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45. "Children of the Force" (pt. 1)
Rodia, Outer Rim Territories
A pair of starfighters, one red and one green, ejected their hyperspace rings and began their silent descent into Rodia. In these starfighters was Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jedi Knight Elara Skywalker. Whenever these two were deployed as a team, there was some measure of playful banter at this point. Questions of the planet and its people. Cheeky comments about the weather. Things to defuse the tension of what was to come. But this time, as they glided through the jungle planet's atmosphere, there was nothing. Perfect, deafening silence. Obi-Wan flicked switches and pressed buttons in strained silence. The only sounds he heard were the faint beeps from his controls, and the sound of his breathing bouncing back against the canopy. It felt unnatural. Foreboding. But there was nothing to say, truly; they'd both received the same briefing. Both had the same information.
And that information had betrayed that things were only getting worse. The men from Contigo had, indeed, found Bane's rented room back on Coruscant; and the proprietress griped about the fact he'd not come back to settle his bill. It was all evidence that had led to his singular conclusion––Cad Bane had, as Elara predicted, fled. And much to her credit and her character, she didn't gloat. What she did do was arch her eyebrows in a very pointed, uniquely Skywalker way. The same sort of look Anakin would give him after one of his reckless stunts succeeded. The simple gesture had irked Obi-Wan oddly; which was confounding, as it had been many years since Elara had done anything he'd believed to be irksome.
But things had changed, hadn't they?
Those changes, however, were not what needed worrying about, not right now. There were more pressing matters, more important matters at hand. That was what he told himself, what he tried to convince himself of. But it was difficult to do so, for there were two parts of him at war, demanding that he give different things his attention.
Obi-Wan's head told him the matter of the holocron took precedence.
His heart said otherwise; it told him nothing would be better till things with Elara were fixed.
And which of those did he decide to listen to? His head. To logic. Reason. Duty––and something in him raged at that.
That burning distaste was shoved down and stuffed away by one long, deep breath. But it didn't sit quietly. It festered behind his heart, squirmed uncomfortably. It wouldn't let Obi-Wan forget about it, even as he turned his attention to the matter at hand. Bane. The holocron. The future of the Jedi Order. For Anakin and Ahsoka's mission had been anything but successful. It had been detrimental. They had sought out Bolla Ropal, only to find that Bane had gotten to him first. Not only had Ropal been killed and the Crystal stolen, Bane had escaped with the holocron… the opened holocron. He had cunningly tricked Anakin into opening it for him by way of threatening Ahsoka's life. And with his secondary escape, he now had the tools to track down any of the Force-sensitive children in the galaxy. The very future of the Jedi Order could be at stake, and his heart wanted him to ignore that. He couldn't. Now when it was now their mission to protect or save as many of those children as possible. They'd detected, through the Force, two children in immediate danger––one on Naboo and one on Rodia.
Anakin and Ahsoka had been dispatched to Naboo, which naturally paired Obi-Wan and Elara up for the excursion to Rodia.
The surface of Rodia grew ever closer, and the massive dome covered city that was their destination started to come into view. Still no comm activity. Obi-Wan spared a glance towards the green starfighter on his left. It sped along smoothly, silently, and without trouble. Something deep in his gut squirmed uncomfortably. This radio silence, it felt like a disruption. The smarting, burning tension between them, it threatened destruction. But it was something that must be overcome for the good of the mission. Of the Order. They could not allow this tension to wreak more havoc than it already had. It had overwhelmed him in those vents, threatening to drown him in the intoxicating, tempting warmth of Elara's Force signature. It had clouded his mind before, prevented him from seeing the truth of Bane's mission. It couldn't happen again. He couldn't let it happen again.
By the time the starfighters touched down in a large, white-stoned plaza, Obi-Wan had managed to collect himself. To shove matters of the heart aside, and allow the comfort of logic to rise in its place. With the throbbing of his heart sufficiently buried, Obi-Wan disengaged his canopy and let the muggy Rodian air sweep in around him. He leapt from his starfighter with a graceful poise, dead set on remaining focused on the mission. He was off running before he even knew if Elara was out of her ship yet; it mattered not if she was. She knew to follow him, knew where it was they were supposed to go. This was a time sensitive mission, and she surely understood that. There was no reason to worry, though––the sound of Elara's hurried footfalls pattered mere paces behind his own.
The home they were in search of was in Kaytap Square, which proved to be a minute's jog from where they'd landed. Obi-Wan nearly careened into a roaming astromech droid, and he stiltedly scuffled around it to avoid doing so. The motion had paused him long enough to allow Elara to fully catch up with him. Both Jedi tried to squeeze through the exterior doorway at the same time. This was not the coordinated maneuver they might've once pulled. Instead, it caused them both to fumble into one another. The force of the impact had Obi-Wan stumbling into one wall, his hands flying to catch himself. Elara tripped past him, and caught herself on the wall beside the house's front door. Despite the time sensitivity they faced, both found a spare second to shoot the other an unamused glare.
With a faint grimace, Obi-Wan pushed himself off the wall and jogged the last few steps for the doorway. Elara reached out to press a button to activate its chime. When there was no immediate response, Obi-Wan––admittedly a little flustered––reached out to rap his knuckles against the door. Beside him, Elara let out an indignant little huff, which had his teeth clenching and grinding. Thus far, the mission was going just swimmingly. Antsily, he leaned forward to press his ear against the door––which then slipped open half a foot. He stumbled back, hands raised, as a Rodian woman appeared in the gap. Her mesmerizing blue eyes darted between the two individuals on her doorstep. Almost immediately, her lips twisted in distaste and her browline furrowed.
"Ma'am," Elara started, tone gentle and even. "We're here––"
"If you are here for my son, Jedi, he's not here," she told them tersely. The word 'Jedi' had been spat, as though it were an insult or a curse.
Obi-Wan craned his head to the side, trying to peer into the home. But the Rodian woman blocked most of his view, and Elara, standing right beside him, physically prevented him from doing so. He'd have to lean around her, and that would bring them entirely too close; proximity had appeared to be a large issue for them, and he wasn't going to deal with it now. Obi-Wan, who fought to keep his expression as neutral as possible, let his eyes meet the Rodian's.
"Where is he?" he urgently asked––just as the door slipped shut. His mouth snapped open to call to her again, but he was beaten out by a rush of air biting through teeth.
