The Force's Shepherds

Chapter 143

A Stolen Ship

Meditation was one of the few solaces Ben felt he had left in this life. Especially in the wake of Ylisstol's invasion and destruction. Through the force, he could confront the pains in his heart and mind, and at least attempt to calm himself. Since the Antilles residence was located on the outskirts of Coronet City, he was able to easily find a quiet spot outside of the fuel depot for such an activity.

As he meditated, Ben finally had a chance to gather his thoughts and clear his mind. To finally run through everything that had happened and maybe gain some clarity on what step to take next.

Even in this relaxed state, with the force flowing through him unimpeded, his mind continued to reel from the absolute storm of disasters that hit him and his friends recently. There was so much loss, so much pain; his heart still ached from it all. He could feel the pain radiating from the Shepherds in the fuel depot.

They wanted vengeance, especially Chrom. Ben could see that look in his eyes. He had seen such a thing before. That spark in the eyes, not of life, but of anger, of hatred. He saw it in Anakin's eyes on Mustafar, he saw it in the eyes of Clones under his command when they lost a brother to the droid army, he saw it in the young padawans who lost masters during the Clone Wars, and he at one time felt it in himself on Naboo when Qui Gon died.

So now, more than ever, it was important for him to be centered. To be the mediator that a Jedi Master should be, and the comforter that a friend should be. He could not do either if he was not in his own right mind.

Yet, how could he get into his right mind? How could he be centered when he had learned a terrible truth? Darth Vader lived… Anakin lived.

No. He reminded himself, clamping down on his thoughts as they started to tread down a dangerous road, Anakin is dead. Vader killed him.

Yes… that is what happened. Anakin died, and Darth Vader replaced him. The monster he fought on Mustafar was not the young man he had grown to love as a brother. Sidious and Vader slew that brave Jedi Knight and replaced him with a monster. He could not forget that fact. Vader was the enemy. Vader wiped out the Jedi. Vader will have to be dealt with.

But not yet, and he certainly could not seek out such a fight. Not with the rebellion against the Empire in a fledgling state. Absolutely not with the Emperor, Vader, and the new Sith named Ragana growing in power. Besides, defeating Vader would not end the problem. It would be the equivalent of taking out a weed without removing the root. Sidious needed to be defeated, along with Vader. If that could be accomplished, then perhaps the Shepherds could have their justice, along with all of the other souls those two had destroyed during their short time in power.

In order for all of that to happen, the Rebellion needed to grow. That is where Ben felt hesitation enter him. Master Yoda ordered him to safeguard Luke. To watch over him, to mentor him when required, and to make sure the Sith never learned of him. If the Shepherds entered the Rebellion full force, then the Sith were going to learn of Luke. Not the young Luke living in Chon'sin; Ben trusted Yen'fay to not allow anything to happen to the boy. No, a more dangerous Luke would be within the Emperor's sights. One already well versed in the dark side, and much more prone to giving in to its temptations.

Sure, Luke, the one from the future, had grown a lot during his time in the past. He had forsaken the teachings of his Master, Maul; or at least he has tried to. He has worked diligently to make himself not only a better fighter and a better force adept but a better man too. Ben had to give credit to Yen'fay and Cynthia for that. Without them, Ben was not sure if Luke would have ever changed from his destructive ways.

But would he remain on the right path once confronted with Vader, or Sidious? Sidious managed to turn two of the greatest Jedi in existence, Dooku and Anakin. How likely would it be for him to easily turn a very threatened Luke? To Ben, such a scenario was very likely.

Which is part of the reason why he urged caution right now. Diving right into the Rebellion, a rebellion that is not unified, would be foolhardy. They needed a plan, a direction, and Ben did feel he had something like that in mind. He needed to shepherd Luke, but he could not do that alone. The boy needs a greater mentor.

He needs Master Yoda.

Ben heard the sounds of quiet footfalls drawing near before he detected Ahsoka's very repressed force signature. When he did notice her arrival, he cracked an eye open and saw the Togruta kneeling down beside him, eyes closed in meditation as well.

He shifted where he sat, drew in a deep breath, and tried to recenter himself.

