Alright everyone, here we are, the final chapter of act two!

Secrets of The Outer Rim.

Act II.

The Heart of Darkness.

Chapter XXV.

The Escape from Taaszon.


We ran.

Blasting Vader over the edge seemed like a good idea at the time - he was weak from the electrocution and I had the opportunity to get revenge, to get justice - at least as good of an idea as I could muster considering I just saw my friend's head get blown up, but it really only cleared the way for Palpatine's massive star destroyer to open fire. The edge of the elevated walkway, where we had just been standing, was blown away almost immediately, but Phanza, Schweva, and I had just managed to get out of the blast radius of that explosion, and then another, and another. We ran for the terminal where Thonna had been, hoping to use it for cover, and wanting to get back down to the ground level, where hopefully we would be safer, at least having more cover. We rushed down the stairs and into the central compound, running through the middle atrium, right where we had been fighting just now.

I can't believe it, Thonna and I had fought one last time, we fought until she finally saw reason, and we finally had the chance to save her, to free her from the Empire's grasp. Then Vader pulled out that detonator and killed her...did he have one for every Inquisitor, able to dispose of his servants at will? Or was this unique to Thonna, some sort of test to ensure her loyalty to the Empire or be done with her? If it was the former, then that only confirms how miserable my friend must have been among the Inquisitors, and it only makes my failure to save her that much more tragic. If it was unique to her though, then that means that Vader had already suspected her...was it my fault? Did he know that the Padawan braid and lightsaber were staged? Did Vader know something about me or was it simply an educated guess based on the fact that Thonna had lost her lightsaber on Loukhamii, making a victory implausible? I didn't know, I couldn't know right now, but my brain was going through a maelstrom as the battle raged around me.

The whole building shook as Palpatine's star destroyed targeted the station, blowing up the ceiling and sending rubble falling down from the ceiling. I was thrown against a railing, struggling to pull myself back up as Schweva stumbled around me and Phanza bumped into the wall, narrowly avoiding a falling piece of the ceiling above. So much for being a safe place, this place was a death trap waiting to happen, and we needed to get out of here as soon as possible. If we didn't get blown up right away, we were going to get buried under a layer of rubble.

"We need to keep moving!" Phanza echoed my thoughts, moving out to help steady Schweva and pull me off the edge, both of us running down to the lowest level and trying to stay together despite the bombardment. I heard an explosion somewhere behind us and then the crashing of rubble as part of the building collapsed around us, I heard the straining of metal as the building lost structural integrity, and I saw the clouds of smoke and dust rising as rubble collapsed and threatened to turn this whole building and all of us in it into rubble. We got to the ground and rounded the corner, finally seeing an exit in front of us, even if we weren't quite sure which exit it was at this point - being in a collapsing building, finding a way out took priority over finding the right way out - and finally slipped out of the building, emerging on the lower levels of the streets of the capital city.

The three of us weren't quite sure where we were, but we quickly founding out bearings and ran for the shuttle, following the sound of Imperial blaster fire. Vader may be heavily injured and thrown out of the action, but the Empire and its clone troopers were still trying to finish us off, still seeing any surviving Force users and military personnel as a threat to Palpatine's new galactic order. Palpatine didn't want to leave any survivors and, even now, from the bridge of his star destroyer - still gray and triangular like the Imperial Venators, but different somehow, perhaps a unique personal flagship, or maybe a prototype for the new fleet of purpose-built star destroyers, specifically catered to Imperial needs - Palpatine fired off blasters at the city. The tops of buildings were blown up, streets were fired upon, and explosions rang out, even when dangerously close to the invading clone troopers.

It really spelled out the fact that Palpatine didn't care about the clones at all, he saw them as an expendable resource, servants to carry out his will, and to be destroyed at the slightest hint of insubordination, just like the Inquisitors, and likely just like Vader himself. Perhaps Palpatine is the one who crippled Vader and left him in a suitor vulnerable to lightning, ensuring that his apprentice will always be loyal and unable to carry out the infamous practice of Sith inheritance. Palpatine cannot tolerate a threat, he has taken control of the galaxy and now he's determined to hold on to it, and the deadly results of that are plain to see all around us. Dead bodies of clones, Taaszon troopers, Chiss soldiers, and even Sith Lords and apprentices littered the streets, and yet more corpses were being produced as HK-107, Ceyla, and Yevenna held the line at the shuttles.

