Author's Note: Fun little note I wanted to add about Jarik: I've finally come up with a music score that I think fits perfectly as his theme, the same way Ahsoka's theme fits her character so well. And the music I decided to go with is Samuel Kim's "The Force Theme | EPIC CINEMATIC." I really like it, and I think it portrays the character of Jarik very well, so go and give it a view! :D
Also now that Season 3 of Rebels is finished, I'm now starting to realize just how close I am to getting to the World Between Worlds episode... and I'm super anxious about it lol. I just want to be there! (ಠ_ಠ)
The Executor - Lothal sector
3rd person POV...
"The descendant of Revan still lives."
Vader remains standing still, an unpleasant scowl on his face. The Emperor was communicating with him not through a hologram, but with his very mind, his dark and devilish voice booming inside his head. He did not do so often, only when he was angered or felt more compelled to do so as a display of his dominant power over him.
"Words cannot express my displeasure in your constant setbacks, Lord Vader," Palpatine says softly, quiet with anger. "Perhaps you are not as capable as I had hoped. Do I need to assign this task to one of my more personal agents?"
Vader knew his master well enough to know when he was upset, and the cold growl in his voice made it easily clear.
"I would desire a replacement over the Second Sister," he finally says in reply.
"Do you think to mock me, apprentice?" Palpatine hisses furiously.
Vader grimaces, pushing down on his simmering anger so as to not enrage the Emperor further.
"No, my master. I simply believe the Second Sister is incapable. She is weak," he explains.
"The same could be said about you as of late," he sneers in reply. "The Inquisitor has her uses, which you so far seem incapable of understanding. But I find no valid excuse for your inability to kill a single Jedi. I have now been led to question whether you are capable, Lord Vader."
Vader's breath quickens as anger starts flowing through him, built up from the many times the Emperor has scorned him, looked down on him for nothing… anger for his deceit and lies in failing to save the one he loved.
"I have slaughtered countless Jedi in your name! I destroyed your enemies, forged you an Empire!" he states furiously. "I am more than capable!"
"And yet you hesitated on Malachor," the Emperor growls in disgust. "You're a disgrace. A mighty Sith Lord crippled by melancholy and indecision! All due to the attachments of a Jedi."
"There is no attachment. I destroyed Anakin Skywalker, and his apprentice!" he says angrily.
"Did you? Yet Skywalker's powers dwarfed yours, did they not?!" he exclaims furiously.
Vader freezes, outrage building up in him at the accusation. He wants so badly to respond and argue further with the Emperor, but in that moment he senses a tremendous amount of dark power swirling within the room around him, threatening to close in and crush him. He pauses, sensing the Emperor's powers focusing in on him, even from across the galaxy, and then reluctantly submits to his power and authority.
"With each passing moment, Shan grows more powerful. I desire his destruction, not his continuous ability to survive," he growls. "You want vengeance on him, do you not?"
"I swear to you my master, I will end his life," Vader insists angrily. "I have foreseen it."
"Then make sure of it!" Palpatine snaps. "Kill him!"
With that being said, the Emperor's dark aura vanishes, leaving the space around him just a bit brighter in the Force. Scowling, Vader gets up from his position and exits his meditation chamber, his cape billowing as he storms out of the room.
Atollon Wilderness
Thrawn POV...
When it came to the unexpected, a warrior seeks to understand it. Once it is understood, then it can be accounted for and properly dealt with. That is how I have always sought to combat my enemies, and I have always found my understanding of this universal law to be a valuable method. Recent times however have proven something else: that is not without its flaws.
'I see your defeat, like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace.'
The words of that strange creature have left me on edge, in a way I have never felt before. It promised my defeat as if it were an absolute certainty, despite there being no sort of proof, evidence, or knowledge to base its claim off of. And yet the creature still said it. I turn to look up at the sky once more, almost expecting storm clouds to gather once more with those great, glowing eyes. But it does not happen. Wherever the creature is... it vanished upon Lord Vader's attempt to strike it down: and then it laughed. I simply cannot find any explanation whatsoever as too how that could have happened.