"Sh!" Elara hissed beside him. Her hand flew up, a single finger raised, in the standard motion of 'be quiet.' Obi-Wan tensed his lips into a purse at the sharp gesture; but then heard what she must've heard. The low, drawn wailing of a young child. The boy was there; the mother had been lying. Elara's hand rocked forward to rap on the door again. "Please, ma'am, open the door!"
Something pinged in the Force. It twanged shrilly, dangerously, and caused a panicked rush zig-zag its way up Obi-Wan's spine. Danger. Without thinking, he waved his hand and bypassed the door's locking mechanism. It slid open with ease and allowed them entry. He was the first through the door, with Elara on his heels––but then they both stopped several steps into the household. Obi-Wan stopped so suddenly that Elara knocked into him again. She stumbled forward a step; his arm instinctively shot out to prevent her from tripping past him and into the direct line of fire. For the Rodian mother stood before them, with a blaster in her hand. It was aimed directly at Obi-Wan's chest. The door whizzed shut behind them, leaving them without an easy escape route.
"You'll never get him!" she proclaimed, voice warbling.
This was very much not how Obi-Wan expected this to go. A peculiar tension had tightened his jaw and drawn his eyebrows together. He lifted his hand and waved it through the air in a slow arc. The Force trembled in the air as he spoke. "Where is the bounty hunter?"
The woman's face twisted in confusion, and the blaster drooped in her hand, its sights now level with his legs instead of his chest. "Bounty hunter?" Her other hand flopped up against her head, like it had suddenly started to hurt. "He was a Jedi!"
The same hand that had waved through the air rose sharply, and with a tug of the Force, drew the weapon from the woman's hand. Once it was in his palm, he hoisted it up pointedly.
"Jedi do not. Carry. Blasters." There was a clippedness to his voice, which almost lent it a tone of offense. Like he was reprimanding this poor woman for not knowing such a thing. Something in his gut squirmed uncomfortably at the sound of his own voice. It made the twisted frown on his face grow deeper. He then threw the blaster aside and it clattered to the floor.
"Obi-Wan…" Elara muttered behind him, voice low in warning.
The woman before them had brought both hands up to her face, which had crumpled in horrified dismay. "What have I done?" she lamented softly.
Then, suddenly, there was a gasping little cry. Obi-Wan's head snapped around as a figure appeared in the doorway that led to an outdoor balcony. None other than Cad Bane had appeared, cloaked in a cheap imitation of a Jedi's cloak, with a small Rodian child in his arms. With a smile––and a wink of one of his blood red eyes––Bane turned, pressed a button on his gauntlet, and lifted into the air. He had rocket boots. Both Jedi scrambled for the doorway, intent on not letting the bounty hunter get away. They stumbled to a stop, heads tilted back as they momentarily halted to get their eyes on Bane. He was ascending to the top of a building adjacent to the one they currently stood in. Obi-Wan blindly reached for the rappelling rope attached to his belt.
"Stay with the mother!" he ordered. He flung the spiked end of the rope forward, guiding it aloft with the Force till it found purchase in the building across the way. Beside him, Elara choked on a couple of words that didn't come out quite right.
"What––"
"Just do as I say!" And without allowing her any time to protest, Obi-Wan gripped the rappelling cord and leapt into open air.
The thick, muggy air of Rodia parted and whooshed around him as he swung towards the opposing wall. His feet met the greenish-tan stone hard, which sent a sharp shock of pain through his ankles and up into his knees. In his rush to catch up with Bane, he'd forgone––forgotten––to use a Force cushion. Obi-Wan bent his knees, the ache in which he opted to ignore, and pushed off the wall. There was another wall immediately to his left, which he swung towards. It created a sort of narrow corner where it met the other one. It allowed him to bounce between them, ascending the wall with small Force jumps. Once he reached the top of the wall, he flipped over it and landed on the building's roof––just in time to watch Bane's ship commence its lift off.
Bane saluted Obi-Wan through the canopy of his ship, lips tilted into a cocky smirk. One of the Jedi's hands rose, like he might call out to the bounty hunter, or endeavor to ground the ship––but the ship had risen, turned, and shot off into the atmosphere. A truly rueful snarl twisted across his face. Obi-Wan glared at the steadily disappearing ship, and his half-extended hand clenched into a frustrated fist. It dropped heavily to his side, and swung there uselessly. Nothing about this mission had gone right; and it would appear that trend was going to continue.
A simple Force jump brought Obi-Wan back to the balcony of the Kaytap Square house. He rolled his shoulders back in a bid to regain his composure; it did little to help calm the frustration bubbling deep in his gut. It had been many years since such emotion had gurgled so acridly inside him. He was confident in his ability to keep it shoved down. To allow it to simmer away into nothing, to let it go because it would not serve him. It would only further cloud the path stretched out before him. That was the Jedi way. It was his way. So Obi-Wan took a deep, borderline meditative, breath and stepped back into the house.
Elara appeared from the next room over, expression drawn. There was a hardness about her face that was foreign to him. It tensed her mouth oddly, like she was fighting off a frown or a biting remark. The soft warmth he was so accustomed to seeing in her eyes had frozen over and hardened. This was some strange, foreign version of Elara he was not acquainted with. One who was quick to snap, who spoke flatly, and maintained a mask of perfect impassivity. One who he'd first met on the stairs of the Grand Hall as they snipped at one another. As they'd intentionally attacked one another, words barbed and meant to hurt. They'd gone from being civil to hostile in a heartbeat; and that, above almost all else, caused his chest to ache. Because it didn't feel right to be at odds. It felt unnatural, horrifically so. Obi-Wan feared that their relationship, as it had once been, had become a casualty to their bickering. Because no matter what the solution was to fixing this situation, he'd be remiss if he had to cut her out of his life entirely. It wasn't possible, wasn't practical. So he feared, quietly, what would become of them at the end of this all.
Obi-Wan cleared his throat.
"How's the mother?"
"Distraught, predictably," she replied shortly. "It seems as though Bane might have hypnotized her. She… blearily remembered some kind of odd device he asked her to look into. I suspect that's the reason she was so hostile towards us… and why she believed her son to already be gone." Both her arms came to fold over her chest, and she gestured to him with a flick of a finger. "I take it Bane escaped?"
Stiltedly, Obi-Wan inclined his head. "Unfortunately."
