C.E.W: Oh, that's actually a typo! That was one of the names I brainstormed before settling on Marcus: I have to fix that haha.

Isle of Berk - Ahch-To

Jarik POV…

After Onslaught and his Decepticons attacked the village, a lot of damage was done despite the incident being brief. Several buildings were completely destroyed, dragons were frightened, and a few Vikings were killed. I also gained an injury from the attack thanks to Blast Off punching me out of the air. Luckily my armor took most of the blow so I didn't break any bones, but the large bruise still required a bacta patch in order to heal it. After helping myself and making sure Mara was ok, I took part in helping the villagers recover.

Later that night there was a funeral held on the shores of Berk, where the village gathered in mourning. A row of small boats were lined up, each carrying the body and shroud of a dead Viking. When they were pushed off the shore and out to sea, archers lifted their bows and sent fiery arrows through the sky to set the boats on fire.

Mara and I stood beside Hiccup and Stoick as we watched, paying silent respect to the people who met their untimely deaths.

"I'm sorry this happened Stoick," I say quietly.

"You can't blame yourself. We all understood the risk of outside invaders," he replies with a sad sigh.

"It's so stupid though… that they would do this to you guys," Mara adds bitterly.

"Not everyone is good unfortunately. Some people out there, no matter where they're from, only care about the domination of others," I tell her grimly.

I notice Stoick glancing at the ground knowingly, and get the sense that he knows someone like that. I don't bother looking through his thoughts, letting that information remain private.

"Maybe they could be changed, with the right support," Hiccup suggests.

"Maybe… but not likely son," Stoick states.

With those words, we return our gaze back to the burning boats and remain silent as we pay our respects to their dead.

"You sure about that?" she asks.

"Oh I'm definitely sure," I reply with a grin.

"As if I'd let you just trample all over me," she retorts in challenge.

"You wanna bet? I am after all the best in-" I start to say.

In the middle of my sentence I lunge forwards and tackle her to the ground. She yelps in surprise at my unexpected move, and I wrestle her down onto the grass with a triumphant smirk.

"...lightsaber combat," I finish.

"What? This isn't even lightsaber combat!" she retorts.

"It's still combat though," I reply with a grin.

This time she takes me by surprise, lifting her leg up to shove me back. She quickly grapples me and then rolls over, shoving me down on the grass. Now she's on top of me while I'm on the ground below her.

"Lightsaber combat isn't the same as hand-to-hand 'Little Jari,'" she chides smugly.

"Blah blah blah," I retort, making a face. "I'm not exactly a ballerina like you."

"Yeah, boys aren't as flexible as girls right?" she says cheekily.

"I'm more precise and refined," I state.

"So are ballerinas, yet you don't seem to be like them," she teases.

I roll my eyes in exasperation.

"Maybe I should change your nickname from 'Sweetie Horns' to 'Sassy Horns,'" I suggest.

"Well, as long as you still love me," she replies with a smile.

After a few moments of comfortable silence Ahsoka slowly leans her head down towards mine. Her lekku brush along the grass as they get lower, and I softly raise my head to meet her. Our lips connect in a gentle kiss…

"AAAHHHHH!"

I spring upright in bed at the sound of the scream, instantly recognizing it as Mara's. Without a moment to waste I lunge forwards to the front of the house and then jump up to the loft where her bed is.

Mara is sitting on the bed with her back pressed against the wall, hugging herself tightly and shivering with fear.

"Mara! Are you alright?" I ask worriedly, rushing to her side.

"N-no!" she wails.

"Hey, listen, you're alright! You're safe," I tell her firmly, grabbing her shoulders and looking her directly in the eyes. "It's alright Mara, I'm here."

She stares at me for a while, eyes wide with obvious fear, ands then starts to break down into sobs. She lunges for me and buries her face into my chest, wrapping her arms around me while I hug her back, stroking the back of her head in an attempt to comfort her.

"I... I was trapped... the E-Emperor was... he was-" she stutters out.

"I know Mar, I know. Don't think about it anymore, you're safe," I reply softly, trying to reassure her. "He can't hurt you anymore."

"...b-but what if he," she whimpers.