There's just no explanation. Even 'the Storm' could have been explained as the result of something, though slim it might be. But this creature, there's nothing about it that makes sense to me.
Frowning lightly I redirect my focus onto the task at hand and attempt to ignore any thoughts of the creature for now; better to let Lord Vader deal with it, as he may carry better understanding of the mystical energies that granted the creature such power. With my arms behind my back, I walk slowly through the dusty wilderness of Atollon's surface. Imperial troopers were searching what remains of the rebel base according to my instructions, seeking any clues that could help us in determining where the rebels may have gone. The Decepticons on the other hand, have done nothing but sit in their warship, their leader Megatron recovering from his own battle; apparently, the creature's lightning storm had destroyed one of their own during the battle, which allowed their Autobot enemies to escape.
Disregarding thoughts of the Decepticons for now, I continue onwards as I follow the direction that my personal agent, Rukh, had gone, curious as to what had caught his attention. Eventually we reached the site of where the transformers had their battle with each other, and upon noticing Rukh coming to a stop, I looked on questioningly. Rukh reached down to the ground to pick something up in his hands, apparently having found what gained his interest.
"What have you uncovered, Rukh?" I ask him.
Rukh turns around to look at me, scoffing lightly as he holds his hand out.
"See for yourself, Grand Admiral," he replies in his growling voice.
Looking at the object in his hand, I narrow my eyes with a frown of recognition at the sight of a lightsaber, a weapon used by the Jedi Knights. I reach out and take the lightsaber into my own hands, observing it thoughtfully. It seems to have suffered some damage: one side of the hilt was cut open, as if a sharp sword had sliced through it, tearing up its exterior to partially reveal the blue kyber crystal within that powered the weapon. Studying the design of the lightsaber, its material, slightly curved design, I hum thoughtfully upon recognizing who it belongs to.
"Fascinating. This is the lightsaber wielded by Jarik Shan," I remark with intrigue.
"The Jedi you are so keen to find?" Rukh asks me.
"Indeed," I nod in confirmation. "It seems that his lack of presence with the other rebels is now explained: he was fighting alongside Elita One and her allies against Megatron."
"He's more of a fool than I though to try and combat such large beings single-handedly," Rukh scoffs.
"Jarik Shan is no fool, Rukh. There's a reason he is the Empire's greatest adversary," I reply with a firm gaze. "Have you discovered anything else?"
Rukh closes his eyes and starts to pace around slowly on all fours, sniffing the air and turning his head every which way, though his direction starts to become more apparent. After about a minute he stands up with a troubled, almost disgusted look on his face, which I immediately notice with some concern and suspicion.
"I smell rot," he growls uncomfortably.
"Rot?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Explain."
"There is foul decay in the air... unnatural," Rukh replies, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "It is unknown to me. A few miles beyond the base's northern perimeter."
I frown upon hearing his description and turn my gaze in the direction he stated, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. Based on that description I can only guess... perhaps it's not what I think it is? No, no if it were a common dead animal Rukh would've disregarded it. Whatever it is... if it truly is one of those galactic outsiders...
"I don't trust him."
"Neither do I. But we don't know enough on our own to turn his advice away."
"Morai can't help us?"
"She warned me that she can't manifest herself here. This planet is too strong with the dark side."
"And until we figure out how to control our power without killing ourselves..."
"We will. As long as we're together."
"As long as we're together... Force, that sounds so cliché."
"Do you always have to make jokes?"
"If it gets you to laugh."
"It doesn't make me laugh, Jarik. But it's cute to see you try."
"I know you're laughing on the inside Ahsoka."
Redemption - Somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories
Jarik POV...
I sat silently in my chair, listening in as Hera, General Dodonna, Sabine, Crassus, Cere, and Elita discussed what to do next. There were a few others gathered as well, such as Boil and Rex, HK-47, and Kallus, who looked in perfect health aside from a few healing bruises on his face as a result of the torture he was subjected to. Seeing as he was no longer capable of working as a spy for us, he asked me whether or not he could still be a Fulcrum agent, though I quickly assured him that holding a position inside the Imperial ranks is not a requirement; as a former ISB agent he's better equipped than most serving in Rebel Intelligence.