Elara's lips thinned out. "I see…" One of her hands rose and pressed a hand against her cheek. That was something that she did when she was starting to feel overwhelmed. Then, with a sigh and a lift of her eyebrows, she turned and wordlessly disappeared into the room she'd just appeared from.
Obi-Wan did not relish having to deliver this news; it felt like conceding to their failure. It was made worse by the fact that they'd just allowed a child to be kidnapped… right from under the mother's nose. But this was part of their job, unsavory as it was. It was something that they had to do. So he followed Elara into the adjacent room, which appeared to be some kind of sitting room. The mother sat in a simple arm chair, hunched over her knees, head clasped between her hands. She was, as Elara had said, distraught. Positively distraught. The sound of the Jedi's footsteps caught her attention, and had her lifting her head.
"My son," she said, rising shakily to her feet. "Is he…? Did he…?"
"I am afraid the bounty hunter has escaped with your son," Obi-Wan confirmed.
The woman let out a pained gasp, her hand rising to clutch at the fabric that rested over her heart. Like she'd be able to stop the way it was surely breaking in a single gesture. Her other hand shot back in search of the chair, looking for something to ground herself on. The pain that she felt, the fear for her son's life was palpable in the Force. It made Obi-Wan feel like a voyeur, an intruder on such a personal moment of strife. Quite suddenly, he felt as though he were at a complete loss. Usually he had something to say, some promise, some words of comfort that he could give. But he felt oddly… numb. Like all the underlying acridity in his body had stunted his ability to respond emotionally. That, in itself, was frightening. It would seem, however, that Elara was not in the same predicament. For the moment the Rodian woman reached for the chair, she was rushing over to steady her. With an arm wrapped around the mother's shoulders, Elara gently guided her back into the chair.
"We will do everything we can conceivably do to ensure the safe return of your son," she promised. She'd spoken softly, yet determinedly. Everything in her expression had lightened, tension slipping away in the blink of an eye. Half-crouched beside this distressed mother was the Elara that Obi-Wan had come to know over the years; and his heart throbbed hard at her welcomed reappearance.
The Rodian woman sniffled, her breath shook. Tears slipped from the corners of her wide, round eyes and slithered across her leathery green skin. The hold she had on her own shirt and vest had not let up; if anything, it tightened.
"Would you not just take him?" she questioned shakily.
"Why would we do that?" Elara asked gently.
"The man… he said that children strong with the Force are in danger. That the Jedi were taking them earlier to protect them." She sniffled through the explanation, voice wavering as she recalled Bane's words.
Elara reached out and scooped the woman's other hand out of her lap. Her own folded over it comfortingly. "Force-sensitive children are in danger… but they're in danger from him. You had no way of knowing who he was. And we have no intention of taking your son from you; he's still quite young. No Jedi will be taking him to the Temple any time soon. We will return him to you, I swear it."
The mother's demeanor eased in the wake of the Jedi's comfort. The whole short exchange was a showcase of the overwhelming amount of heart that Elara possessed. If Obi-Wan didn't know better, he might've suspected she used some kind of mind trick to ease this woman's strife. But it wasn't. He had witnessed her talk down a room of verbally hostile politicians on Gleann. Watched her make Numa at ease on Ryloth. He had known her for nearly eleven years, and he had bore witness time and time again to this dazzling phenomena. This was the way that Elara Skywalker worked. She expressed herself with all her heart, and let others feel that––and it was positively remarkable.
OOOO
To the untrained eye, the two Jedi leaving the house in Kaytap Square appeared to be a testament to their profession. Composed expressions, a determined yet graceful gait. The lightsabers attached to their belts bounced gently as they walked. It was almost as though they were some kind of poster campaign for the Jedi Order, a walking example of the beings out there trying to keep the peace. To a trained eye, the situation was anything but that. The silent march of the Jedi pair was rife with tension. Something that had not gone amiss to Obi-Wan. For it was obvious to him that, despite her calm exterior, Elara was very much displeased. The softness that had washed over her demeanor earlier had once again hardened. Her arms swung stiffly at her sides and there was a rigidity to the way she kept her chin level with the ground.
It wouldn't have taken a genius to deduce why it was she was in such a state.
"I take it you are displeased with me," Obi-Wan said. The words had come out evenly, though mildly flat. Like he was speaking to someone he barely knew, or that some kind of propriety deemed they be unfamiliar.
Beside him, he heard Elara give a scoffed huff.
"An astute observation. Your powers of perception never fail to astound me, Master Kenobi," she deadpanned sharply.
Something in him smarted at her not using his given name. At the snarked usage of his title. But it didn't sting because it felt insulting to his position or his pride; it stung because it had become rare she used it at all, unless the situation called for it. The situation at hand did not necessarily call for such honorifics. She'd opted to use it, and likely had used it to make a point––she was more than displeased. She was truly upset.
"Had we both pursued Bane, the outcome likely would have remained the same," Obi-Wan pointed out. This he believed to be true. Had the both of them sprung into action, they would have slowed one another down, as they had been doing all day. They likely wouldn't have even made it to the roof in time to see Bane zip away. Obi-Wan's harried decision to order Elara to stay put had been the correct one to make. He just hadn't been fast enough.
"On that, I must disagree," Elara contested. "Two Jedi against one bounty hunter sounds like good odds to me. Your decision and your actions were rather reckless." The word dripped from her mouth with a bite of spite. Obi-Wan felt his jaw clench at the word, which sank its teeth into him sharply. He shot her a sideways glance, and found that she didn't spare him one in return. "But that, quite frankly, is the least of my grievances in this given circumstance."
They had entered the plaza where their starfighters sat waiting. A couple curious Rodians hung around the area, eyeing the Jedi ships with interest. The war had, largely, left the planet alone. To see evidence of it raging on elsewhere on the galaxy was likely a source of macabre fascination. A droid trundled through the space between the Jedi, trilling happily to itself, unaware of the growing tensions of the pair it passed. Both Obi-Wan and Elara strode towards their fighters with gaits that quickened in their mounting frustrations. The sooner they were in those ships, the sooner they didn't have to speak with one another till they were back on The Negotiator.
"And what, pray tell, are the sources of your other grievances?"
The response came quick.
"The way you spoke to that poor woman," Elara quipped tersely.
Obi-Wan's head swiveled around, and he fixed her with a hard look. "She threatened us with a blaster," he pointed out incredulously.