"He won't. He can't find us here. You're safe," I tell her soothingly, stroking her back.

She sniffs a few times as her sobbing slowly ceases and she looks up at me with a vulnerable gaze, her eyes looking bloodshot with tears.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asks meekly.

"Of course you can sweetheart," I tell her, a smile on my face.

Mara's eyes get a little watery again and she wraps her arms around my neck, laying her head on my shoulder. I stand up from the bed, carrying her in my arms and make my way to the edge of the loft, carefully jumping down to the main floor. Turning around I walk over to my bed and lay her down in it, getting into the bed beside her. She cuddles up against me and I give her a light kiss on her forehead, pulling the covers up over both of us.

As Mara drifts off to comfortable sleep, I catch a glance at a picture frame sitting on the bedside table. It's not a hologram, but an actual, physical, portrait of me and Ahsoka as teenagers during the Clone Wars, hugging each other and smiling for the photo like a pair of besties. She has one of her hands up to make a funny gesture with her fingers, a wide grin on her face, her other arm slung around my neck. I have my own arm around her waist while my other hand is in a thumbs up gesture. My memory of the portrait is a little foggy due to how long ago it was taken but I'm pretty sure that Rylla, or someone else from the clan took it for us when we reunited briefly.

A lump forms in my throat at the thought of Ahsoka and I think back on the dream, well memory, of her I was having just before Mara's nightmare. Keeping the emotion at bay I close my eyes in bed and hold Mara tighter, making a promise to myself in Ahsoka's memory.

'I won't let anything happen to her Ahsoka. I promise.'

The next morning while the village was picking themselves up after the Decepticon attack, I made my way through the forest after sensing something dull on the island. Following the disturbance brought me to the familiar cliff ledge where the statue of Morai stands proudly.

Where it used to stand.

The entire statue was obliterated to rubble, the only recognizable part being a chunk of Morai's face and eye peeking out from near the foundation. It's quite clear who was responsible, if the giant footprint marks stomped through the grass and torn up dirt were any indication. I sigh sadly at the remains of Morai's statue, unable to feel anger or grief, just disappointment at the loss. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised the Decepticons would've done something like this, as they'd consider it pathetic and stupid.

Sounds from behind me let me know that a few others arrived, and I don't need to turn around to know it's Mara, Hiccup, Stoick, and Astrid. And their dragons.

"They blew up the statue?!" Mara gasps angrily.

"Yeah," I answer.

"Why would they do that?" Hiccup asks.

"That's horrible!" Astrid exclaims. "They don't have any respect!"

"Not really," I reply in agreement. "They could care less."

"It's so stupid though, how they feel like they're better than anyone else simply for existing!" Mara scowls, crossing her arms.

"That's just how some people think, lass," Stoick sighs.

"It's disappointing… the statue carried a good amount of significance of the Force and her memory," I remark, sighing again. "At the end of the day though, it's still just a statue."

"I guess, as long as we remember?" Hiccup asks.

"And keep focusing on what you have, and what you care about," I add.

"Better to help our people than to worry about objects… even significant ones," Stoick says in support.

"And what if they come back?" Astrid asks.

"I don't think they will. Blast Off and Vortex are dead, and Elita is on her way back to Cybertron. They no longer have a reason to bother us," I reassure them.

"Well that's good," Stoick says. "I just wish it didn't have to come at a price."

"We never do," I remark grimly.

THE NEXT DAY

Temple Island - Ahch-To

Jarik POV…

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Better now, I think my nerves are just about healed from all of that… shocking stuff," Mara replies with a grimace.

"Well that's good. I don't want you thinking about that anymore," I say with a small smile. "Besides, we need to pick up where we left off in training."

Mara groans, slumping her shoulders.

"Really Daddy? Can't I have a few more days of freedom?" she asks.

Mara makes a childish face with the expression of a pleading dragon hatchling, twirling her red locks around her finger. She stands in a completely innocent pose and looks up at me, no doubt trying to sway my opinion with her cuteness.

"You look very adorable Mara, but no," I deadpan.

"Aw! Really thought it would work," she says glumly.

"Ahsoka and Rylla did it better," I state.