We finally broke out onto the major avenue of the city, seeing the defensive line and the shuttle right in front of us, but also seeing the clones in front of us, attacking the trio, and seemingly coming close to overwhelming them. We would have to fight through them to get to the shuttle, and we needed to do it fast, because there was only so long that our friends could hold out, and only so long until Palpatine realized what was going on and sent reinforcements. Palpatine did seem to finally show compassion for his troops, as the turbolaser blasts finally ceased, but that was little comfort as the line of clones turned around and opened fire on us. I had to activate my purple and black lightsaber to deflect blasters bolts, still running all along.

Schweva made contact first, activating her lightsaber and then bringing it down, slamming against the line of clones with two vicious swings, with devastating effect. I swung my lightsaber as well, and deflected a pair of blaster bolts as I closed in on the line of clones. I swung my lightsaber twice, bringing down two clones once I finally reached them, however, then I kept moving. The clones turned around, aiming to shoot me, but, having fallen for my distraction, they had turned their back on Phanza. A red and black lightsaber dispatched those clones with rapid efficiency, breaking a hole open in the Imperial line. Schweva and Phanza joined me on this side of the line and, with Ceyla, HK, and Yevenna providing cover fire with their blasters, we ran for cover. I jumped over a piece of rubble and essentially fell to the ground next to Yevenna, getting down as the red-armored Mandalorian held the line with a blaster rifle, two pistols on her hips, a vibroknife in her boot, and the missile on her jetpack as a last resort. She was a walking arsenal but that was exactly what was needed right now. We needed to clear an opening just to get on the shuttle and hopefully get out of here - if we tried right now, we would absolutely get shot down and die a pointless death trying to escape.

"Hand me a pistol!" I called over the sounds of battle. Yevenna kept shooting, mounting her rifle on the rubble in front of us, and using her other hand to pull her blaster pistol out of its holster, handing it to me. I grabbed the pistol and started to fire, thinking that using a gun was the most useful thing I could do at this point - Force lightning is about the only other useful ranged ability I have any practice in, and I've already used far too much of it today - I was too tired to get out of cover and try to move around with a lightsaber, swinging around against the clones. I took aim, amplifying my shoots with the Force, bringing down clones as we hit them, but there was just too many of them, too many clones were crowding us - it was like as soon as we managed to shoot one, two more would appear from somewhere. Perhaps they were regrouping from the streets, perhaps Palpatine was landing more troops, or maybe we were just outnumbered the whole time and our shots just weren't making that much of a difference. Ceyla Ordo grabbed a thermal detonator off her belt, throwing it into the crowd.

The grenade exploded on impact, apparently being a modified type of thermal detonator, but even that only seemed to kill a handful of clones. Phanza rose her hand and, despite her own exhaustion, despite having just fought against Vader, Phanza released a storm of red lightning, hitting the clones again, electrocuting many of them, forcing others to run, and effectively creating a hole in the Imperial line. Then, Phanza stopped the lightning, popped back in cover, and the Imperials rebuild their line, blaster bolts flying all around us every moment. No matter what we tried to do, we just couldn't really create an opening for us, we just couldn't really put a dent into the Imperial lines, nothing was working. HK-107 stepped out of cover and unloaded his heavy blaster rifle across the Imperial line, it seemed like he must have shot a hundred blaster bolts, just shooting across the entire Imperial line, but, even after that, there were still clones, still too many of them. I turned around, seeing the shuttle right there, seeing our way out of here so close, yet so far. We could've gotten out of here so easily, we should have gotten out of here so easily, but there just wasn't an opportunity for us. We had survived the Imperial invasion when so few had, we had survived Vader when three of our friends and an anonymous ally did not, and we had come within seeing distance of our shuttle, but was it all for naught? Was this the end of it?

"Move! I'll cover you!" Ceyla eventually decided, realizing that there wasn't going to be a way for all of us to leave this. None of us moved at first, Yevenna even kept blasting at the clones - none of us wanted to abandon Ceyla, quite frankly, none of us wanted to leave her to die - on the other hand, none of us could come up with an argument against someone needing to sacrifice themselves, because there was no way all of us were going to get out as the situation is. The thought crossed my mind to propose HK-107 be the one to sacrifice himself, as he's just a droid, but...I can't make that argument. Yes HK is a droid and yes things like his bloodlust and his peculiar speech pattern did dehumanize him, but he had a developed personality, emotions, and beliefs. I can't say his life is worth less than the rest of us when I've argued against the Jedi and the Republic killing battle droids. I can't say his life is worth less than our lives when I value R9 and other droids. I can't force him to sacrifice himself when Ceyla has volunteered to do so and he hasn't. I definitely don't want to recommend myself, I don't want to die, and I don't want Phanza, Yevenna, or Schweva to die. Really, I don't want Ceyla to die either, but...I also can't see another way for this to work. Ceyla turned to us again and yelled, more forcefully this time "Go, you have to go!"