Elara came to a complete halt, body twisting round to face him square-on. She gaped at him openly, her hand shooting out to gesture back the way they came. Obi-Wan also halted, noting the heated flicker in her eyes. It was something that he'd seen in her brother's gaze many times before; the look of a Skywalker spurned, ready to do battle with their words. It was not often this look was observed in Elara's eyes, but when it was, a verbal thrashing was soon to follow.
"Need I remind you of the ordeal she's been through? A man arrived and told her he was taking her son away. He hypnotized her to allow him to do so, and likely put her on the scent of attacking anyone else who came inquiring about the matter. By the time we arrived at that door, her son had already been kidnapped––snapping at and lecturing her on what weapons Jedi do or do not carry was rather tactless given the situation," she accused. What was frightening about Elara in moments like these was how evenly she spoke. Like every word had been carefully selected preemptively for maximum damage.
Just like their exchange in the Grand Hall, Obi-Wan could feel her response spur something within him. Something that was desperate to claw its way through this immensely painful, distracting tension between them. Because when it did, there was relief. The tension would lessen as words were bandied back and forth, as they tore into one another. It was undeniably cruel; but they were both guilty of indulging in it. In an odd sort of way, it was one of the only things that made sense right now. Obi-Wan had long since prided himself on his ability to remain level headed in most every situation. In this moment, he could feel pride falling to the wayside.
"In that moment she was a threat against us, regardless of circumstance," Obi-Wan defended. With a huff, Elara turned and swiftly marched towards her speeder, hair catching in a self-made breeze as she paraded off. Obi-Wan was quick to follow, only a few paces behind her. "I am truly regretful for what has happened to her son," he came to a stop beside the green starfighter, onto which Elara had climbed, "but if we'd been shot there would've been nothing we could do for the boy," he snipped back.
The starfighter rocked as Elara whirled around atop it. The look she cut towards him rendered him breathless. Her expression had tensed into impassivity, but there was a fire in her eyes, the likes of which he'd only ever glimpsed before.
"There's nothing we can do for him now!" She dropped into a crouch, which allowed her to speak lowly, as not to alert the surrounding, already curious civilians. "We've allowed Bane to escape for a third time, and in doing so, have aided him in succeeding his mission. The least we could've done was offer compassion to a woman in a miserable circumstance. She knows that one day her child will be taken from her; can you imagine how much that must weigh on her? And now, to have it happen preemptively, in the worst possible circumstance?" Something in Elara's expression shifted. The tense mask that had been fitted to it gave way to something subtly disappointed. Her eyes roamed his face a moment, growing more melancholy with each pass. When they finally met his own once more, he felt as though the breath in his lungs had been robbed. "Her entire life is crumbling around her. And your insensitivity to that, and your lack of compassion for it is staggering."
Obi-Wan's heart throbbed painfully, like she'd reached into his chest and squeezed it tight. It was all he could do to silently watch her climb into the cockpit of her starfighter. He'd been rendered speechless. Elara had stolen the air from his lungs and the words from his mouth. Something had started to claw its way up his throat, choking him as it went. As the canopy of her ship hissed closed, R3 whined a low, pitying sound at Obi-Wan. The sound was enough to snap him out of his shocked daze. His eyes cut towards the droid and found the light beside its eye lens repeatedly flashed a sad blue. He was being pitied by a droid. With lips pursed and nostrils flared, Obi-Wan choked down a well of emotion and sharply turned his back on the droid, the ship, and the woman who piloted it. He stiffly plodded over to his own starfighter and climbed into its cockpit.
The buttons and switches on the console of Obi-Wan's starfighter were being pressed and flicked with more force than necessary. A twisted frown had wormed its way onto the Jedi's face. Though he prepared his ship to fly, he was doing it on autopilot, hands moving to where they knew the correct controls were. For his thoughts were elsewhere. The accusation of insensitivity and the lack of compassion had hit him hard. It felt like a slap in the face, the highest degree of insultation coming from the most compassionate person he'd ever met. Where Obi-Wan had previously felt that he––they––were on unsteady ground, it now felt like that surface was crumbling beneath them. It had taken over ten years to build the rapport the two of them had. In the span of a week, it seemed as though it had all been torn asunder. It was falling out from beneath their feet because they, themselves, were destroying it with bitter words and scathing looks. It left him instinctively grasping for pieces of it as he fell, trying to salvage it; and some cruel, dark part of him wondered if he should just let it go, and start anew.
Stars, for as terrible as all this was, he didn't want that.
A chirping sound came through the comms. The steering console clutched in Obi-Wan's hands started to shift on it's on. It would seem as though R4 had decided to navigate for him, and had set the controls to autopilot. A mighty sigh was heaved, and Obi-Wan brought a hand to cover his face as his fighter lifted into the air. This was exactly what he dreaded was going to happen. That this situation, this… issue would worsen. That it would hinder their ability to work with one another, to succeed in carrying out their mandate. This time, their failure was not a direct result of their bickering or the blinding tension. But what of the next time? Would they become so absorbed in destroying one another that they'd fail again? Get themselves, or others, killed for it? None of those options could come to pass. One thing was for certain––this was not a sustainable way to continue on. Obi-Wan could not continue on every day feeling as though he was being tortured by every beat of his heart, every word that he spoke, and every thought that passed through his head. He couldn't continue on like this. And he was sure that Elara couldn't either.
The situation needed to be resolved at the soonest possible moment.
OOOO
The Negotiator, Mid Rim Space
It had been a long while since Elara had found herself in such a vile mood. The events of the past forty some hours had tested her greatly, and she'd found herself failing each one of those tests. She'd lost her temper a number of times, allowed herself to give in to frustration, and it left her feeling a strange myriad of emotions. Guilt, melancholy, anger. It all roiled about in her stomach, creating a dangerously volatile cocktail. Rodia had been a disaster. An unadulterated mess, the likes of which she'd never experienced. It had been one mistake after another, one emotionally driven choice after the next. Not once had she ever attended a mission where she'd been so at odds with the person she was meant to work beside. It felt like something Elara should've experienced as a Padawan, not as a fully fledged Jedi Knight––not as a General in the Grand Army of the Republic. And yet, despite her years of experience, it had been a true disaster; and it had been an embarrassment to explain to Windu.