"And what about… what's her face? V-Vila?" she asks with narrowed eyes.

"Vifi."

"Yeah, her. Did she do that at all?" she asks me.

"Nah, she'd just glare at us in an attempt to frighten us into submission," I say dryly, making a sad small grimace at the memory of her, before wiping the expression off my face so Mara doesn't notice. "Besides, I'm not letting my own daughter pull that crap on me."

"Worth a shot," she mumbles, before her gaze brightens. "But do you like my new cape though?!"

Mara skips over to one of the cobble walls, picking up her new furry cape that the Caretakers made for her. She swings her cape over her shoulders and starts showing it off while I watch with my arms crossed.

"It's so awesome! Look, it's got the same kind of sand-colored fur that Astrid is starting to get into," she says. "And it won't get in the way of me fighting either; it's thin enough for that, while also thick enough to provide warmth and look super stylish!"

"You really gonna resort to stalling now?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "I mean it's a nice cape, but seriously?"

Her expression drops to a dull glare and she blows a raspberry, propping her hands on her hips.

"You're a real killjoy," she states.

"Yeah, that's why I married your mom. Now let's go," I say with a chuckle, moving off.

Mara rolls her eyes but jogs after me in order to quickly catch up. On our way to the Saddle I took a moment to glance at her with a frown, flicking her hair.

"You should really put your hair up before fighting, like in a ponytail or something," I comment.

"I don't see you doing that," she retorts, yanking her hair back.

"Is my hair long? Yes. But not long enough for hair ties, so I have to deal with it," I shoot back. "At the very least I don't have the problem of it constantly obscuring my face whenever I flip around and do some super cool stuff."

"You mean when I flip around and do super cool stuff," she says.

I grin at her.

"Yes, exactly! Thank you for proving my point, now get a hair tie so you can see better. Like Astrid does," I tell her.

Mara groans in aggravation but does so anyways, pulling a hair tie out of her pouch. She pulls her hair behind her shoulders and starts tying it up into a ponytail that hangs down her back.

"I really like my hair out," she mumbles to herself.

"Alright, let's begin," I state, turning around.

I pull out my lightsaber and let the sapphire colored blade hum to life, holding it by my side in a formal Makashi pose. Mara flicks her ponytail behind her shoulder so it's out of the way and tenses up in her own stance, bringing out her own lightsaber. The azure colored blade, a lighter shade than my own, shoots out of the hilt and she holds it up in a reverse grip.

"How's the saber feel?" I ask her.

"Feels alright. A little heavy, and the blade is kind of long, but it still works well enough," she replies.

"There should be a blade adjustment knob on the hilt; it's the flat circular knob," I tell her.

Mara loses her stance momentarily and holds up her lightsaber, finding the knob. She twists it, and the blade shortens with a hiss until Mara finds the right length she wants, smiling.

"That's better, thanks!" she tells me, getting into her stance again. "I bet I can beat you this time!"

"Don't get cocky kiddo," I remind her, rolling my eyes.

We both eye each other down, anticipating how the other will attack, and then Mara makes the first move. She dashed forwards and leaps into the air, striking down with her saber. I raise my blade to block the strike, and then sidestep out of the way of a jab. I deflect a few more strikes and then return a jab of my own, which she barely ducks away from. We go back and forth across the field, the sabers flashing every time they connect.

I then catch Mara in a bladelock and twist my saber, dislodging her own from her grip. She instantly rolls to the side and thrusts an arm out, hitting me with a Force push. I skid briefly as I block the push, and in that moment she called her lightsaber back to her hands and then leaps for me in an overhead strike. I still recover without much effort and raise my lightsaber, blocking her swing.

"That was good. Nice distraction to retrieve your lightsaber," I comment.

"Thanks," she replies. "You know I heard from Mom that you aren't nearly as good at hand-to-hand compared with a lightsaber?"

I raise an eyebrow at her comment, but she dislodges from our blade lock. I quickly swipe and slash my lightsaber at her with precise movements, but she ducks to the side and jumps onto a boulder, kicking off of it towards me. She flips over my head and grapples onto my back, one arm around my neck and a leg over one shoulder.