Mara was here as well, though she was making sure to stand completely by my side, constantly worried about my health. I honestly can't blame her too much for worrying, especially since I just injured myself once again barely a day after recovering from the first beating I received... not to mention she's worried about losing yet another parent, something which sadly seems all too common for Mara at this point in her life.
Anyways, my attempt at fighting Megatron left me without a left arm and a broken collar bone, the latter of which resulted from the immense force that shattered my prosthetic. Seeing as I couldn't wear a sling thanks to lacking an arm, the doctors instead gave me a figure eight splint after carefully setting the bone in place so that it can heal properly. The splint keeps my shoulders stretched out and spread apart to ensure proper positioning as the bone healed, thought to do it properly I had to keep it on constantly, which was a bit of a drag as that would limit the mobility of my upper body. It wasn't the worst thing ever though, and thanks to medical substances like bacta, for example, it would only take a couple of weeks to heal whereas normally it would take months.
Despite the physical injuries I suffered during the battle, as they weren't just limited to my collarbone and broke arm, I was still mulling over the strange dream I had while unconscious... though it might have been something more than a simple dream, considering I was unconscious for longer than I should've been, according to the others. The dream was a bit blurry, and hard to remember... but I do remember that it was of myself, and I was talking with Ahsoka.
Ahsoka... who by all accounts died on Malachor I.
Even though Bendu hinted at the possibility of otherwise, I simply don't know what to believe; I only know for sure that my force bond with her was broken, so logically that means she's dead, right? Yet there have been hints to suggest otherwise, things I may have missed, but now I had this strange dream about her. And the conversation I had with her in that dream... is something I don't remember. And considering what I heard in that dream, it's definitely a conversation I would've remembered if we had it. Maybe... it was the future?
"Dad, you alright?" Mara asks me quietly.
I blink my eyes and look up at her, shaking my head lightly with a small smile of reassurance on my face.
"Yes, I'm okay Mara. Just tired," I respond with a small smile.
"...to Yavin is the only option we have left I'm afraid," Hera was saying, and I focus on the conversation.
"The remainder of Phoenix Squadron is more than welcome to join the Massassi Group, Captain Syndulla," General Dodonna assures her.
"I'm thankful to hear that, General Dodonna," she nods in gratitude.
"Ironhide, Chromia and I won't be able to join the rest of you I'm afraid," Elita says, where she was crouched on the ground beside the group to be more at our level. "Now that Megatron is actively chasing us down, our presence puts you all in serious danger."
"If you can't go back to your planet as long as those Hive things are around, then where are you going to go?" Rex asks in concern.
"We actually have an idea for that," she replies, frowning thoughtfully. "We thought there was no clear way to get past them, but clearly that's not the case if Onslaught was able to leave and bring the Decepticons back with him."
"So you think they know how to navigate around them?" Cere asks.
"If not, then they have dumb luck. But I don't believe that's the case," Elita says in response. "If we want to figure out the path they traveled, then the three of us will need to get aboard the Nemesis and access its navigation log. The only problem is finding the Nemesis."
"Statement: Just broadcast your location then. It's clear that this 'Megatron' wants to kill you," HK-47 suggests dismissively.
"For someone who's supposed to programmed in the art of stealth, you sure don't seem to know it," Boil scoffs sarcastically.
"Query: Is my suggestion not straight-forward enough? It's very simple! Just lure them in, then sneak aboard the warship and get what you need!" the droid retorts irritably.
"It's stupid because you forgot to factor in Imperial involvement," he shoots back.
"Query: What makes you think those metal monstrosities sided with the Empire?" HK-47 demands, confused.
"Because neither of their ships were attacking each other," Crassus points out, rolling his eyes. "The only reason the Empire wouldn't be attacking a clearly different force is because they were working with them. At least through mutual cooperation."
"I'm afraid he's right. I was there when the deal was made," Kallus adds in grimly. "The Decepticon warship arrived after the rebel fleet was forced to retreat to Atollon's surface. Thrawn and Vader established an alliance with this 'Megatron' based only on mutual benefit."