And where Elara and Obi-Wan had failed, Ahsoka and Anakin had succeeded. Seeing as Bane had visited Rodia first, they'd had time to set a trap. The laying of said trap had resulted in Bane's subsequent capture, and the saving of a Force-sensitive Gungan child. The bounty hunter had been brought aboard The Negotiator, where he was being held for questioning; and his ship had been confiscated with the hopes they'd be able to uncover some much needed information. It was that ship that Elara was helping examine, sat in the cockpit as she fussed over the navigation logs. Once they were pulled up, she resisted the petulant urge to smack the ship's console.
"Kark," Elara hissed.
"What is it?" Anakin perched himself on the open edge of the cockpit and leaned into her, his arm braced on the top of the pilot's seat. Elara sat flopped back into the seat and wordlessly gestured to the screen. With narrowed eyes, Anakin leaned forward to scan the log. It didn't take long before her brother sighed. "He wiped the logs," he deadpanned.
"He wiped the logs," she confirmed. Both of her hands rose to press against her face, an aggravated breath escaping her mouth. "Of course he wiped the logs… he's not an idiot, he'd know that if we ever caught up to him it's one of the first things we'd do." To emphasize her displeasure with the situation, Elara slapped the button that shut off the console.
"Guess that means that we're gonna have to get him talking," Ahsoka piped up from the other open side of the cockpit. She'd had both arms folded atop its edge, and had watched as Elara fiddled with the ship's computer.
Anakin snorted at the notion.
"He's not gonna talk easily. Bounty hunters never do," he said.
Ahsoka righted herself a little, browline furrowing at the comment. "But Master Windu and Master Kenobi are interrogating him; surely if there are any Jedi that could get him to talk, it's them."
Elara, at the mention of Obi-Wan, pursed her lips. It had been an unfortunate relief to put some distance between herself and the Jedi Master. It was undeniably painful to admit such a thing. Rodia had left her wanting to spew word after hurtful word at him, because a sick kind of relief came from it. The longer they argued, and the more vehemently they argued, the tension seemed to lessen. But once they stopped, it got worse. The entire flight back to The Negotiator, Elara had been quietly seething in her cockpit. She wallowed in the disbelief she'd felt when Obi-Wan had ordered her to stay behind. In the shock of how curtly he'd regarded the mother. She had let herself stew in it the entire way back, and it had felt terrible to do so. Negative energy left her feeling sluggish and drained. It took too much effort in its upkeep. Usually, it wasn't difficult to slough off the pinching negativity; but it was getting harder and harder to do so with each passing day.
"They're not all powerful," Elara pointed out. There'd been a shortness to her response, one which burned acridly on her tongue. She rose to her feet and placed a foot on the canopy edge that Anakin had been leaning against. He offered his hand, which she took, and he helped her hop down. The first statement hung in the air so weightily that it was almost awkward, so Elara followed it up with, "And bounty hunters operate by their own rules."
"Bane certainly does; he managed to escape from us, from Jedi, on three separate occasions," Anakin said.
The comment was a reminder that of those three times, she'd been partially responsible for two of them. It cramped her chest up, and did nothing to improve her mood. Of those two times, Elara felt the worst about the second one. The infiltration of the Jedi Temple had been the fault of many Jedi. The kidnapping of the child, right from under her and Obi-Wan's noses, that she felt directly responsible for. The boy's poor mother had been inconsolably distraught. It didn't matter what promises and assurances they made; she was understandably heartbroken. It had made Elara think of Shmi, and if that was how she'd been after her children had left. If she'd cried in the hollow quiet of the hovel, lamenting the loss––for it was, in some respect, a loss––of her children. The thought of her own mother in such a state had broken her already cracked heart. And perhaps that was why she'd been so quick to snap at Obi-Wan for his perceived slight.
In a way, it had felt like he was insulting her mother; and though she knew that he truly wasn't, it was still something she couldn't let stand.
"C'mon," Anakin urged, jerking his head towards the lift. "We should probably go see what they have, or haven't, gotten out of him."
Elara hummed her quiet agreement. They'd gained no leads from the ship. The best that they could hope for was that they would eventually pry something out of Bane.
The trio of Jedi made their way to the Negotiator's detention level, where a number of interrogation rooms and cells were maintained. While battleships tended to be somber as they were, this level was even more so with its narrow passageways and special troop of guards. It was the kind of place you felt as though you had to whisper in. It also reminded Elara, to a degree, of Florrum, and the maze of corridors that they'd gotten lost in whilst trying to escape. They'd never had someone try and escape before. But if anyone ever did, they'd find themselves out of luck; there were only so many places you could run to on a ship filled with clone troopers and Jedi. They likely wouldn't even make it past their cell door.
And it was outside one of those cell doors that Windu and Obi-Wan stood, already troubled furrows creasing their browlines.
"We tore the ship apart," Anakin started. "There's no sign of the holocron or the kids."
"Did you check the ship's navigation records?" Windu asked.
"They were wiped clean before he landed on Naboo," Ahsoka replied.
Windu sighed and shook his head. "That's most unfortunate…"
"There's a possibility to do some detective work with his fuel, however," Elara said. "If we're at all able to access the fuel receptors, we might be able to tell how much he burned between Rodia and Naboo. From that we'd be able to narrow down where he might've gone. It would be tricky to pull off, but it can be done."
It was a good suggestion––it had Windu nodding thoughtfully, and it was something she and Anakin had discussed on the way up in the lift. It would take time to perform, but it might be their only possible avenue. The plan, however, didn't seem to sit well with Obi-Wan, who shook his head when Elara had finished speaking.
"I'm afraid we don't have the time for such detective work," he said flatly. He hadn't met her eyes when he'd said it, instead keeping them cast at some indistinct point in the distance. "As you know, we've lost valuable time as it is, and we need to find where Bane has taken the children."
Elara's eyes fluttered shut briefly, something in her smarting at the 'as you know' comment. That newfound instinctive need to snark back at him reared its head, but she shoved it back down with a slow, steadying breath.
"We'll have to use the Force to make him talk," Anakin suggested, a gruffer tone coloring his voice. Elara could feel the air tremble around him, which lent a hint to his color change. Not only was this gruffness caused by the direness of the situation, it was also, in part, due to annoyance. Annoyance, it would seem, in the dismissiveness of Obi-Wan's dull tone.