"You're slouching, Master." Ahsoka muttered, a slight smirk on her lips, "Were you asleep?"

Ben's eyes opened and he uttered an amused sound, "Hardly, Ahsoka."

"Uh-huh, sure. I'm pretty sure I heard snores."

"You heard nothing but my breathing."

Ahsoka's eyes flicked open as she chuckled, "Perhaps. But then again, your word against mine there." She flopped back onto her butt and crossed her legs, "Enjoying a moment of peace?"

Ben snorted, "Peace is a relative term in this instance. The quiet is nice, but my mind certainly does not feel silent."

Ahsoka nodded, "Well, you've been through a lot master. We all have. Everyone has to deal with it in their own way." She gave him an inquisitive look, and on the fringes of Ben's senses, he felt her bright presence brush against his, "It's not just recent events getting to you, is it?"

"No," Ben readily admitted, "It is not." He drew in a deep breath, "What do you think of Luke?"

Ahsoka knitted her brow, "What do I think of him? That's a bit of a broad question, don't you think? Besides, I'm pretty sure he's spoken for."

"N-not like-" Ben sputtered before trailing off. Ahsoka's light snickers made him roll his eyes.

"I know, Master. I'm just messing with you." Ahsoka drew in a breath, "Well, from what little I've been able to gauge of him, he's strong. Very strong, but… how close does he run to the dark? Mace Windu and Quinlan Vos close, or worse?"

Ben grimaced, "For a time, worse."

"As bad as a sith?"

He gave her a grim nod, and Ahsoka's eyes widened.

"Oh. Then why is he here?"

Ben let out a long exhale, "Because Master Yoda ordered me to look out for the boy."

Now Ahsoka looked extremely perplexed. She frowned, rested her head on her right hand, and hummed, carefully studying Ben's features as she picked at some grass in front of him. Before she could ask any more about the topic, Ben glanced at her.

"I'm not sure how well I'll be able to do that if we are directly confronting Sidious and Vader without getting him more help."

Ahsoka's fingers tapped the side of her head, "And why do you care so much? I mean, I get that he's part of your group. He's close to your friend's future daughter, and all that. But why do you personally care so much?" Her eyes widened, "Don't tell me your future self had two kids…"

Ben coughed hard, "N-no, nothing like that. At least, not that I'm aware of. No, he's…" He drew in a deep breath, "He's Anakin and Padme's son."

Ahsoka did not react at first. Then, slowly, all the color in her orange face drained. Her blue eyes widened, and her jaw fell open. Ben could sense her previously serene force signature flaring wildly as her emotions ran amok. Her head rose from her hand, and she glared at Ben.

"He's- he's-" Ahsoka ran a hand along her brow, "Oh that explains some things."

"It does."

"Yes, it does." She flicked her eyes at the sky, muttered something under her breath, "And yes, we need to get him more help. I assume the Jedi Master you know on Dagobah can help him?"

Ben nodded.

"Well," Ahsoka rose to her feet, "We need to get off this rock then. Want to go find your ship?"

Ben rose to his feet as well, "Sounds like you're making the hard decisions for me?"

Ahsoka snorted at that, "I have to. If you're joining the rebellion, then until you're named a General I am your superior, Master."

Ben chuckled along with her as they marched back to the Fuel Depot, probably to gather a few Shepherds for their short journey deeper into the Corellian Jungles.

"Give it time, and you'll remember your place, young Padawan."

"I left the Jedi, so you can't pull rank there." Ahsoka replied, throwing her head back with a laugh, "Now then, who do you want to bring with us?"

Ben rubbed his chin as they approached the Fuel Depot's living quarters. Nowi couldn't go, due to obvious reasons. Tharja would likely not leave either, since she was helping Nowi care for the newborn Nah. Cynthia would stay behind, which meant Luke would stay back too. Cordelia and Severa would need to remain behind. And Chrom… Ben felt he needed more time to grieve and process everything. As for Aversa, the less she was involved the better. Less tension that way.

"I'll grab Gaius, Panne, Brady, and Tiki since we'll need her to temporarily power the ship."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow, "Why would you need her to power the ship?"

"Dragon magic."

Ahsoka ground to a halt and gave Ben a dumbfounded look.