"So that just makes our problems even worse," Sabine sighs.
"They can't be here for long though, right? As the leader of his forces, Megatron couldn't possibly stay away from your war for very long," Boil suggests. "Why not just wait them out?"
"That's not an option," Elita shakes her head in disagreement. "One way or another, Megatron won't leave empty-handed, and he has no qualms about how he does it. If he has to, he'll find all of your bases and reveal them to the Empire, or just destroy them himself."
"How would he do that? Although not infallible, we've kept our bases relatively well hidden from the reach of the Empire," General Dodonna says.
"Because of his surveillance chief, Soundwave. If he wished, I have no doubt he could locate your bases in only a few rotations," she states grimly, much to all of our surprise. "The only thing stopping him is that Megatron could care less about anyone in your galaxy."
"So, he's a slicer huh?" I ask, speaking up for the first time.
Everyone's gaze turns to me in slight surprise, but after a few moments Elita nods in confirmation.
"The best hacker in our galaxy. Maybe even the universe," she says warily.
"Hmph," I nod thoughtfully in response.
"Well based on what I'm hearing, the Decepticons are the biggest threat we have right now," Hera sighs, glancing up at Elita. "Are you sure there's no other way to deal with them?"
"I'm afraid not," Elita says apologetically.
"Then we'll help you find a way onto their ship, so that the three of you can get the information you need," she states firmly.
"I agree Captain," General Dodonna adds. "There's too much at stake for us as long as the Decepticons are cooperating with the Empire. Our loss on Atollon will be the least of our worries."
"I mean no offense, but facing the Decepticons is far too dangerous for any of you," Elita states with a frown. "You simply lack the capability, especially against Megatron's personal warship."
"Maybe so, but we can still help you at least find them. It's the least we could do for all that you've done for us," Hera reasons.
"Just leave that to me," I interrupt.
"Offensive query: Why? So you can just get scrapped by those metal behemoths again?" HK-47 asks mockingly.
"Does it look like I'm going to be fighting?" I snap in reply, shaking my head with a glare. "I was referring to the part about finding them."
"Musing: Ah, of course. How could I forget?" he sarcastically replies.
"The Nemesis would be cloaked, Jarik. Soundwave runs everything on that ship," Elita says skeptically.
"I happen to be pretty good at slicing too, so I'm the best candidate to help with that," I say casually. "Besides, I'm kind of interested to see just how good Soundwave is compared to me and R5."
"You're getting cocky again Dad," Mara murmurs to me, and I let out a sigh.
"If you insist Jarik," Elita reluctantly agrees.
"While they figure that out, the rest of us need to focus on getting ourselves to Base One," Rex advises. "The Empire will certainly have the Outer Rim under careful surveillance to try and figure out where we've gone."
"Unfortunately, we won't be able to help with that," Crassus says with an apologetic frown. "Mandalore is erupting into civil war, and we've already spared enough resources just to help in the battle."
"He's right. My mother needs us to go back very soon," Sabine adds.
"I understand. When do you expect to leave?" Hera asks.
"Within the day," she replies, frowning sadly. "As long as my father is held prisoner, there's very little my mother can do to fight back aside from defending what we already have."
"None of the other clans are helping you?" I ask skeptically.
"If we reveal that we have Mandalore's Mask, then we risk Clan Saxon and the Empire launching a direct assault against us with everything they have," Crassus explains bitterly.
"Statement: Well isn't that pathetic," HK-47 scoffs.
Crassus and Sabine both glare furiously at him while I let out a sigh, Mara, Boil, and Rex sharing much the same annoyance.
"Tiber Saxon..." Sabine growls out the name. "...would destroy the mask as soon as he got his hands on it!"
"That chakaaryc tarnishes the very name of Mandalorian," Crassus scowls in agreement.
"Statement: Oh I agree. Based on what I've learned recently, even Revan respected Mandalore much more than he does," the droid shrugs in reply.
"Okay, enough of the chatter," Hera scolds with a sigh. "Sabine, with our current situation right now I'm afraid we can't offer much assistance to your people."
"I know," Sabine replies in resigned acceptance.