I stumble when she starts latching on, sensing her intent to take me down with a grapple/scissor move: it was one of Ahsoka's favorites whenever we sparred with each other.

Anticipating her, I swing my lightsaber up in a powerful strike to hit hers out of her hand before she could swing it herself. I then grab her arm with my left hand and then twist around, dislodging her from her position and then shoving her off. She hits the grass with a grunt, landing on her back, and pushes herself up only to find my lightsaber at her neck.

"I think that's another win for me," I say, smirking lightly.

"Really thought I could get you down that time," she groans in disappointment.

I remove my lightsaber to let her stand up, deactivating it while she calls hers back into her hand.

"Try doing that to Darth Vader, you'll get a much worse result," I comment.

"Ha ha," she deadpans, rolling her eyes. "I still think it's a cool move."

"Yeah, against most people you'd most likely get a take down," I shrug in agreement. "But I anticipated it; not to mention Ahsoka did that a lot."

"Yeah, she showed me how to do that," she replies. "So you're best with a lightsaber, and Mom was better at hand-to-hand?"

"And with the Force," I add, nodding. "But yeah, she was quicker, more agile, and more skilled in hand-to-hand; I'm more of a 'brawler,' to be honest. We sparred often."

"Did she always win?"

"Ehh… most of the time," I reply, shaking my head at the memories. "She definitely enjoyed it too."

"Enjoyed it?" she asks, confused at my meaning.

"She's a predator by nature because of her species. So naturally, she enjoys being dominant in physical fights, and loved grappling me in order to win."

Mara snickers, prompting me to raise an eyebrow at her.

"I think she once told me that you looked cute when you lost," she explains.

I roll my eyes with an aggravated sigh.

"Oh my gosh, of course she did…" I groan.

I already know that because Ahsoka told me herself in the middle of a sparring match, where she managed to get me pinned down in a grappling position. I'm sure she gained personal satisfaction from that kind of stuff. She never really did lose her 'snippy' attitude, just kept it subdued aside from being around me.

"...horned, tail-headed, ninja," I grumble at the thought.

"That's hilarious," Mara scoffs with a grin. "I bet she never let you off the hook if you pranked her or something."

"Trust me, you do not want to see an angry togruta girl," I advise.

While Mara and I ate our dinner Zenna chowed down on some fish nearby, growling whenever a Terrible Terror would come close by.

We were seated at the edge of the Jedi Village in the small sitting area that overlooks the rest of the island. The ocean breeze blew up from beneath us, and the twin suns glow a brilliant orange as they slowly drift closer to the horizon, turning the clouds pink and the sky red and purple. I take a bite out of some fruit when Mara poses another question.

"Alright, so say you're trapped in a ship full of explosives: what do you do?" she asks.

"Not blow them up," I reply.

"They're on a timer set to blow," she says.

"I dump them out into space."

"They're hardwired into the ship, you can't get rid of them."

"I get into an escape pod."

"There are no pods-"

"What is the point of this question?" I ask in exasperation.

"What? I just want to know!" she says defensively. "Anything could happen."

"That's one of the most random and ridiculous situations ever," I say dryly.

"So is going underground to fight a bunch of bug zombies!" she retorts.

"Hey, that's completely different," I tell her, frowning. "I was your age when that happened. Should I ask what you would've done?"

"Would I ever get into that situation?" she asks me.

I change my voice to mimic her and make a teasing gesture.

"I just want to know! Anything could happen!" I say, repeating her words.

She glowers at me.

"Wow, so original," she deadpans.

"Too bad," I shrug carelessly.

"Can your arm really break down a metal door?" she suddenly asks, and I make a face. "How strong of a door?"

"I don't know… haven't really tried," I reply.

"Yes you have, I've seen you punch doors before!" she states, pointing a finger at me.

I roll my eyes at her. "Meh, whatever. I don't really test that. Speaking of which I really need to do another check-up on that…"

She snorts at me.

"Hah, have fun with R5 tormenting you," she remarks in amusement.

I groan in exasperation at her response, but continue finishing the last of my food. While Mara is doing so she suddenly bangs her knee on the table, giving a quick yelp of pain. I wince in sympathy: it's one of those moments where you swing an arm or leg around carelessly and accidentally bump into something. It's not even a hard hit, but it just hurts like crap.