"Dragon what!?"

Tiki took a deep breath of the heavy, humid jungle air, and slowly exhaled as she trailed behind Ahsoka, Gaius, Panne, and Brady. This place reminded her so much of her old home in Valm, atop the immense boughs of the Mila Tree. Of course, there were no trees on Corellia that could match the sheer size of the Mila Tree, but the same atmosphere existed. She was used to the faint chirps and buzzes of insects buzzing through thick foliage, used to the chattering of animals roaming through the forest floor and tree limbs. The familiar sensations were comforting, which was absolutely something she needed right now.

That vision she had, the one on Mortis, where she spoke to that entity known as the Father; it rattled her. When that strange vision began, she expected to receive some answers to burning questions she's had for a while now. Why was her mother all of a sudden a part of another person? What was Grima's connection to all of the strife going on, not just on her homeworld, but in the galaxy in general? Why was the Dark Side growing so strong so swiftly? Why was the Father a decrepit madman one moment, then lucid the next?

None of those questions were really answered. To Tiki, everything she learned in the vision seemed like a complicated riddle. A puzzle that, if she had the missing pieces, would be solvable. But those missing pieces were not just missing, they seemingly did not exist, and all she could do was infer the whole picture. And just when she thought she finally could see something coherent, a new puzzle piece caused all the others to no longer fit.

The Father feared something. He feared an entity that was coming into the vision, invading Mortis with its presence. It was a suffocating… something. Tiki hesitated to call it darkness, because darkness was at least tangible. She could understand darkness, even if she did not align with it. She could understand Grima, understand the Sith, and that allowed her to take comfort in the fact that she could figure out a way to defeat them.

The new presence that invaded Mortis, stealing the Father's sanity from him and leaving nothing but a shell of an old man, was nothing. Literally nothing. A blank void in life and in the force that stole Tiki's breath from her body and caused fear unlike any she had felt in millennia to rise up within her. The worst part of all this was that she did not understand it. The Father called the presence The Chaos. But what did that mean? Was it a literal term? Figurative?

None of this makes sense.

And to top off her recent surge of anxieties, when Tiki awoke from the vision, she discovered that the seals placed on her power so many centuries ago were gone. Destroyed due to the immense strain powering the Ark had placed on her magic.

She did not intend for that to happen. She intended to power the ark with a steady stream of her powers, much like how she powered her dragon form through a dragonstone. The Ark was a conduit, and it needed to be treated carefully due to how easily she could pour her power into it. Clearly, something went awry in the Shepherds' escape to cause her to lose control of powers. Something caused her to involuntarily shatter the seals on her magic in order to maintain the Ark's flight.

Tiki had a feeling that thing was what caused the Ark to jump across the galaxy and to a completely new planet.

But I cannot speculate. She drew in a deep breath as she hopped over a fallen, moss-covered tree, her footfalls light in the soft soil beneath her, Such strange things are not my area of expertise.

That fact only made her anxieties worsen. She was no longer the expert here. Back in Valm and Archanea, people turned to her for wisdom, whether from her or Naga. Three thousand years of experience lends itself to much knowledge in many areas of life. But all of this insanity involving new planets, Togruta, Jedi, and Sith, even these new aspects of the Force she had been unaware of; they were all new to her. She was as lost as any of the other Shepherds, and that gave her much pause. One of the few securities she had were the seals on her power, the seals on the world ending abilities she could possess.

With those gone, what would happen now? Three thousand years was a long time, even for a Manakete. Would she start to degenerate now that her full powers were unleashed? Would she lose her mind the way Duma and Mila had so long ago? Naga forbid that happens.

There must be a way to undo the damage.

"You seem distressed."

Tiki's gaze whipped to her right, where she spotted Ben Kenobi striding alongside her through the thick Corellian jungle.

"Of course you would be asking me such a question." She sighed, "My aura must be quite erratic right now."

Ben gave her a small nod, "If by aura, you mean your signature in the force, then you'd be correct." His brow furrowed as she snorted a little bit, "Is something wrong?"

"There are many things wrong right now, Master Kenobi, but what may or may not be wrong with me should be the least of your priorities."