"However, we're still allies, and you helped us escape, so that doesn't mean we can't try," she continues. "Kanan and Ezra can go with you to help rescue your father, and report to Rebel Command what the situation is like on Mandalore."
"Thank you Hera," Sabine says with a grateful smile.
Atollon Wilderness - Atollon
3rd person POV...
A few miles out from the perimeter of the former rebel base, Imperial forces searched through what was clearly the site of a small skirmish, though the evidence of the skirmish was far more bizarre than would've been typical. Thrawn looks around with narrowed eyes, a deep frown on his face as he surveys the scene, taking note of everything he could see. There were signs of destroyed ships, whose origins weren't from this galaxy, but strangest of all was the corpse of some massive beast, unlike anything he had ever seen. One thing was clear to him however, and it was something that unnerved him.
These were remains of the Yuuzhan Vong. A small scout force at the very least, consisting of two transport ships and the large beast, along with however many troops.
The fact that they traveled so far into the galaxy was deeply troubling to him, to say the least. Clearly the rebels encountered them and were engaged in battle with the brutes: how there seems to be no sign of any rebels dying at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong is also surprising, though it's not unlikely to assume that Jarik Shan was a part of the battle. And seeing as its unlikely that massive beast was taken down by the rebels, perhaps the Autobots were responsible, judging by its size. However, there was no reason for the Yuuzhan Vong to be here... will their invasion happen earlier than he predicted?
Rukh continued to sniff around the area, focusing his attention more on the piles of decaying organic material that are littered around the area; although he kept it hidden well, Thrawn could tell that Rukh was disgusted by their scent. It was easy for him to notice as he's never seen Rukh show a hint of disgust to any other smell in the galaxy. The Second Sister then walks up beside Thrawn, staring at the giant beast with repulsion.
"What are these things?" she hisses in disgust.
"Yuuzhan Vong," Thrawn answers calmly. "They are a violent race of creatures who originate from beyond our galaxy."
"Beyond, our galaxy?" she questions skeptically. "What would they be doing here?"
"A question I also desire an answer for," the voice of Darth Vader speaks up.
Thrawn and Second Sister both step aside to look at Vader, allowing him to move forward between them. The Sith Lord walks past them several steps to gaze at the corpse of the large beast, and Rukh gives him a wary glance before resuming his own investigation.
"You informed the Emperor that these creatures were not yet a threat, yet here they are in our borders," Vader states, his words directed at Thrawn.
"I was unaware that they would have traveled this far inward," Thrawn explains, narrowing his eyes slightly. "The reason for such behavior... eludes me. But is deeply concerning as well."
"Because of the dangers they pose to the Empire?" Vader questions, turning to face him. "Or to the Chiss Ascendancy?"
Rukh glances up at the question, and Thrawn's face tenses up slightly at the sudden accusation. Second Sister looks between the two silently, confused due to not previously being privy to any of this, yet also sensing the clear suspicion.
"Perhaps to both, Lord Vader," Thrawn finally responds. "The Yuuzhan Vong presence here is a clear sign that something drew their interest. Which is troubling."
"A fine observation, fleshling," a voice interrupts, almost mocking. "Were it not so obvious."
The Imperials all turn to see Megatron stepping forward from around the corner of a rock formation, looking around at the remnants of the Yuuzhan Vong strike force. The Imperial forces all turn towards him in surprise and alarm, readying their weapons while Rukh hovers his hand over his electro-staff with a snarl, completely tense. However the Second Sister quickly orders them to stand down, despite sharing her own reservations and unease at the sight of the imposing cybertronian. Megatron ignores them however, walking to stand in front of the ogre's corpse with his arms behind his back, staring down at it in disgust.
"Megatron, I presume?" Thrawn says, narrowing his eyes at him. "May I ask what you find so obvious?"
"These abominations despise anything non-organic. When the Autobots attempted to leave your galaxy, they were chased back here," Megatron replies.
"And how would you know this?" Vader demands.
"Because I was waiting for the Autobots to return, so that I could crush them on their arrival," he states carelessly.