Unfortunately for Mara however, Zenna heard her quick yelp of pain and leaps in to 'rescue' her. She abandons her fish momentarily with a squawk, rushes over to us and then plucks Mara out of her seat by the back of her shirt, carefully using her mouth to do so. Mara yelps in surprise as Zenna lifts her into the air, holding her high above the table and accidentally pushing her food to the ground.

"Ahh! Zenna! What the heck?!" Mara exclaims incredulously.

I burst out into laughter as Zenna's protectiveness swings into full force, and Mara struggles to free herself from the grip of her dragon. A few Terrors' swing by to steal some fish from Zenna's pile, but aside from an irritated glance and a whine from her, she still dangles Mara in the air, her head held high in it's typical 'perching' position, however you call it. Mara tries smacking at her snout, irritated and deeply embarrassed.

"Zenna! Let me go now!" she groans angrily.

"Come on, she just wants to take care of you!" I call out in amusement.

"Not helping Dad!" she scowls at me, her face red. "Zenna stop it!"

Zenna whines between through her teeth but still refuses to let go of Mara, ruffling her wings and holding her away from anything sticking up off of the ground. All I can do is life at her plight, proving once more how I'm such a wonderful father.

"Zenna if you don't let me go, then you aren't getting any salmon for a week!" Mara snaps, putting as much displeasure and authority into her voice as she could.

Zenna lets out another whine, whimpering a little, and then finally lowers Mara to the ground. She starts licking her back once she lets go of her, but Mara quickly moves away from Zenna's mouth and holds out a hand.

"Nope! You've had enough today!" she states quickly. "Now go get your fish, those Terrors' are taking it!"

At the mention of the Terrors', Zenna perks her head up and looks over at her fish pile. She growls angrily at the sight of them fighting over her food, and charges at them with a squawk of displeasure. The Terrors' screech in fright and quick flap their wings to fly away, while Zenna roars after them threateningly. A few nearby Porgs also cry out in fright and take flight with their feathery wings, getting away from the area.

With Zenna no longer focused on holding her off of the ground, Mara stalks back over to the table and looks at her spilled food, scowling. I chuckle a little bit more and she whips her head up to glare at me.

"It's not funny Dad!" she whines.

"It is kind of funny," I reply with a grin.

"My food is all wasted now!" she growls, gesturing towards the spilled plate.

"Just go get something from the Caretakers, they're the ones who insisted on us having this dinner after all," I tell her.

"Ugh, fine," she scoffs.

I watch her move off with a smirk on my face, refocusing on my chicken leg once Mara's out of sight.

For a long while I haven't read much of Satele's journal, considering all of the things that have occurred for the past several weeks. Being tempted to take an Infinity Stone, losing Mara to the Sith on Onderon, and rescuing her from the heart of the Empire itself. But with all of the resting time that we've got right now just to get away from the conflict, I see no reason not to try and learn some more knowledge.

Satele was definitely a really wise person in her later years.

Throughout her journal she's written a lot of her insight on many different things, including her view of the Force, and I find myself agreeing with a lot of it. Back in her time, the Jedi Order wasn't nearly as strict on emotional attachment as it was most recently, which would explain why nobody had a hissy fit when she gave birth to Theron. However there were still limitations, as she and Theron weren't particularly close in the way you'd expect a parent-child relationship to be: certainly not how I am with Mara.

Beyond just that, it's also interesting to read more of her stories and life lessons, and some detailed accounts of her adventures as a Jedi. The relationship between the 'Trio,' which was her, Theron, and Bumblebee, is also fun. Kind of like me, Mara, and Elita, in a way. She also wrote about her experiences dealing with Sith throughout her life, such as people like Malgus or the powerful entity known as Vitiate. Something that definitely teaches me is that Jedi and Sith seemed way more powerful in the ancient past than now, although I suppose it depends on the skill set.