"See," Gaius spun around and started walking backward, apparently having eavesdropped on the start of their conversation, "That's where you're wrong, Granny."

Granny!?

"You're one of the Shepherds, so whatever bothers you, bothers all of us. Ain't that right, Whiskers?"

"If you're referring to your shenanigans and annoying nicknames, then yes." Panne remarked, reaching over and spinning him back around, "Don't you know it's rude to refer to a woman's age?"

Gaius blinked, "Well yeah, but I didn't think you'd know that."

"I've lived among humans long enough to pick it up now. That, and I heard Duchess Maribelle mention something once or twice."

"Anyways," Ben quickly interjected, waving a hand at Panne so that the Taguel knew to keep Gaius from entering the conversation again, "Gaius is not necessarily wrong. You're part of the Shepherds, and if Chrom wasn't as out of it as he is, he'd be pestering you about this just as much as I am. Perhaps, even more."

Tiki uttered another heavy sigh, "You may not be wrong, but my personal problems cannot be solved with a good chat. They certainly cannot be remedied through efforts from the Shepherds, although the desire to help is appreciated. What I face I must face on my own and solve alone."

"Cryptic much?" Gaius muttered, earning a harsh smack on his shoulder from Panne.

"I think it might be a good idea for everyone to quiet down now." Ahsoka called, "We're nearing the crash site, and we may not be the only ones interested in it anymore."

True to Ahsoka's word, Tiki saw a stark change in the foliage and canopy around them. Treetops were shattered and broken, some looking like they were chewed away by a dull saw. Faint char marks littered tree trunks. Patches of scorched earth and smoking cinders of burnt plants popped up all around them. Finally, the gentle earth beneath Tiki's feet turned into a deep trench formed by the harsh impact of a large object. Like something akin to an enormous spell colliding with the ground.

Seeing the area around where the Ark crashed caused Tiki's eyes to widen. In order for this much damage to occur, they had to have been traveling at a ridiculous speed.

"Naga, how did we survive?"

Ben let out a quiet laugh at that, "I ask myself that question after every crash landing."

Tiki gaped at him, "You've done this before?"

Ben nodded, "Remind me to tell everyone about the Battle of Coruscant someday."

"Oh by the Force, what did you and Skyguy do back then, Master?" Ahsoka asked, snickering under her breath as they neared the resting place of the Ark.

"Only the usual, Ahsoka. Except instead of the Twilight, we used General Grievous's flagship."

Ahsoka glanced back at Ben with a dumbstruck look, "Yeah… how are you alive right now?"

"Ask the force, surely it… knows… why…"

Ben trailed off when they reached the spot where the Ark crashed. Except, the ark was missing. There was nothing in this area of the jungle except for a deep trench of disturbed earth, scorch marks littering the trees, and evidence of more earth being disturbed around the area.

Tiki furrowed her brow, "Did we come to the wrong spot?"

"No," Ahsoka's playful demeanor was gone, "we did not." She shook her head, the hood of her cloak shaking with it as she looked around the crash site, "Someone got here before we did."

"Who?" Ben immediately asked, "The Empire?"

"We told the Empire to go away, remember?" Ahsoka replied, "And the Empire is not competent enough to investigate a strange sighting twice. They're lazy like that."

"So that rules out the authorities." Gaius muttered, stepping out of their small column in order to look around more, "Any unsavory folks that would see the Ark as a nice prize?"

"Unsavory?" Brady grunted as he leaned on his staff, "I'm pretty sure a big ass planet would have unsavory elements on it, right?"

"You wouldn't be wrong." Ahsoka muttered, "The question becomes: which gang decided to nab your ship?"

"Gang?" Tiki echoed, "A criminal element is at play here?"

"It's Corellia, so I'm not surprised." Ben sighed, "Probably should've seen something like this happening, but it's not like we could act any sooner." He flicked his eyes around the crash site, hand never leaving the lightsaber on his hip, "Although, I think it'd be best for us to leave now. Just in case there are any unsavory elements keeping watch in the area."

Ahsoka frowned, "Why? Do you sense something?"

Tiki's senses went on alert as Ben unclipped his lightsaber.

"Call it instincts, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka inclined her chin then pursed her lips, "And your instincts are rarely wrong. We should definitely go then."