"So you put the security of the Empire at risk in your quest to destroy three mere soldiers in your conflict?" the Sith Lord growls angrily.
"You think I care about what happens to you? I would have no problem watching the Hive burn your galaxy to cinders," Megatron scoffs in contempt, glaring down at them. "The only reason I could even dream of assisting you insects, is because I despise the Hive more than I despise you."
"Then perhaps you are indeed a threat to the Empire, that should be dealt with," Vader replies dangerously.
"You threaten me? How amusing," he sneers with an amused chuckle. "Once I have destroyed Elita One, I assure you that my presence here will cease."
"It certainly will," Vader promises coldly. "Fortunately for you, it so happens that the Grand Admiral and I have more pressing matters at the moment."
"Lord Vader?" Thrawn questions with a confused frown.
"The Emperor desires our presence back on Coruscant," he informs him, glancing back at Megatron. "He also wishes to meet you as well, Megatron."
"I am not someone you can merely summon at a whim, fleshling," Megatron growls. "I'm only here to see Elita One destroyed."
"And yet she escaped your grasp," Vader taunts.
"Much like how Jarik Shan escaped yours?" he retorts just as easily.
Vader growls, clenching his fist before pointing a finger at him.
"The Emperor will have words with you, or I will not hesitate to turn my fleet against your single warship," he threatens.
"Surely your forces can continue searching for your enemies while you are not present?" Thrawn suggests in an attempt to prevent any conflict. "If you have to depart, then I'm sure the Emperor would understand."
Megatron glares at them, a dangerous look in his optics while the Imperial forces all wait anxiously, tightening their grip on their weapons.
"Very well. Soundwave is capable of finding them," he admits slowly, narrowing his optics. "But the only reason I am agreeing to this, is so that I can make it clear to your 'Emperor' that he has no power over me, and he never will."
Redemption - Somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories
Jarik POV...
"So... never realized you had a prosthetic arm," Hadrian remarks.
"Guess it never came up," I reply casually.
I would have shrugged as well, but the splint would've made that difficult, not to mention doing so would seriously upset my collarbone.
"How'd you lose your arm?" Kira asks.
"Got blown up during the war," I explain simply.
"Why're you so casual about it?" Mara demands incredulously.
"It happened before you were born, I'm over it," I retort, rolling my eyes sarcastically.
"Oh really?" she asks, scoffing. "You're certainly not over R5's mandatory 'inspections.'"
"Don't even get me started on that," I mutter.
"How the heck did you lose your arm this time?" Kira asks.
"What is it with you guys and my arm?" I sigh in exasperation.
"Hey, I like hearing about battle stories!" she says defensively.
"It's a Mandalorian thing," Hadrian shrugs in agreement.
"Besides, I'm dying to know how you keep doing all of these crazy things cuz!" Kira continues to say.
"Well, I'd rather not keep losing limbs," I say tiredly. "Getting a replacement arm is going to be really hard."
"No kidding Dad," Mara says in agreement. "You really like playing the hero too much."
"The hero?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup," she replies, popping the p sound.
"I can make you another arm," Hadrian suddenly says.
Mara and I both look over at him, a bit surprised.
"Come again?" I ask him, unsure if he was being serious.
"Once I get back to my stuff, I could built you another arm out of beskar," he offers sincerely. "Seeing as you kind of need one."
"He's the best engineer around," Kira says with a grin, lightly punching Hadrian's shoulder.
"I don't doubt it, considering the basilisk war droid," I comment with a nod, before frowning in concern. "But are you sure you want to construct a new arm for me? I don't know if that'll go to well with your clan."
"Meh, the clan's mostly gotten over their bloodlust for you. The Count said some things and then showed us a video recording of Revan and Mandalore the Ultimate. Apparently they made up in the end," Hadrian shrugs casually. "Besides, it's not like somebody could stop me from making whatever I want to make."
"Did you really say 'the Count?' Come on, he's only my father," Kira rolls her eyes.
"'Only your father,'" he mutters skeptically in reply. "It's called being respectful."
"Ugh, but its so weird for me to hear people talk about him so... officially," she replies, frowning in distaste.
