better."
"Nope." she smiled, leaning down and giving him a gentle kiss. "You can never just be better. You get better. It takes time."
"What if I don't..." His words slowed, staring up at her, his complaints and putting himself down dying before they were formed. "I only have so much time..."
"You're going to live forever." Aurra attested, gently stroking his cheek. "Because I said so, so none of that complaining." Seeing him lay there, not saying anything for a while, causing Aurra to slowly fall to the side. After a moment, he turned his head to look at her, confused. "I'm not doing that to trap you. If you don't want to talk I get it. You don't have to. We can change-"
"No, no that's not-"
"I mean it's fine, really-"
"I just don't know what to say to that-"
"You don't have to force yourself-"
"The Jedi just kind of tell you to find balance-"
"With everything you've been with I get it-"
"And you let me just be..."
They stared at each other, both of them trying to comfort each other, and talking over each other, slowly breaking down into bursts of laughter. Both of them motioned to the other to go first, to try and speak, but kept trying to insist the other speak. Idly, they tried and eventually just began giving up on talking, instead just laying together. Slowly, Naruto reached out, letting Aurra put her head on his arm. Moving closer, he gently kissed her forehead, then pressed his forehead to hers.
"... you're too good to me. You accept these... strange, weird things I've done, or that have happened and just... roll with it."
"Well, you the best thing that ever happened for me. So, I should hope I can."
Sighing, Naruto slowly pulled her close, letting the two of them take a moment to just be together. Just be together, and take comfort in each other's embrace.
AN:
Questions from Stonepotrice (thank you for these, they were quite good questions):
You had transmission stopped for one thousand years then had the building do a full wipe on its systems. Sooo after one thousand years it's power back own due to it initial commend?: A good catch! Naruto didn't think about his wording there, or about the full implications. That said, there are more planets that have similar gates, meaning those ones are still up and active. His idea was that it would stop the transmissions specifically from his world - not to his world.
Also what was it transmitting?: Updates. The device is powered by the Force, with a form of DNA scanner. So it was giving updates as to changes in interplanetary movement mostly, to coordinate teleportation. It was also so any data added to it could be then moved between each other.
Can holocrons do duplicated? If so would Naruto give some info to yoda?: By my understanding, no they cannot. Otherwise there'd be ways to utilize that by the Sith to mass produce their holocrons to try and corrupt Jedi. That, and with the way holocrons are made, they're unique from data cards, which are a more commonly created item for people without strong Force connection. That was something I can explain away from my early wordings of "copying" by saying that Naruto created a "copy" of the Sunrider stories by making himself a gatekeeper for a new holocron. Telling them word-for-word, but not being the original.
As for telling Yoda, that's possible, but it won't be something Naruto would just, think to do. Yoda can be wise, and clever, but while Yoda trusts Naruto, he doesn't yet understand what kind of information is on the holocron. Thus, he'll keep it quiet for now, not out of maliciousness, but rather out of ignorance.
Additionally, I got question from Blaze501st:
Will Naruto finally get back to Coruscant? Of course! The Jedi Temple is there, so that's their next stop!
And how will Aayla and Quinlan deal with their drama? This chapter actually helps with that a little - it's a few days jump, giving Aayla time to consider that she was outright ready to murder him, while also helping them have some time to try to get to know each other casually. Not easy, but they have time they could use to get better.
Also, will we ever get to see Naruto just straight killing people? like there is a cause so great that any that stand in his way are killed without hesitation? Good question, good question. That... is an excellent question. Because technically yes, there is. The main thing holding him back is that he's got his code, and the Jedi Code keeping him "in line". If more than enough things aligned (as they might), he just might go on another rampage.
Question from batmanuchiha: Ah but if they were bound to happen no matter what, does this mean that sideous's plan could fail? If I could put in the smirk emoji I would. Being more blunt, yes it does indeed. In fact, it's already tilted with the fact Darth Plagueis is still alive.
Guest: Who are the Kwa!? The Kwa are entities that will be discussed more later in this story, but they're also mentioned on Wookiepedia, as a peaceful saurian (lizardly/dinosaur-like) race, who attempted to spread peace using the Force. Their downfall was meeting with a dangerous, and violent people who then began systematically killing them off of planets they'd visited using dark side-powered technology as they began conquering the known galaxy into what was then known as the Infinite Empire. The Kwa, trying to stop them, turned off the Infinity Gates, and degraded into a semi-sentient race over their near 40,000 years on Dathomir. Yeah, the Infinite Empire began around 37-36,000 years ago. Yeah. This is before even the majority of Old Republic shenanigans.
Thank you all for your reviews, they are always great to read. If you haven't seen, the poll to go over the pairing options for Anakin on my Profile page. I look forward to seeing who you choose, and how I'll be able to consider and use it through the building story.
May this chapter find you well, and may the Force be with you.