Before Ahsoka could turn and walk away, Tiki smelled something smoky on the wind. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of red light rocketing towards Brady. She didn't cry out or holler at him. Instead, she threw herself at the priest, tackling the young man to the ground as a blaster bolt screamed over their heads.

Lightsabers hummed to life as a flurry of blaster bolts followed the first one. Ben and Ahsoka positioned themselves between the blaster fire and the Shepherds, easily deflecting the bolts back into the jungle, towards their hidden shooters. Panne quickly ducked into the deep trench running towards the crash site, pulling Gaius down into it with her. Meanwhile, Tiki pinned Brady to the ground and glared at him.

"Stay down." She said, letting her fangs show just enough to get how serious she was across to him.

Brady gave her a shaky nod, then Tiki rose to her feet. She calmly strode up behind Ben and Ahsoka.

"Tiki!" Ben exclaimed, spotting her marching up alongside them, "Perhaps you should-"

He didn't get the chance to finish as white fire burst to life in Tiki's hands. She grit her teeth, harnessed the powerful magic she had, and fired twin infernos into the thickets around the crash site. Through the fires' roar, her sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of people screaming, and footsteps scrambling around their position.

"Left!" She snapped at Ahsoka.

The Togruta dashed in that direction, her second lightsaber bursting to life in her right hand. Tiki let the fire in her hands die down, and allowed the flames burning the thickets to chase the enemy away. Ben kept his lightsaber ignited as he eyed the area around the crash site, face grim.

A loud cry rang out, followed by the sound of lightsabers whirring and blaster bolts firing, then silence. A couple of moments later, Ahsoka emerged from the thickets with a dead gangster in tow. A red sun was painted on the gangsters' armor, and Tiki did not miss the scowl on Ahsoka's lips as she dragged the gangster towards her and Ben.

"Crimson Dawn." Ahsoka growled as she let go of the body, "Kriff!"

Ben's grim expression turned into a worried one, "Bad?"

"Very bad." Ahsoka huffed, arms folding over her chest, "Dragon Lady, any idea if you roasted all of them?"

Tiki shook her head, not batting an eye at Ahsoka not referring to her by her name, "No. That spell is typically an emergency measure, but it was much easier to employ this time than before."

"Blasts!" Ahsoka hissed, "Then that means we need to assume some escaped."

"And they know who we are," Ben mumbled, de-igniting his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt again.

"Both of us, which is even… damn it!" Ahsoka bellowed, "And if they're here, then that means they're likely the ones who have your ship."

Ben eyed the thickets once again. Behind him, Panne, Gaius, and Brady carefully emerged from their cover; all of them giving Tiki wide-eyed looks as they observed the burning inferno in the jungles.

"The Empire won't miss the massive smoke signal either." Ben muttered, nodding to the white fire surrounding them, "We really need to go now. Panne, can you get back before us and inform the Shepherds that we need to have an emergency meeting?"

"I shall." Panne nodded, quickly morphing into her Taguel form and dashing off in the direction they all came from.

"We should follow her, and move just as fast too." Ben commented to Tiki and Ahsoka, "We don't want to linger here."

"Agreed," Tiki replied with a nod, "Lead the way, Miss Tano?"

Ahsoka drew in a deep breath through her nose, her sharp eyes studying the area a little longer. Then, after a heavy exhale, she let out a quiet laugh.

"Miss Tano? That's a new one." She cleared her throat and waved at the Shepherds, "Let's go."

To say everyone was nervous would be an understatement. Ben could see the mixture of serious masks and anxious fiddling on full display among the Shepherds as they all gathered around the table in the Antilles Residence. Panne had managed to get back to the Fuel Depot in record time and quickly informed everyone of what happened at the crash site. So when Ben returned with the others, he was greeted with a worried embrace from Tharja and Noire, along with a flurry of questions from the others that made his head spin.

And as he reeled from the questions, Ahsoka quickly asserted authority. Her voice held command to it that surprised the Jedi Master since he had never seen it before from the young Togruta. Truly, the horrors of the Clone Wars latter days, the siege of Mandalore, and being on the run from the Empire had hardened her. Molded her into a capable warrior, commander, and leader. The sharp tone she took in order to bring the emergency meeting to order was more than enough to silence everyone and force everyone, including Gaius amazingly enough, to take a seat and listen.