The last thing that would improve the situation was Anakin's temper. Elara knew that he understood that things still weren't right between herself and his mentor. That things were worse than she let on. And for as much as he cared for Obi-Wan, she knew that he'd rush to her defense with a killer swiftness. That was not something they could afford right now. For, as Obi-Wan had said––there was no time for it. Typically in instances like this, Elara would reach out for Anakin's hand or his arm, hold or touch it gently. An assurance that it was alright, that she was alright. But this time, she didn't. Instead, she tried to reach out through the Force.
Elara focused on the familiar warmth of Anakin's Force signature. She visualized herself reaching out for it, as she would for his hand. Once she did so, she felt a gentle buzzing sensation in the air between them, the feeling of their unique signatures meeting. Anakin's head quirked towards her subtly, a wordless acknowledgement that he, too, had felt it. Briefly, their eyes met, and Elara inclined her head slightly. She tried to convey, through the Force that, despite the subtle burning acridness between herself and Obi-Wan, this was okay. That they could proceed forward and finish the mission. That she was okay, despite the smarting he'd likely felt her experience. There was a beat before Anakin nodded and turned his attention back to the cell in front of them.
"I don't think Bane is that weak," Obi-Wan said.
"Maybe if we all concentrated on his mind together," Ahsoka suggested.
Elara looked down at the young Padawan, who had an intense look of concentration on her face. With a nod in Ahsoka's direction she said, "It's not a bad suggestion."
"Hmm… Using the Force to compel a strong mind to cooperate is… risky," Obi-Wan pointed out. Once again, they found themselves at odds, stationing themselves on opposite banks of the argument.
"There is a danger that his mind could be destroyed in the process," Windu agreed.
"Well, do we have another choice?" Anakin posed.
"It's a risk," Obi-Wan countered.
Elara's head swiveled around to look at him directly for the first time since her arrival.
"Then perhaps it's a calculated risk that we must take," she responded. It echoed his words back on Ryloth, where he insisted he 'took calculated risks' and didn't make 'reckless decisions.' It seemed as though he'd caught on to comparison, as a muscle in his jaw jumped as it clenched. Elara then turned her attention to Windu and inclined her head. "But, of course, we should all agree on how to proceed."
A considering silence filled the corridor, where options and outcomes were weighed. Eventually, Windu started to nod, and his hands moved to clasp at the small of his back. His eyes danced between the present Jedi as he spoke.
"It would be a risk to take––but I fear it's one we must chance. With no further evidence to go off of, this might be our only chance at discovering the location of the holocron and the children," he said. His eyes then bounced directly to Obi-Wan and one of his eyebrows lifted. "What say you, Master Kenobi?"
There was only a moment of pause before Obi-Wan inclined his head. "I agree, Master Windu. It is, unfortunately, the only way to progress."
Windu nodded. "We are all agreed then. Remember, we must proceed cautiously. If we can spare his mind, we must. Press him, but try not to shove him past the breaking point."
A murmur of 'yes, Master' echoed among the Jedi, and they all turned to face the golden energy field that separated them from Bane. With a nod to the guard beside the doorway, the field was deactivated, and they all stepped inside. They entered with a wordless intensity, staring down Bane, who sat with his hands blasély folded atop the table he sat behind. A faint smirk had been resting at the corners of his mouth––which fell as both Jedi Masters and both Jedi Knights stood in a line before him. The energy field flickered back to life behind them, and Ahsoka hung back by the doorway.
Anakin lifted his hand, extended it towards Bane, and allowed his eyes to fall shut. The air started to tremble. "You will take us to the holocron," he ordered calmly.
"Jedi mind tricks don't work on me," Bane said, voice gravelly in its half-mechanical duo tone.
Elara stared him down hard and allowed her eyes to fall shut whilst her hand rose. When performing a mind trick, it was imperative to reach out for the mind one wished to trick. Bane's was exceedingly difficult to reach, she realized. It was as though there was a durasteel wall surrounding it, impenetrable and wickedly strong. With a slow breath, Elara focused all her energy into her manipulation of the Force. And then, simultaneously, she and Anakin said, "You will take us to the holocron."
The combination of the Skywalkers' power caused the Force to start to rumble. It was like they were now standing in a rippling tide at the edge of the lake. It washed forward in lapping waves, all centered and focused on the bounty hunter before them. There was a hissed sound of discomfort from Bane.
"It won't work," he insisted, though there was a wavering aspect to his voice.
The intensity of the grumbling in the Force grew as a third voice––Obi-Wan's––joined the demand.
"You will take us to the holocron."
"Forget it!"
The wall that surrounded Bane's mind started to fracture. It started to weaken under the insistent pressing of the three Jedi attempting to access it. The intensity of the Force grew once more, and it started to wobble violently around them, to the point where it was almost as though they could hear it. A colossal rumbling that Elara could feel in her very bones. It was then that Windu's voice joined the fray.
"You will take us to the holocron."
There was a belabored panting from the Duros man. "I… I… I won't!"
Windu spoke once more. "And you will take us––"
"Now!" all four Jedi demanded.
Elara's eyes shot open as something snapped. The rumbling of the Force calmed as it washed over and around Bane like a flood of water. As it entered his mind and bent his inhibitions to their will. His pinched, almost pained, expression slackened and his shoulders slumped. A dazed expression half hooded his eyes as his head tipped into a nod.
"I… I will take you," he conceded. Then, suddenly, his head reared back and his face pulled into a terrible snarl. "No! Get out of my head!"
The Force started to buzz erratically as Bane attempted to resist its influence. Elara's eyes fell back shut as all four Jedi, once more, focused on infiltrating his mind. As they did, they met staunch resistance. Bane started to groan and wail, and it sounded as though he'd started to thrash around in his chair. It became clear that this was the breaking point. They could either continue to push him, and push him off the edge, or they could see what they could get out of him now. As though silently bid to do so, Elara allowed her arm to lower. Around them all, the Force calmed until it disappeared into its faint, perpetual hum. Her eyes opened to find that her fellow Jedi had done the same; their Force interrogation was over.
Bane slouched forward against the table panting heavily. His shoulders heaved, his head drooped, and his breath came in heaves. It appeared he had no intention of cooperating––at least not yet.
"Maybe we should try… again," Anakin ground out.