"But..." Yevenna tried to argue, but Ceyla cut her off.

"That's an order!" Ceyla declared, using her authoritarian voice, making sure that her protege followed her task. Yevenna Aphlen hesitated for just a moment, but then, she stepped out of cover, backing away while shooting her rifle, heading for the shuttle. I glanced over at Phanza and Schweva, seeing the other two Force users begin to move, igniting our lightsabers and covering us. Meanwhile, in front of us, Ceyla stayed in cover for a moment, seemingly making peace with death, then she cried out a Mandalorian war cry and stepped out of cover, blasting into the air with her jetpack, drawing all the fire, and shooting her blaster pistols, making sure that she took down as many clones as possible. The fire was off of us and we had a proper opening so, letting down their defenses, Phanza and Schweva fled into the shuttle, getting it open and activating it, ready to flee to the Silent Fleet. Yevenna hesitated, not wanting to leave her clan leader, her mentor, but...she had to go, we had to go. I tried yelling at her, getting her attention but, finally...I had to grab Yevenna and pull her to the shuttle, even as she remained fixated on Ceyla. Ceyla launched her jetpack missile and kept blasting even as she started getting hit, even as her beskar armor took a beating. Ceyla was going to die and she was going to die soon, and it was tragic, yet another death to add to the massive pile of deaths, but...if we stayed, if we tried to stop it, we would only add ourselves to the dead.

"No!" Yevenna cried as I finally pulled her into the shuttle, doors closing behind us. The Mirialan was trashing and, honestly, I couldn't blame her. I knew what it was like to have a master sacrifice herself, I knew that it wasn't easy for me when Ullara sacrificed herself, even if I know there wasn't really a way for us to both escape the clones and Order 66 on Ypherro. Now was no different, in fact, it was very much like a second Order 66, so much of Taaszon was eradicated, so many lives lost, and even after all that, we still needed to escape. I turned Yevenna way from the window as more blaster bolts flew into the sky and eventually knocked Ceyla out of the air, I guided her away from the little porthole and sat her down in the shuttle, joining her on the other side. Schweva had taken over piloting the shuttle, being the first one to get inside, and Phanza guided her to the valley. I fell against the seat opposite the Mirialan, watching her take her helmet off and sink into herself, head helmet in her lap and her head against her helmet, the green-skinned humanoid in mourning. I wasn't much better, having lost Thonna right in front of me, seeing Ruumshi and Avoine laying there dead, and even the loss of Grand Duchess Voytana. Yes, the revelation she left me with at the end wasn't great, and I still didn't know how I felt about this Force bond, but that didn't mean that I wanted her to die.

"Two ARC fighters are chasing us." Phanza observed on the shuttle's radar. My eyes darted over to her...two advanced Republic fighters, maneuverable and heavily armed veterans of the Clone Wars, against a boxy, short range shuttle with no real weapons and no real means of evasive flying either. Our heaviest weapons were spent, the Force users on this shuttle were essentially exhausted and depleted, and the best weapon we had was Yevenna's one jetpack missile which, first of all, she's not exactly in any condition to use it right now, second of all, that would still only take care of one of the fighters. Mustering enough power to launch enough lightning to cripple one of these fighters was going to be difficult for us, let alone taking down both, then there was the matter of keeping the shuttle stable as we did so...this wasn't exactly an easy situation. Schweva tried to fly from side to side, up and down unpredictably, trying to keep the ARC fighters from getting a stable lock, but there was only so much that she could do. There was only so much that this shuttle could do.

"Mistress...what do I do?!" Schweva asked, panicking now, the Chiss woman didn't see a way out of this, and, quite frankly, neither did I. Both of us looked at the Nautolan, both of us looked at the woman who just lost her master and her two bodyguards, hoping that she would have the answer, and, in doing so, both of us ignored HK-107. Fortunately for us, the assassin droid spoke up.