When everyone was brought to order, and when Ben recounted everything that had occurred at the Ark's crash site, silence hung thick in the Antilles Residence. Jagged and his wife were both off to the side, nervously watching over everything and occasionally peeking through the nearby window to make sure no one was arriving at the Depot. Jagged held his son Wedge by his shoulders, preventing the curious boy from butting into the meeting.

And by the table, Chrom leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on the tabletop as he gave Ben, Tiki, and Ahsoka a weary look.

"So, not only are we contending with the Empire, but we're contending with criminals. Bandits, in a sense?"

Ahsoka shrugged, "Bandit is a bit of a crude term for them, but they really are no better. And the Crimson Dawn is far more dangerous than petty criminals."

"Do explain?" Tharja remarked, her dark eyes carefully studying Ahsoka.

"The Crimson Dawn is a fairly new crime syndicate in the galaxy. They basically came out of nowhere, took vast swaths of territory that used to belong to the Shadow Collective and the Hutts, and are now considered the most dangerous gang in the galaxy. Dangerous enough to start warranting attention from the Empire, if my contacts are correct."

"And they have our ship?" Chrom replied, running a hand along the stubble that lined his chin.

Ahsoka gave him a stiff nod. Before Chrom could reply, Ben cleared his throat.

"I feel I must remind you that we are at a complete disadvantage against the Crimson Dawn. While we may be physically more capable, and maybe even more intelligent, we are not at an advantage for armaments. Swords will do little good against blasters, unfortunately."

"Which means we can't go and kick their teeth in." Chrom thought with a scowl.

Ben saw his fists ball up, and knew exactly what Chrom was feeling. He had a lot of pent up rage and aggression to unleash. So much pain that needed to be vented, or worked through. Chrom was always a more aggressive person, far more so than his sister Emmeryn. He solved problems head-on, and always was ready to draw Falchion. That recklessness had been tempered significantly due to the realities of war and leading a nation. But now, he was a man with almost nothing to lose. His nation was gone, his wife dead, his daughter (both current and future) no longer with him. One of them was even in the hands of the Empire. Ben knew he would fight through any and all obstacles to get Lucina back, and in this instance, that would not be the best option.

"Gaius," Ben began, "how confident are you when it comes to stealing a ship?"

Gaius sputtered as he sipped a glass of blue milk. He coughed hard, then gave Ben an incredulous look.

"What are you- do you have any idea how much detail goes into a heist, Benny?"

Ben shrugged then sank down onto a sofa, sitting right beside Tharja, "Enlighten me."

Gaius shot to his feet, "Well, first of all, I need to know where the hell we're stealing from. Contrary to my boasting, of which I've done a lot, I cannot break in and out of every single place in the world- er- galaxy- Corellia?"

"Focus Gaius." Panne chided.

"Yeah, yeah, the point is: I have no idea where these Dawn guys are keeping the ship. For that matter, I don't know their numbers, the routine of their guards, weaponry of the enemy, how likely they are to catch us if we got close, or any possible escape routes. You-" He let out an exasperated laugh, "you're about to ask me to do a blind heist, aren't you?"

The other Shepherds turned their gazes to Ben. Ben, however, did not hesitate as he nodded to Gaius.

"If it helps at all," Tiki said, "you won't be doing it alone."

Gauis ran a hand through his hair, "That… that doesn't help much at all. The more people involved in the heist, the more variables I need to consider. Not to mention that the more moving pieces there are, the more likely something can go wrong. Besides, Benny, you might be stealthy, but I don't get the feeling Granny, or anyone else here, is."

"I can be stealthy." Ahsoka shrugged.

"I don't know you, so I felt like I shouldn't judge." Gaius replied, gesturing to Ahsoka, "And regardless of how sneaky people here are, this is nearly impossible."

"As impossible as breaking Exalt Emmeryn out of Plegia?" Ben remarked.

Gaius snorted, "I think we all remember how well that worked out, right Red?"