"Try referring to Hiccup's dad, then we'll talk," Mara says sarcastically.
Seeing Cere staring out into space by herself near the edge of the hangar, I frown in slight concern and start moving over to her, coming to a stop beside her. Aside from a brief glance she doesn't give any other reaction to my presence, continuing to look out into the void of space. She was hiding it well, but I could tell that she was feeling either guilt or shame over Shaak Ti's death.
"What's your crew planning to do right now?" I start out.
Cere hesitates before responding.
"We'll go to the rebel base with the rest of the fleet," she explains. "Though Cal and Merrin expressed some interest in joining Kanan and Ezra in helping the Mandalorians."
I nod my head in understanding, looking back out at space as well.
"How has Merrin adapted to your lifestyle?" I ask curiously. "I don't know much about the nightsisters, but I do know they rarely traveled around the galaxy the way she has."
"She's adapted well. We're all family," Cere states.
"And family is important," I say softly, turning back to look at her. "Cere... I know this is the last thing you want to hear but, you need to hear it. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened with Shaak."
She tenses up, her expression hardened as she glances at me.
"You're right, I don't want to hear it," she mutters irritably. "Because it was my fault. If I could've protected her better, she'd still be alive."
"Maybe you could have. Or maybe you would have died too," I point out. "You don't have to carry every burden yourself."
"You're telling me that?" she asks incredulously, letting out a scoff.
I let out a sigh, knowing exactly what kind of point she was making. And I admit it does seem a bit hypocritical for me to say, but...
"That's not what I'm saying," I reply, shaking my head. "I know what kind of person I may seem like, but the truth is I barely know if I'm doing the right thing half of the time. If it wasn't for my own family, I don't know what I would do with myself."
"Good to know you're not destiny's child," she murmurs sarcastically.
"Listen, the reason I'm telling you this is because there are people more than willing to support you," I say firmly. "You're a good leader for your team. They look up to you."
"But why am I that person?!" she cries out in frustration. "I'm no mentor, not leader! I failed Master Ti, just like I failed Trilla... I failed her..."
I eye her sympathetically as she looks down at the ground with a defeated gaze. As I understand it, Trilla is the Second Sister's real name, which means she was once Cere's apprentice.
"If you were none of those things, then Cal would not have gotten to the place he is today," I say softly, making her pause. "I'm sure Shaak feels the same."
"It doesn't matter what she thinks. She's gone," Cere mutters bitterly.
"No one's ever really gone, Cere," I tell her.
And in Shaak's case, it is completely true. Whenever I had some spare time at Chopper Base, I made sure to teach her the same secret that Master Yoda taught me: the ability to manifest one's consciousness after death.
"What does that mean?" she demands.
"That's something I'll say at a later time," I respond with a sigh. "But you'll always have others to help you, if you'll allow them too."
With that being said, I walk away to leave her to her thoughts.
Author's Note: Shorter chapter, I know, but this part was just something I needed to get past, since I was kind of stuck on it. The rest should be easier for me! :D
Megatron going to meet the Emperor?! That'll be a sight to see. Writing that out will certainly be a bit tricky, since both of them don't like being talked down to, and certainly do not like the idea of not being the one's in charge, lol. Hopefully I didn't make the circumstances for it seem too forced.
Well... this next part is interesting... xD
Lol, so I just got a bunch of reviews on several of my stories from somebody (writing in spanish) who had the gall to claim my work is "dishonoring my creativity" and the way I've included different things beyond Star Wars in the Shaniverse have no logical reason for being so and that it's stupid that I did it; they demanded that I IMMEDIATELY take down the HTTYD aspect of it, saying that it's crap and has no rational reason... while at the time saying I should have Call of Duty soldiers and Dead Space necromorph aliens involved in the Clone Wars/Empire conflict. What?!
I busted out laughing when I read that hahaha. Oh the irony...
Listen, sir, I appreciate that there are some things about my stories you enjoy, like Jarik and Ahsoka's relationship for example, so I mean you no disrespect, but honestly... it's my story. My rules. My vision. So screw your comments. I'm not changing the story just because you think certain aspects of it are retarded. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