"Tactical suggestion: veer off over the ridge, meatbag. Explanation: there are anti-aircraft guns positioned in defense of the Silent Fleet, flying over the ridge will put the ARC-fighters in their range." HK-107 suggested and, lacking better options, Schweva veered off sharply to the left, over the snowy ridge. I grabbed the bench seat I sat on to steady myself, Yevenna got knocked out of her mourning and onto the ground of the shuttle, and the whole craft seemed to groan as it moved beyond its ability, even bumping across the top of the ridge, but, finally, Schweva steadied the ship over the valley. I looked through the front window and saw the ships of the Silent Fleet, massive silver craft beginning to take off, just waiting for one final shuttle to board. True to HK's suggestion, anti-aircraft defenses swung into life and, soon enough, laser turrets, missiles, and railguns made short work of the pursuing fighters, clearing the way for us.

"Straight ahead, that's Wurrathu's command ship. There is a slot waiting for us, land us there. As soon as we're on the catwalks, make a run for the interior. As soon as we're inside and the hatches are sealed, Wurrathu is ordering a full jump to hyperspace." Phanza ordered, relaying Admiral Wurra'thuundo'oma's plan. We all listened carefully, even Yevenna, because we knew that Palpatine and his star destroyers were right there in orbit, and that more likely broke through the space battle - it was probably over by now, come to think of it, our defense fleet either destroyed or routed - our only option was a dangerous jump to hyperspace while still in the planet's atmosphere. We didn't have time to get out of its orbit, we needed to go now.

To that end, as soon as we touched down and the doors opened, we tore out of the shuttle, taking a right on the catwalk, running down the metal floors, then we took a sharp left, running through the last hatch as a Grand Ducal waved us through, waiting for the last one to get through so he could give the all clear and Wurrathu could make the jump. I got inside, then Yevenna, then HK-107 and Phanza, and finally Schweva reached us, right as the door was closing - she had to run from the cockpit all the way here - and, as soon as the door closed, we were knocked to the ground. The whole ship lurched as we jumped to hyperspace, along with the rest of the Silent Fleet, and we escaped Taaszon. The fortunate few who survived the battle, too few.


Phanza, Wurrathu, and a few others had gathered in the meeting room a few hours ago. The Silent Fleet had stopped a ways away from Taaszon, the shuttles ferried some important people from ship to ship, and we were joined by some non-stealth ships as well, the few straggling survivors of the space battle and the first evacuation ships from other worlds. The fleet was now far larger, with the surviving leaders and elites accounted for, and that meant that they had to take stock of what we've lost and plan what happens next. That left Schweva and I waiting outside, myself learning against the door frame, zoning out with hollow feelings of hopelessness and loss, and Schweva prancing back and forth, restless. All the fighting, the death, and the exhaustion we saw on Taaszon, it came with a terrible wave of adrenaline, now, Schweva was having a hard time coming down from that and seeing the bleak reality in front of her. That didn't mean that she wasn't shocked or mourning, she was, it's just that you go through something like that and then it's just over. No great resolution, no last moment victory against the odds, and no great end to it all, just a harrowing escape and the realization that we failed.

I couldn't blame her. I've felt like that myself, having experienced similar things during the Clone Wars. Times where we've tried to hold off the separatists, times where good clones sacrificed themselves, and times where everyone in W squadron fought well, fought valiantly, and it still wasn't enough. The anticlimactic end of a battle where you still hope for resolution, still hope for all the fighting and the adrenaline to come to something, but there's nothing left. The fight is over and the battle was lost, but it doesn't make you feel any different. Yevenna was here too, having taken her armor off and left in just her black bodysuit, but still holding her helmet, still holding the reminder that she was a Mandalorian, a part of a clan, and a member of a clan that had just lost its leader. Yevenna Aphlen was used to loss like this either, Ceyla and Clan Ordo had become her substitute for family, her new home, and now Ceyla was gone. Yevenna didn't know what it was like to be a Mandalorian, a member of Clan Ordo, without Ceyla, and now, because of her sacrifice, Yevenna had no choice but to learn.

How tragic was it that I was the most experience one here? I was the one who faced the most lost, the child soldier who grew up during the Clone Wars, seeing clones die and killing droids all alike, being told that it didn't matter because they were clones and droids, respectively. I was the one who lost her master and all the Jedi she ever knew in Order 66, and, as if that wasn't enough, I just lost Thonna Ai'sunn as well. The Empire had dangled her in front of me, dangled the chance to save my friend and potentially rebuild the Jedi and, as soon as it seemed achievable, they unceremoniously blew her head up and left me with nothing. Nothing but more pain and more loss, adding to the already immeasurable amount of grief and misery I already felt. Was I being desensitized to loss at this point? Perhaps, because I wasn't reacting in the same way that Schweva and Yevenna were. Instead, I just felt empty. Perhaps I was feeling the opposite of Yevenna, perhaps the adrenaline rush had worn off and now I was just left tired and drained from everything that happened today.