Cordelia's eyes fell to her lap as she sat in her wheelchair next to Severa, "Yup…"

"So what you're saying is, it can't be done?" Ben remarked.

"I'm not saying that." Gaius breathed, his hands resting on his hips, "I'm saying it'll be damn difficult."

"We've faced more difficult that this before, Shepherds." Chrom spoke up, a sharp edge in his voice as he leveled his gaze at everyone, "We've survived and persevered through worse. Gaius, if you have what you need, can you get the Ark with the help of Ahsoka, Ben, and Tiki?"

Gaius rubbed his chin, "Well, yeah, probably."

"Then that settles it," Ben remarked, rising to his feet, "Gaius, Ahsoka, we're going scouting."

"Oh, just like old times." Ahsoka chirped.

Ben chuckled, "Yes, just like old times."

He glanced around at the Shepherds once again. Through the force, he could sense that none of the nervousness they felt had faded away. They were all scarred by recent events, and none of them had relaxed since the days before Ylisstol's destruction. Even little Nah, who rested swaddled in Nowi's arms, appeared to be sleeping fitfully. But the person who appeared to be the most anxious was, surprisingly, Tharja as she sat right behind Ben, her hands clenched tightly in her lap.

"Go ahead you two." He told Ahsoka and Gaius, "I need a moment."

Ahsoka gave Ben a wry smile, "Don't take too long."

Ben rolled his eyes as the Togruta and the Thief left the building. Once they were gone, and the other Shepherds started to break apart for the evening, Ben gestured for Tharja to follow him outside.

A heavy, humid wind washed over him as they both stepped outside. Ben led Tharja around the building in the opposite direction of Ahsoka's ship, just so Gaius wouldn't do what he does best: eavesdrop. Once Ben was certain they had privacy, he slipped his hand into Tharja's and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Everything is going to be fine." He breathed to her.

Tharja's dark eyes closed and a shaky breath left her lips, "You seem so certain. Yet… things have been anything but fine for a while now."

Ben pursed his lips, "Yes, but we have a path forward."

"And the path happens to have bandits and an evil empire waiting to destroy us as we walk along it." Tharja retorted, her chin tucking as she looked down at her feet, "Ben, I can't help but have a bad feeling about all of this. I may not have the force as you do, but I can't shake the feeling that something is working against us on this planet."

Ben's brow knitted, and he gently cupped Tharja's chin and raised her eyes up to meet his. A gentle smile passed over his lips, and he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. One that Tharja eagerly returned. When they parted, Ben rested his forehead against hers.

"Everything will be fine. Gangsters are just another thing to deal with out here."

Tharja let out a strained laugh, "Dealt with them often?"

"More often then you'd think. And so long as one of them is not named Hondo Ohnaka, I'd say we have a good shot of getting our ship back."

Tharja arched an eyebrow, "Hondo who?"

An embarrassed blush shot over Ben's cheeks, causing Tharja's worry to be replaced by amused curiosity.

"Oh, that is a story you will have to tell me sometime."

"You and Noire will get a kick out of it, I'm sure."

A small whistle sounded nearby, making both Ben and Tharja whip their eyes towards Ahsoka's ship. Ben had a scolding for Gaius ready on his lips, until he saw Ahsoka smirking at him, arms folded over her chest.

"Let's go, Master!" Ahsoka called, "Unless you plan on going to your room for a few minutes?"

"Ahsoka Tano!" Ben shot back, making the Togruta laugh and saunter back into her ship.

Tharja chuckled lightly, "You better get going. Oh… and inform that alien that if she tries to embarrass us like that again, she'll get a first-hand experience with one of my hexes."

Ben blanched as Tharja's light chuckles turned into dark snickers.

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Benny!"

Ben rolled his eyes, "Can't have a moment of peace." He muttered under his breath.

With one last peck of Tharja's lips, Ben spun on his heels and marched to Ahsoka's ship. As he boarded, he noticed both Gaius and Ahsoka giving him wide, knowing grins. Grins that caused him to roll his eyes. As if to mirror how he felt, Artoo gave him a sympathetic beep.

"Don't you two have better things to do?" Ben wondered out loud.

"While flying, nope." Ahsoka snorted, making Gaius laugh.