As I'm browsing through her journal however, something suddenly catches my eyes, and my casual and thoughtful feelings of interest are replaced with apprehension and unease, just by the title of it:

'Sun and Moon Prophecy'

That right there, just sends my attitude into a descending plummet. I have a bad feeling about what this is referring too, or more specifically, who this is referring too. I've already been labeled as the 'Sun' by Bendu, and he also gave Ahsoka the title of 'Moon.' I'm already skeptical of prophecy's enough, thanks to the garbage that is 'The Chosen One,' but now I've got to worry about another one?! Right now I want nothing more than to close this book and ignore this thing, but I can't help myself. I'm drawn to the next page, and start reading the passage.

'A powerful warrior, born from legends.

A compassionate soul, filled with Light.

As the Sun and the Moon, together they rise.

One to provide strength and courage, the other compassion and love.

An Emperor shall rise from the shadow of war, and the galaxy will come to fear him.

The Sun and Moon will forge strong bonds, they will stumble, they will fall.

A host of evil shall they face.

The Phantom Menace, the Dark One, the Mad Titan, the Taken King.

And in time they shall rise above, standing tall and proud.

For when they stand together, nothing is stronger.

The Sun and Moon will serve the Force.

The Sun and Moon will protect all.

The Sun and Moon will find their destiny.'

As I read through this passage, I slowly became more and more stressed, angry, apprehensive, and afraid. By the time I'm finished I'm shakily setting Satele's journal down beside me and bringing a hand to my mouth to cover it, on the verge of breaking down.

I take a deep shuddering breath, shutting my eyes to block the flow of tears threatening to break forth, and shove them away. Even so I still lean forwards and cover my face, shaking with silent emotional turmoil: not crying but not exactly calm either. I just… I can't fathom the idea that there is more that I need to worry about. And apparently my whole life is already set in stone.

A prophecy about me and Ahsoka… honestly, who else could it refer to?

Yet Ahsoka is gone.

I take another shuddering breath, clenching my fist to express my frustration and complete helplessness. First there was Sidious, then there was Snoke. Then I learned about the horrors of Oryx and the Hive, and now there's some other powerhouse known as the 'Mad Titan,' whoever that is. When will it all end?!

"Dad?"

I look up to see Mara approaching me slowly, a worried look on her face.

"What's up?" I ask, shoving down my emotions.

"Are you doing alright?" she asks me cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just reading some of Satele's journal," I tell her, gesturing to it with a small smile.

Mara looks at me disbelievingly and walks closer, sitting down on the grassy hill beside me.

"I don't think you are fine," she says slowly.

"What are you talking about?" I ask cautiously.

"You're worrying about a lot of things. It's really stressing you out," she explains worriedly. "Elita told me she could see that, and I think she's right."

"Well, there are plenty of things to worry about," I tell her casually.

"Like the Hive? Like the Emperor? Like whatever else you haven't talked about?" she presses.

"Ok I get it!" I reply with an aggravated sigh, holding a hand to my head. "...I'm just afraid."

"But why? I still don't get it, and I'm the one who should be afraid," she comments.

"Because they're all so powerful!" I exclaim, making her jump in surprise. "There are so many things much worse than even Sidious, and they all want to hurt us. And now I'm just learning that there's a kriffing prophecy written about me!"

I falter in my aggravates ran and glance at Mara, who is looking nervous and uncertain about how to respond. I look away guiltily, having not meant to scare her.

"I- I don't know how to deal with them all…" I trail off glumly.

Mara glances down at Satele's journal for a moment, surprised and bewildered at the idea of a prophecy and surely thinking hard about it, but she looks back up at me.

"Dad… I don't know much, but I do know that you shouldn't think about that stuff," Mara says gently.

I give Mara an exasperated look, and she continues.

"I mean, Mom has got to have known about whatever you're freaking out over right? There's no way she didn't," she says.

"Your point?" I ask tiredly.

"I'm sure she would've told you to stop worrying too," she insists. "You can't exactly solve every problem, especially with things that we barely know anything about. You're just stressing yourself out."

I scoff lightly in amusement.

"Now you're sounding like your mother," I murmur, smiling lightly at Mara. "I feel like I've not gotten any wiser."

"Come on you definitely have Dad, maybe you just haven't noticed," she suggests. "I mean, I doubt anyone else understands the balance between the light and dark sides as well as you do."