Everything that's happened recently, really. The Force bond news, the invasion of Taaszon, seeing all that death. Voytana, Ruumshi, Avoine, Thonna, Ceyla, and all the Force users, soldiers, pilots, and civilians that were unfortunate enough to meet their fate. There was only so much that I could take, only so much loss that I could comprehend, and maybe the reason I'm not pacing like Schweva or obsessively mourning like Yevenna is because my body has just shut down from all the pain and misery and death around me. I don't even know if that's the real answer, I'm not even sure if that's possible, let alone what's going on to me, but I know that I just feel exhausted and broken after all of this. I don't know what the real answer is, I just know that I want today to end. That's not to suggest that tomorrow will be easy, but that today has been difficult enough as it is. I know that we're going to have to cope with everyone that's died and we're going to have to figure out how to rebuild a society as we fly to Dromund Kaas, and that means the coming days are going to be incredibly difficult, but not today.

"Schweva...please stop." Yevenna eventually choked out, unable to cope with the Chiss woman's pacing anymore. It took us both by surprise, myself because I didn't realize Yevenna was bothered by it, and the Chiss apprentice because she almost seemed to have forgotten that the Mirialan was even there. Schweva didn't say anything, but, to her credit, she walked over to the opposite side of the room and sat down, wearing a rather shocked expression on her face, like Yevenna's remark just completely pulled her out of her own thoughts. Schweva sat there, looking stunned, Yevenna sat up, not leaning against her helmet anymore, instead, she leaned back into her chair, looked up at the ceiling, and just sighed deeply. I think the exhaustion was hitting the Mandalorian just like it was hitting me - she cried all the tears she had to cry, she felt the loss as much as she could feel it, and now she just wanted to curl up and be dead to the world for a precious few hours. It may have seemed unlikely, in a room of exhaustion and mourning, but this is where the conversation started.

"I...I apologize, Yevenna. I just can't cope with the uncertainty. We don't know who is going to lead us, we don't know what's waiting for us on Dromund Kaas, and we don't even know if rebuilding this is viable. I don't like it." Schweva revealed, showing how she's feeling. I'm not sure if that was easy for her, growing up in Sith culture, having only just gotten out of the competitive, brutal Sith Academy on Exavellos. Perhaps failed acolytes don't get killed anymore, provided they survive the actual trials themselves, but they are still competing over one slot as one apprentice for one master. There isn't a second chance, no guaranteed second chance anyway, and a chance to become the apprentice to someone like Lady Attam, that's a once in a lifetime opportunity - even if she did get a second chance, Schweva wouldn't get a chance to burst into the upper echelons of Taaszon again - and that's a stressful process. Stressful and brutal, it's had a bit of an effect on Schweva, and I think that means she's somewhat emotionally stunted. Granted, I am too, considering I grew up a Jedi, but still.

"No, no, I understand. It's just stressful." Yevenna replied, and I kinda understood her point. Pacing about, being restless, walking back and forth, it's distracting, and it has this toxic energy about it that is just impossible to ignore. For Yevenna, being there, coping with the loss of her mentor, the woman who took her into the Mandalorians and the Clan Ordo, is now gone, and, while she's trying to come to peace with it, there is an impatient teenager pacing back and forth just waiting for something to happen. That being said, I know what Schweva is feeling and she raised very valid points. Our future is incredibly uncertain and, even though we're all on these ships and all going to Dromund Kaas, there is no guarantee we'll be able to settle this lost Sith Lord. There's no guarantee that the Empire won't find us either, we could get hunted down eventually, even if we seemed like we were safe from it right now. We might not even be able to be cohesive with each other, because, in settling a new place, in finding new leaders, we are potentially creating the recipe for conflict. I decided to get involved and to comment on the situation.

"I don't know what's going to happen either, none of us do, but I think our best chance is being together. The three of us, Phanza, Wurrathu, and anyone else we can trust - that's all we have left, and that's our best chance of surviving against the Empire - we need that." I answer, trying to motivate us, motivate myself even, because moving forward was difficult, the loss was difficult, and rebuilding was difficult, but we needed to rebuild something. I have nothing left without Taaszon, this was the place where I fled to after Order 66, and this was the place where I've achieved the closest thing to happiness that I've been able to feel since Ullara died. Phanza, Yevenna, and even Schweva, this was what I needed now. To that end, I sought to finally fix things with the Chiss apprentice "And Schweva, I'm sorry about questioning you back at Castle Attam. That was wrong of me, I was out of line, and now, after everything that's happened, that whole little feud seems trivial."