A wheezed cough sputtered out of Bane's mouth. He started to lift his head, one hand flapping in a weak back-and-forth motion. "I… I've had enough of that. I'll take you to the holocron." He lifted his head, lips pulled in an exhausted frown; he eyed the markedly agitated Jedi warily. "You'll get your children back."
Afterword: Happy Valentine's Day, hope you enjoyed the angst! Will you believe me if I said things are gonna get better relatively soon? Things may be plummeting… but don't things have to get far worse before they get better? Just stick with the angst train a little while longer… it'll let you off at a real nice stop!
Review Replies!
MsRosePetal: The lads of the 442nd love Elara loads! They want her to be happy, and if that means they have to keep the secret of her secret relationship… they will absolutely do so! They are like brothers to her––and Acks, in particular, is kinda like a big brother. And Obi-Wan… back on his wee streak of hypocrisy… which Elara took a small moment to point out in this chapter, and she will absolutely continue to bring it up. They're gonna work through it… I swear it. Soon. Not… within the next couple of chapters, but SOON. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
bambam411: To pair with this being the longest slow burn I've ever written, this is also the longest period of time I've kept a couple arguing. It hurts, but it just… it feels like it works for them, for their circumstance. What they have to overcome in order to agree to being together and being happy. So they're riding the angst train until they realize that it literally will not work for them to do so any longer. Cody definitely notices something's up with Obi-Wan. I actually really want a clone-centric POV in an upcoming chapter with the lads talking about how different their generals are acting. I am so excited to get Hondo back in here! He's the much needed comedic relief we deserve! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
ZabuzasGirl: Wee bit of face-to-face with Bane in this chapter, but more of that'll come 'round next chapter! We'll find out if he knows about that bounty… And, yes! My email doesn't let me know if I'm getting PMs anymore, which is bizarre. The system is probably on the fritz (again). I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
Duchess of Lantern Waste: This fighting will, indeed, fuel some much needed character development for them both. Namely that they're both recognizing being impartial and cold doesn't feel any kind of good or right. I'm genuinely really happy that you're liking the angsty build-up to them finally being together. I keep getting worried it seems a little too drawn out, but… I can't see it going any other way than this. They took their time getting here, and now they're taking their time crawling out of it. I love getting to write about Acks! He's a big ol' softy and he's certainly one of my favorite secondary OCs I've ever written! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
Guest: I promise that I've got stuff in mind for Tarkin!
DCDGojira: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
monkeybaby: Yeah, the episodic nature of last chapter made it feel shorter, but I'm glad it was still enjoyable! And there are, like… two bubbles growing around Obi-Wan and Elara. One of them certainly is gonna burst soon… and it's gonna… maybe… hurt… We've got a handful of chapters before Mandalore! I'd guesstimate, including next chapter… 3 or 4? Before we're off to Mandalore, we've got the Bounty Hunters episode to visit Hondo again! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
RemiSparklez: I love that you were thinking about the 442nd! It means so much that they feel ingrained/realistic enough to feel like they're part of canon; I've been doing a lot of behind the scenes work to develop them all further! And we'll keep getting more and more of them! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
09sasha: I'm still getting into the swing of writing Acks' POV, but the last time really got me grounded in his character voice! He loves his men so fiercely, and he loves Elara just the same; it's wonderful getting to write that kind of devotion. And he totally knows about that spreadsheet. And if he ever tells Blinker he knows about it… boy howdy is he gonna be stunned, 'cause he's so sure that he's subtle about it all! I'm working on incorporating more than just the romance stuff into this story, so I'm glad you're enjoying it! Bounty stuff may or may not start coming into play soon… I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
Nerdette92: I'm so glad you loved all the clone POV last chapter! I thought it was high time we got some Blinker POV up in this story. Acks certainly is perceptive… and when he eventually perceives that Blinker is correct… he's gonna have to go have a stiff drink xD I'm happy you're enjoying the angst train! Only a couple more stops on it, but they'll be doozies! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
thenerdnextdoor: I'm happy you enjoyed the tension shift! I've been trying to make sure that, as the angst train continues, there are believable and interesting shifts in the way they deal with it. They go from trying to be passive about it, to being confronted with it, to arguing through it… what will the next step be? We shall find out soon… If anyone had walked into the Grand Hall, they would've been like those stormtroopers in Force Awakens––walk in, see it, turn around, walk away. It was intense, especially it being them doing the arguing. And seeing as Obi-Wan and Elara have been so amicable thus far, it was kinda time for them to get into a fight. As you say, it makes them believable as people. I actually found myself pulling punches in this chapter because I was like 'but… it's so cruel of them,' and then went 'okay, yeah, but… they are being cruel, they both acknowledge that.' So I had to keep reminding myself not to dampen their genuine reactions. And I figured that all clone troopers probably come to the identity crisis of 'we were born and bred for this.' So I thought that Acks' POV was a nice chance to delve into that a bit. 'Cause it can be easy to dismiss soldiers as soldiers; but it's when you realize they're people and have lives and interests and such, that's when the real impact hits. And I love writing Acks and Elara as a team! It's so much fun. They really work together so well, they're a command pair dream team! And the shoulder blade bit… I figured that they're not quite in hug territory yet… so that's their hug. It felt right :) And, ahhh, thank you! I love figuring out the nuances of character voice, and writing Blinker was such a blast! (I'm also so happy you also see the Klaus-Blinker connection! I'll stumble on some Klaus videos and be like 'oh… oh, yeah, that's very Blinker) Blinker, despite his blasé, happy attitude, is always ready to throw hands. Always. xD Gunney and Blinker, in my head, are always paired up together, so it was a great chance to figure out just what that dynamic would be! And really, truly, and genuinely, I cannot thank you enough. Finding the little nuances of character voice is a quiet love of mine, and the fact that you've picked up on and clocked a lot of those little differences is so awesome! Like how Elara and Obi-Wan are a little more verbose, and the troopers are more earthy in the way they speak. They come from different worlds and it's fun to find the language to depict it! Again, I cannot thank you enough; your reviews always brighten my day, and I love getting the chance to talk with you like this! I hope you're keeping safe and healthy as well (I am both safe and healthy!)! Thank you again!