"Thanks," I reply with a smile, before scoffing again. "What's with all the ladies in my life being so wise nowadays? I swear you'd all give Master Yoda a run for his credits."

"Well it does seem to be our job to prevent you from doing some stupid 'manly' things," she jokes, grinning.

"Careful, some people could consider that sexist," I tease her.

"Well that's too bad, because I like that 'manly' stuff anyways!" she exclaims.

I laugh at Mara's remark and she giggles at it as well. Once we calm down I give Satele's journal another glance, the Sun and Moon prophecy written clearly, and then close the book. Mara does have a good point, and it's something Ahsoka had hammered in me for years now. And considering that's a prophecy, all I need to do about it is to merely let it play out. Interpreting prophecies didn't work before, not even for the Father, so who am I to assume I could?

"As much as I wish it happened differently… I'm glad I found you Mara," I admit.

"...I don't know how I would've turned out if that never happened," she replies quietly.

Mara then leans into my side and hugs me, and I hug her back with one arm.

"You're the best, Dad," she murmurs.

Imperial Palace - Coruscant

3rd person POV…

The Emperor continuously steamed with silent fury and rage. Ever since the attack on his own palace, everything has been going horribly wrong. What was meant to hurt Jarik Shan did the opposite, and instead strengthened his enemies while harming the Empire.

And Shan was only growing stronger.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the entire galaxy was becoming harder to control and force into submission, as more joined the distasteful growing rebel movement. Shan's influence and power was great, which now began drawing his attention towards something he passed off as myth and foolish legends: a prophet that referred to a 'Sun' and 'Moon.'

It was only a brief mention in his studies underneath his former master Darth Plagueis, as the Chosen One was of much greater interest. However from what he can recall, Shan has begun to share some similarities with the prophecy: him and Tano.

He can't understand for certain, something that frustrates him, but it does also make sense. Jarik Shan and Ahsoka Tano are strongest when they're together, although the Togruta is supposed to be dead. He himself is the Phantom Menace, and an Emperor that rose from the shadows of war just like the prophecy stated. And one of those 'enemies' known as the Taken King, shares the same title as the Yuuzhan Vong leader that Thrawn learned about from Shan himself, Oryx.

The Emperor scowls, finding the issue that is Jarik Shan more troubling than ever. If that prophecy is true, then that spells disastrous problems for him in the future.

The door to the throne room then opens, allowing Darth Vader to come inside. His apprentice walks through the rows of Royal Guards on either side of the palace and then kneels before his throne, head bowed.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" he asks.

"I have a task of utmost importance for you Lord Vader," Sidious states. "Jarik Shan has increasingly grown in strength, and will continue to do so and bring great harm to the Empire. He can no longer be allowed to continue."

"Do you wish for me to hunt him down?" Vader asks.

"Thrawn still has yet to uncover to location of Shan's hiding place, however he is also preoccupied by dealing with the Lothal rebels," the Emperor informs him. "I want you to join him in hunting those traitors. Shan will be drawn out of hiding whenever they are in danger, and then you will be able to strike down both the rebellion, and Jarik Shan."

"As you wish, my master," Vader acknowledges.

"Report your progress to me frequently, and assist Thrawn in whatever way he requires. I will no longer tolerate interference from Jarik Shan."

Well this chapter is definitely a breather for the family compared to what's been going on. Jarik and Mara finally get the chance to not worry so much about the Empire, and just spend some time being with each other as a family. Lot's of reminiscing about Ahsoka for sure. And some important things have also come up, which sent Jarik into another freakout: I like to think one of his major flaws is worrying too much about possible dangers and what could happen.

But man, Darth Sidious sure is angry. And now he's got Vader personally on the case, going to assist Thrawn against Jarik and the rebels.

While I absolutely loved all of Vader's moments in Star Wars Rebels, and have no issue with how he was used, I will admit was a little disappointed that he wasn't used a little bit more. Makes me wonder what exactly he does during that time, haha. Especially since Kanan, Ezra and Maul were still at large, and he and the Emperor both knew that for sure. Ah well, 'less is more' right? :3