"Yes...yes it does. I'm sorry that I spied on you and Phanza, that was out of line too. I'm sorry." Schweva responded, accepting my apology, and making her own. The Chiss woman shot me an awkward smile, probably the best she could muster given the present circumstances, but I appreciated the gesture. Yes there was a certain jealousy there, and yes we were naturally inclined to be rivals considering we were both apprentices of the same master, but that doesn't seem very important right now. We were survivors, we were part of a tiny fraction of survivors of a tiny state trying to take a stand against the Empire, the galaxy-spanning Empire that reigned over the entire Republic, the entire Confederacy of Independent Systems, and carried their influence over independent parts of the galaxy. We were up against an unstoppable goliath and our only hope for surviving this, let alone harming the Empire, let alone toppling it, was to be the strongest version of ourselves possible. That meant that we had to squash our internal conflicts as much as possible and that meant we needed to work together.

"And Yevenna...I don't really know what your plan is now or what you want to do with the Mandalorians, but...if you want to travel alongside us - Phanza, Schweva, and I - I'm certain there's going to be a place for you." I offered the Mirialan the invitation, knowing that she might feel uncertain and alone without Ceyla. I don't think the Mandalorians would turn her away, but, with Ceyla gone, and likely plenty of the other senior staff as well, things might be difficult for the Mandalorian Enclave and, if Yevenna would rather be with us, I'm certain Phanza would accept, for a number of reasons really. First of all, Yevenna had proven herself in her own right, joining Phanza and I on the Loukhamii mission. Second of all, in addition to being a leading member of a powerful Mandalorian clan, Ceyla had been a frequent traveling companion of Phanza and a member of her entourage - even all the way back on Coruscant - so it's only natural that her protege would have a place among us. The third point is a tragic one, but perhaps the most important one as well: that is, with Ceyla, Ruumshi, and Avoine all gone, Phanza is going to need to rebuild her power base. Someone like Yevenna, someone who Phanza has served with in the past and has a connection to, is in an ideal position to fill that void.

"I...thank you." Yevenna replied, not quite ready to make a decision quite yet, but grateful for the offer. I could understand that, she just lost her mentor and now she has to figure out a place for herself, and that's not necessarily a question one can answer right away. I'm not even entirely sure of my place here, I know I'm Phanza's apprentice, but what am I beyond that? I'm certainly not a Sith, but I can't exactly claim that I'm a Jedi either. I'm something else entirely now, a survivor, a Force user, someone traveling with the Sith but unsure of her own exact place in the galaxy. I know who I want to be with, I just don't know what capacity I want to be with these people in. Being confused and uncertain myself, I couldn't expect Yevenna to give an answer right away, especially not after such an exhausting and eventful battle. No, this would take time, thought, and probably quite a bit of healing before she was ready to commit to anything. The conversation kind of died out after that, but I think we were in a slightly better place now than we were before, if for no other reason than we made steps towards making peace with each other. We at least have a future to think of, which is more than most people who went into that battle could say. Poor Thonna...

The door finally opened and some stern faces walked out of the meeting room. A human male Sith Lord in a cape whispered quietly with a Chiss General dressed in white, both of them clearly rather unhappy with the first news coming in after the battle - the amount of lives lost, and just who we lost, was evidently rather staggering. Sure, most of the civilians got off the planet, pardon a few unfortunate souls who got caught in the crossfire or died in the shuttle crash, but we lost a lot of military personnel, a lot of Force users, and, evidently, the situation looked grim if the Empire were to track us down to Dromund Kaas. We would be even less capable of holding them back, and we would have even fewer places to flee to. An elderly Togruta woman followed next, another Sith Lord, but one who was actually weeping - she likely lost her apprentice or someone else close to her in the fighting - and was being consoled by her Trandoshan bodyguard, who himself seemed to be the surviving half of a matching set. A towering Kaleesh man was the next to leave the room, clearly a Sith Lord, armored like one of those Sith Juggernauts Phanza had mentioned once, but also wearing a bandolier, multiple holsters, and having an assault cannon strapped to his back. He had left silently, but the armor he wore and the weapons he wore made me think he was some sort of weapons master or ordinance officer in addition to being a Sith Lord. I didn't much care though, because I was more concerned with the final two individuals to leave the room. Admiral Wurra'thuundo'oma left first, looking older and deeply concerned after the briefing, but, despite that, she managed to muster a polite smile to us before returning to the bridge, making sure everything was running smoothly. That left Phanza.