M S Hackett: I find that angst can have a tendency to feel kind of teenager-y; so I've been trying to make sure that there's always some aspect of it that keeps it a little more mature. That, and the fact that this directly snippy back-and-forth between Obi-Wan and Elara is a symptom of the moment. It won't last too much longer. And, ahh, thank you! I've really dedicated myself to getting the pace of Obi-Wan and Elara's relationship right. They go about things achingly slow… and as much as I, too, am like 'just kiss. Just kiss, make up, and' as you say 'jump each other's bones already' I know I can't rush it, as much as I'd like to xD So I'm glad it's reading well! And I absolutely agree (as does Qui-Gon)––non-possessive, selfless love isn't an issue. It's not going to drag anyone down. And with Obi-Wan and Elara, what is dragging them down is their attempting to adhere to the Code. So once they come to terms/realize how they can make it work, they're gonna be so much happier. And I'm glad you love the clones! I've had so much fun developing them as characters, and I'm working on incorporating them more :) And, as we can see… poor Obi-Wan is losing it––quietly so, but losing it nonetheless! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
MotherAiya: Yeah, it's kinda… weirdly… fun to see them argue? They're both so well spoken and self-assured that seeing them come to verbal fisticuffs is really fun to see/for me to write. Especially because this combative side of them isn't something they've explored in their dynamic before. They always calmly work things through. And if Elara were to ever murder someone, Ack-Ack would be there, immediately, with a plan on how to get her out of it xD He'd help her hide the body, get rid of the evidence, and give her an alibi. They're that close xD The more this war goes on, the stronger Elara's found family is gonna get; 'cause she does deserve it! (and she also deserves that spicy cpr… and some spiciness in general ;) ) I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
LoveFiction2021: They will talk about the kiss, and that'll actually happen wicked, wicked soon. They're just being stubborn about it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
weasleylover10: I love writing Ack-Ack! I'm getting a better feel for his character voice :) Also, I totally didn't intend to drop a Hamilton reference, where did I unintentionally do it? I'm curious! xD I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
Time Travel Maniac: Ahhh, hi! I can't believe you've been here since chapter 1! It's been a loooong ride, hasn't it? xD Thank you for sticking with this story for so long, it genuinely means the world to me! I'm really glad you're enjoying the tense, argumentative Obi-Lara stuff! It's been fun to explore this more combative side to their relationship, which they've never experienced before. And it's certainly something that'll, in the end, bring them closer together; especially when they realize why and what was really driving them to argue so much and so badly. If they continue to try and go down this path of impassivity… oof, it's not gonna be fun for them! I'm still working on really getting into Acks' head, so I will admit his POV can be slow sometimes; I'm happy it picked up quickly, though! Acks and Elara's relationship is so special. He's never met anyone like her before, and she's not had a presence like him in her life. So they came together to develop this once in a lifetime team that just works so well. And, oof, Order 66… it's definitely gonna hurt no matter what… but depending on who does or does not get their chips out (if they get them out at all)... it'll hurt even worse. I also adore Blinker, he's such a sweet man, and so fun to write. And it's still early days of the war––literally any one of the clones could die… and it is, unfortunately, a war… there are casualties :( Also, if Blinker ever gets confirmation on Obi-Wan and Elara… he'll flip out! He'd be so happy. I was surprised we didn't see more of the clone prejudice in TCW. I get that it's a children's show (though I put quotes around that, 'cause is it really?), but it just seems like something that would be terribly pervasive. I figured every 2 seasons is about a year. So it being almost a full year of war, I thought that it was probably about the time that we'd start seeing outward expressions of prejudice. I imagine that there are people across the galaxy that really detest the clones. See them as a symbol of war––which they aren't. They're people. And it would probably get worse as the war wore on. And if Elara's ever there when someone's being a straight-up a-hole to her boys… RIP to them. Also, I… love your take on the CPR comment! It had me chuckling and snorting! Poor Anakin is gonna be the butt of so many comments and jokes once Obi-Wan and Elara get together. They're gonna start flirting again and he's gonna be like 'glad things are normal. Still don't like this, please stop.' xD I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again for the absolutely lovely review!
zikashigaku: The avoidance stage of the Obi-Lara arc is coming to a slow close… the question is––what is going to be their resolve? 'Cause things are still rough going for our favorite pair… And I wish, so badly, we'd gotten more canon material on how Yoda's point of view on things started to change. We got subtle, metaphorical glimpses of it in TCWs, but not enough that everyone knows he started to have a change of heart. And that change of heart might just do Obi-Wan and Elara some good… I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and all of the bickering; thanks again!
PrettyRecklessLaura: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
camelotprincess1: The kiss absolutely dragged every possible emotion they could have to the surface. Everything they've suppressed over the last 11 years is bubbling forth, and they have no other coping mechanism than to fight through it. And it's entirely possible that another big 'put one's self in danger' moment might drive them to have a good convo about it all. Acks' POV certainly helps me with figuring out where he is with Elara. 'Cause we're now at the point where she's family; and that prolonged hand on the shoulder blade is their first 'hug' of sorts. There's still a ways to go for them, but it's so fun to work through it! I adore writing Gunney and Blinker together! They've got that 'one's super eccentric and the other is deadpan' dynamic that I love! Ahh, so glad you clocked Elan Sleazebaggano! I was like 'wouldn't it be funny if they ran into him?' And then went '...wait, this is the answer to the end of the chapter, holy shit' xD Gotta love the lads of the 442nd! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
Shadow Wolf 15846: Ahh, thank you! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!
RJNorth: You are absolutely right that Acks getting pulled into this conflict means something big. Elara is confiding in him about how bad it is. And from that, he can probably glean how scared she is, and that's bad. And that hurts him. Because he knows her to be generally fearless, and if this scares her? OOF. And Blinker is gonna start to notice things changing and he is going to… panic. For so many reasons. Both Obi-Wan and Elara know that they're being intentionally cruel; and they're both hurting at that acknowledgement, but both can't help themselves than to keep doing it. It's the one thing they're doing that's bringing some kind of relief. This is something they're going to look back on one day and just go 'we were so stupid. That was so needless.' And it will bring them closer together. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again and may the Force be with you!
MalirBly: Ahh, thank you so much! The next few chapters are gonna be a wild ride, I hope you're ready! I hope you enjoyed the chapter; thanks again!
And thank you to those that added this to their follows/favorites; it means a lot!
Up next, the short conclusion of "Children of the Force!" We'll continue into some original content, and then the next episode on the docket will be "Bounty Hunters"! Thanks again, you guys––y'all continue to rock my socks!
~Mary