"I like this one!"

Ben sighed and sank into a seat behind Ahsoka, "Wonderful, I need to deal with two childish padawans."

Gaius uttered a happy gasp as the engines hummed to life, "You think of me as a student now too?"

"N-no I-" Ben groaned and massaged his temples, "Force I should've brought Panne."

"My leash is no longer here, so I can say whatever I want, Benny." Gaius replied with a haughty laugh, "Ain't that right, Soak?"

"Soak?" Ahsoka parroted, giving the thief an amused smirk as she guided her ship into skies so they could fly into Coronet City.

"Yeah, soak. Easier to say than you're actual name, and I'm having a hard time coming up with something else."

"Call her Snips," Ben said, making Ahsoka jerk her head around to glare daggers at him.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi you better not give him-"

Gaius guffawed, "You know what? Snips works."

Ahsoka sighed and sagged in her seat, "Thought I was finally rid of that one."

"You'll never get rid of it, Ahsoka." Ben chuckled, "Not so long as I'm around."

He could see her trying her best to stay irritated, but the smile tugging on the corners of her mouth betrayed her true feelings. Ben could only imagine the joy of knowing that one of her old friends was not only alive but planning on sticking around. It would be like if he ran into someone like Quinlan Vos, Master Luminara, or Qui Gon again.

If only that could happen to everyone.

"So, what are you expecting from the Crimson Dawn?" Ben asked Ahsoka.

"What I'm expecting is violence," She replied, "What I'm hoping for is that we can negotiate for the ship."

"Ah, so prepare for aggressive negotiations?"

"Is there any other way?"

Both Ahsoka and Ben fell into laughter, causing Gaius to give both of them a puzzled look. The thief leaned back in his seat, folded his hands behind his head, and kicked his feet up on the dash.

"Aggressive negotiations… what exactly does that mean?"

"Lightsaber diplomacy." Ahsoka quipped, giving Gaius a shrug, "Same old, same old."

Gaius pursed his lips, "Oh… well, not much changes from planet to planet, eh Benny?"

Ben let out a long exhale as his laughter faded away, "Indeed, not much changes at all."

And chapter! HOLY SHIT, it's been a while folks. Almost three… no, four months. Damn, that's a bit of a minute. I apologize for that, and I'll have an explanation for ya right now.

So, what happened was I got hit with an enormous case of burnout, and I pretty easily determined the cause. The scope, the narrative, and the tone of this story completely went out of control for me. I lost my grasp on everything and as a result wanted to not look at this story again for a while. It left me demotivated, and quite honestly frustrated every time I tried to pen this chapter. It wasn't until I had a small stroke of inspiration a couple days ago that I was finally able to get this chapter worked out.

As for the content of the story, I decided to completely scrap a lot of the original plans I had in mind. I'm streamlining a lot. Going for less filler, and more killer, as a friend of mine advised me to do for my writing. Chapters are probably going to be shorter, but hopefully they have the same amount of punch they used to have. We'll see how that goes.

Now, with all of that said, please do not expect the same torrid pace I had been writing this story at. I cannot sustain that kind of speed anymore, mostly because my standards on my own writing have grown and thus I've become much harder on myself. I also have my Awakening SI (Rigged from the Start) as my main priority, as well as an original novel I'm working on (fourth attempt at a rough draft, finally have an outline of events, and am on the 2nd chapter now!). So this story is going to become the piece I write whenever the muse hits me. I'll do my best to hammer out a chapter maaaaaabye once a month or so. Chapters could come out faster or slower, I don't know, the brain is finicky with this fic anymore lol.

Still, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you all think! And as always, have a nice day!

PS: Come check out the Fanfiction Treehouse Discord server! Discord code is: 9XG3U7a

PPS: I'm a part of a podcast now! It is the Fanfiction Treehouse Podcast! Myself, Stormtide Leviathan, RedXEagl3, and Narwhal Lord are the hosts. We talk about fanfiction, writing fanfiction and regular fiction, fire emblem, and a whole lot of other nonsense. We recently started an episode series on Worldbuilding, so come check it out! You can find the podcast on Spotify and on Soundcloud! Hope to see you all there!