Phanza waited until the other dignitaries were out of ear shot before sighing and sinking to the floor against the wall, looking plenty tired and emotionally drained herself. I never imagined I would be seeing Phanza like this, knees against her chest, arms laying limp on the ground, and her head against the wall, tattooed head tails hanging down, as she closed her eyes and faced the ceiling. Phanza was as much exhausted from keeping up appearances as she was from the battle. Phanza had the unenviable position of being the clearest candidate for a successor, having been Voytana's apprentice, the current head of the Line of Kallig, and having wielded considerable influence and sway over the Grand Duchy of Taaszon. On the other hand, it wasn't who Phanza was, I don't think. Phanza was a field operative, Phanza ran spy networks, and Phanza controlled a number of assets out in the galaxy. Phanza was used to that and that's how she wanted to serve the Grand Duchy, she wasn't built for administrative tasks, she wasn't ready to lead Taaszon through rebuilding, and she wasn't the type to sit back and run the capital while others did the work necessary to maintain Taaszon. No, Phanza wanted to be traveling the galaxy, making allies, finding resources, and resisting the Empire.

"They want me to lead." Phanza explained in five short words, confirming my suspicions. I understood why they wanted that, it was important to reestablish some sort of system of leadership now that Voytana was gone - and with her, the Pureblooded Sith, the traditional candidates for ruling Taaszon - but I didn't think that Phanza was the one to do it. She was too much of an active player, she was too involved in the Duchy's shadowy interests in the galaxy, and, as someone who could stand toe-to-toe with Vader, she was crucial in case we ever encountered the Empire again. We couldn't relegate Lady Attam to a leadership role, but then...who? I didn't even consider myself a factor, but...did they? Was it common knowledge that I was half-blooded Sith or was that just a secret between Phanza and Voytana? I didn't know, but...what if that's part of it? What if Phanza feels she needs to take the reigns of leadership otherwise they'll try and turn me into their puppet leader? I definitely didn't want that, I wanted no part in running a Sith state, friends or not, but...those men and women who left the meeting room, would they give me a chance to refuse if they knew what I was, who I was? I didn't know, but I had to hope they only saw me as a Jedi newcomer turned Phanza's apprentice, because, that way, I could be irrelevant, invisible almost.

"Would...would that be so bad?" Schweva asked, tentatively, still nervous and not wanting to step on her master's toes. It was an interesting thing about Schweva, she presented this tough face, this vicious Sith who was a relentless and uncompromising fighter, however, peel back that appearance, and you'll find an uncertain and insecure girl who, even now, doesn't feel completely secure in her position. That's why she calls Phanza her mistress, that's why she saw me as a threat, and that's why she was nervous about interacting with Phanza. I didn't think any of it was necessary, but my guess is that this was instilled in her by the Sith Academies and such, where anything she was given could be ripped away from her. She was speaking up now, and I wondered why that was the case - did she want us to be at the top of Taaszon's society? I could see that, but we're already high enough, are we not? And, surely it would be better that we're doing what Phanza feels best with and what makes her the most comfortable, rather than grasping for maximum position for the sake of maximum position.

"I...I don't want to lead, Schweva. I am happy where I am, I am effective where I am. My spies, my movements, by connections out in the galaxy, I want to keep that. I don't want to sit back in a throne room with the lives of every civilian of Taaszon on my shoulders, especially not when we're going to be settling a lost world. I want to act in the best interests of the people, not being responsible for them." Phanza replied, her remarks being similar to what I expected, and showing exactly how the Nautolan was feeling right now. Lady Attam wasn't a leader, she could be an elite, she could be part of the governance of a state, but she wasn't going to be content filling the exact role that Grand Duchess Voytana held. The role is flexible, to an extent anyway, but there is only so much that Phanza can do with that. Fundamentally, if Phanza was going to take over from Voytana, she would have to significantly change what she is doing today, and she doesn't want to do that. I don't want her to do that either, I like the way things are right now and I don't want to change it.

"What about you take that meeting as an example? Lead Taaszon by a provisional council." I proposed, seeing another possibility. I'm not saying that this way is going to be permanent or that it's the perfect answer but, for now anyway, couldn't Taaszon just be led by the council of elites, like the one that just had this meeting? I know that the Grand Duchy was an absolute monarchy and they had all these centuries of being ruled by one Sith Pureblood lineage, with other elites being a chosen few generals and admirals, powerful Force users, and, of course, the Line of Kallig, but did that have to be their government? I'm not saying they need to be a Republic or permanently rule by committee, but can't they change just a bit? This council of elites was meeting anyway, trying to figure out what happens next, is it really all that radical to suggest they could stick around for a little bit longer?

"I don't know Zaliza, I don't know." Phanza sighed, closing her glossy black eyes and resting. This was a complicated day, a hard day, and, quite frankly, I didn't know when things would go back to normal or even what the new normal is going to be. Taaszon and our lives on it, for all intents and purposes, is gone, because we're not going to reclaim that world from the Empire, not anytime soon anyway, and we're going to have to rebuild on Dromund Kaas. Try to rebuild anyway, because we don't know what's waiting for us or how hospitable that world is going to be - from what I've heard, there were cities, estates, bases, and other significant pieces of infrastructure on this world, but that was all four thousand years ago, who knows what is there now - it could all be overgrown with jungle, for all that we know. We have a very uncertain future ahead of us, and it was stressful for everyone. No one was ready to make big decisions right now, and that includes Phanza. The leadership question will have to wait for another day.


"This section is ours," Phanza led us to a section of the ship, containing a common room and five large bedrooms, each equipped with their own bathrooms, refreshers, and such. HK-107 sat deactivated in his own little enclave in the common room, powered down and recharging. Then there was a large viewport along the wall, presently showing the streaking blue lines of hyperspace flying past us. Yevenna, Phanza, Schweva, and I each headed to our assigned room - all of us collectively ignoring the empty bedroom that would have belonged to Ceyla - trying to see what our lives would be while flying to Dromund Kaas. The Silent Fleet was very advanced and built with huge amounts of lost technology, but they weren't entirely modern. One consequence of that, and probably a consequence of their massive scale as well, is the fact that the Silent Fleet is incredibly slow. The price to pay for a fleet of massive refugee ships linked together and cloaked from any Imperial tracking or scanning. In any case, I opened my room.

The metal door slid open, revealing the gray walls and my possessions. A bad sat in the middle of the room with a dresser - containing the robes and clothes that Phanza had for me - R9-W3 sat deactivated in the corner of the room, and a few minor things like holocommunicators, comlinks, datapads, and my blaster pistol sat on the little table against the wall of the room. It was a scarce room, showing that I had almost nothing to my name, but, at the same time, I owned far more than a Jedi should. I wasn't living as a poor, defensive monk anymore, but I also wasn't living like a regular person. I was locked in a strange limbo between the world of a Jedi and the world of anything else. I didn't really care about that much, instead, I tossed my lightsaber on the end table, took my boots, belt, and gloves off, and laid down on my bed in my robes, letting my body sink into the mattress and then exhaling, let out all the pain and just the immense weight of the day. I raised my hand and ran it through my hair, stopping in the place where a Padawan braid was once clipped to my hair.

"Thonna...I'm sorry." I whispered, knowing that I failed to save my friend, knowing that I'll never see her again, and knowing that she became yet another victim of the Empire. Palpatine, Vader, and all those clone troopers were murderers, they were traitors, having defied the values of the Republic, the code of the Jedi, and having stripped the citizens of the galaxy of their rights and freedoms. Palpatine was evil, Vader was evil, and the longer they were able to reign over the galaxy, the more damage, the more death, and the more misery they would cause. Palpatine has to be stopped, needs to be stopped, and, whatever rises to fill the power vacuum, at very least it won't be as much of a threat as Palpatine. He is uniquely evil, he plotted for the destruction of the Jedi, the subjugation of the Republic, and engineered the whole separatist conflict - though likely taking advantage of real grievances and a real movement - to create the circumstances for his ascendancy. Palpatine is brilliant in how he is evil, and that is why he needs to die. So long as Palpatine lives, there is no way that peace can thrive in the galaxy.

We are going to have to fight the Empire, we are going to have to find a way to make a stand even as we are rebuilding on the fringes of the galaxy, and we are going to need to find a way to win when every single metric is in their favor. The future isn't going to be easy, we already know that, but we're going to need to move forward in spite of that. That was the mindset I went to bed with, knowing it will be difficult, but knowing what we're doing is necessary.


Alright everyone, one more act to go!