So, it's been a while now and I have another Star Wars one-shot. A depressing one, as if the other three weren't already. Don't worry, I promise you Searching For The Truth will come out of hiatus, as well as Lullaby For a Soldier. Just be patient, the chapters will come out.
Note: I don't the cover photo of this fic. It belongs to KaelaCroftArts of DeviantArt and is used with her permission.
Anyways, have some tissues just in case and well… enjoy the story I guess.
"I'm not afraid to die; I am only afraid of saying goodbye to you forever."
- Shannon L. Alder
Legend:
Italics/Underline: Year/Day/Scene (Change)
Italics: Thoughts/Communication from Electronic Devices/Communication via Force Bonds
Bold/Italics: Force Spirits Communicating/Voices from Force Visions
Bold: Flashbacks
Year: 3 ABY...
Mid-day…
Day: One Week Before the Assault on Rebel Base...
Canon: Empire Strikes Back
(Scene: Bridge, The Sakira, Imperial Star Destroyer, Orbiting Hoth, Outer Rim, Space)
Darth Véurr stands at the window on the bridge of her Star Destroyer the Sakira, it's a large vessel, nearly matching the size of The Chimera that Grand Admiral Thrawn captained. She somewhat misses the Admiral, out of everyone in the Empire he was actually one of the few decent blokes to talk to. He may seem cold and calculating, but he cared for his men, he listened to them, making changes if they'll make improvements. Thrawn also studied his opponents, he's not a karking (fucking) idiot, he's a Chiss, so his species are highly intelligent. They even carried out campaigns together on the rare occasion her's and his fleet were ordered to team up, if one was smart enough, the enemy would surrender at the sight of The Sakira and Chimera, if they didn't and they were bold enough to fight back, it may as well be a wild bantha chase. Thrawn has always been the strategist and an excellent one at that, his plans rarely failed, Darth Véurr did follow them and she can plan her own, but there is a reason why many rebels call her a battering ram; she strikes hard, if not fast but she knows how to lead an attack. Most of her war experience comes from taking leading parts in The Clone Wars, when she was Ahsoka Tano, sometimes Véurr wonders if her Master likes to mock her past because she has been assigned as General to the 501st Imperial Stormtrooper Battalion. They were the finest, don't get her wrong, but there are times he has mocked her, to try and tip her temper, but she learned to know her place when it came to Darth Sidious, but known as Emperor Palpatine to the public. They don't know they are being dictated by a Sith Lord, the only Sith they are aware of is Lady Véurr, many just assume she is the right hand of the Emperor or one of his specialised agents. The Sith Lady stared out the window, observing the icy planet of Hoth, she has to give the rebels credit for being able to hide out on a desolate planet for three years in below freezing temperatures, let alone being able to build a base, maybe not build. If she remembers correctly from studying old reports of The Clone Wars that the Empire managed to get access to, there is an abandoned Clone outpost, one that was viciously attacked and left all Clone Troopers dead and their helmets, or their heads included, propped on wooden stakes like trophies. It was said the base was attacked by Wampas, dangerous creatures. As a Togruta who lived on Shili, she hated the cold, she hated snow, even though Véurr did not mind the planet Ilum, its temperature is more or less the same as Hoth.
The Star Destroyer orbited the planet, not entering the atmosphere in case they tip off the rebels's sensors, if their leader is correct, they only came out of hyperspace after being 'in the pipe', as Véurr quotes, for the last eight hours. They did jump into hyperspace all the way from Naboo. Some of the Navy Officers raised eyebrows at their leader's phrases, some quickly figuring they must be from the war she fought in the past, before turning her back on the Jedi; the pipe refers to hyperspace. Véurr held her hands behind her back, giving an air authority, it appeared she was in a small meditative trance, not too deep, but enough she can quickly bring herself back out of it. On her black Mandalorian-style Clone Trooper helmet, now suddenly painted with red symbols, they appeared to be spikes or resembling the ears or horns of an animal, but if one studied the traditions of the Mandalorians of the planet Mand'alore (or Mandalore); or was part of the war of 22BBY to 19BBY, one could instantly recognise they are Jaig Eyes. The term is a simplification of Jai'galaar'la Sur'haii'se, which translates to Shriek-Hawk Eyes in Mando'a. To the very few Clones that are part of Véurr's battalion, they knew she had the right to bear them, in the eyes of the Empire, her actions are seen as honourable, but in the background, they thought General Véurr should not have painted them on her helmet, it taints their meaning. What they don't know, is the meaning goes far deeper than that, when she was Ahsoka Tano, she had a close attachment to CT-7567, better known as Captain Rex of the 501st Clone Trooper Battalion and he was having feelings towards her. This was before she turned, after helping the militia on Onderan, the Sith Lady who was once Ahsoka Tano was long over her crush with the now dead Lux Bonteri. The feelings were genuine, but when the old Captain made his advancement, of course her weaker half panicked and ran. They never spoke about that situation again and stayed professional with the odd banter. A part of her still held a soft spot for Rex, it's something to remember him by, unless she runs into him during a fight. Yet… it doesn't matter, the memories of her old self should no longer matter.
Right now, her attention was locating the rebel base, Véurr knows it is there, she pinpointed it from Ahsoka's old lightsaber, the Kyber Crystal inside it. How unfortunate for the rebels that it is acting like a homing beacon. It's been a long time since she felt it, twenty-two years, she can feel Skywalker has handed her lightsaber to someone, someone who is willing to wield it and look past the bloodshed she drenched it in all those years ago. The blood of the Jedi Order, the old Separatist leaders of the Confederate of Independent Systems, not like politics interested her anyway. Véurr is a woman of action, not diplomacy, as one would say: a soldier, not a statesman or stateswoman, even though her Master has sent her on diplomatic missions; albeit it was merely to threaten other senators to agree to terms and conditions of a bill, if they refused first time. She even threatened the Imperial Director of Advanced Weapons Research and was in charge of the first Death Star's construction: Orson Krennic, after he insisted on meeting her at her castle on Mustafar. Let's just say the Sith Lady told him not to 'choke' on his 'aspirations', after he experienced her well known Force Chokes. Too bad his creation was destroyed because of a kriffing flaw in the super weapon's design, a small flaw, but major impact, especially when those plans fell into Rebellion hands because of a small strike team codenamed Rogue One. She has to give credit to the man who designed the space station, it was a clever fail safe, the lead engineer was Galen Erso. That was three years ago, and it was how she came to meet Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, the rest is history. Although, she feels guilty because of that day, her battalion was nearly reduced by half, it took the three years to bring back the numbers and, in their honour, was a memorial on Coruscant, the names of the fallen. Sure, she has been harsh in her battalion, but they were good men, they had families, wives, and children, they're gone now, and their lives are forever on her conscience. It haunts her. The only death doesn't bother her is Grand Moff Tarkin, she remembers him from Ahsoka's memories; when she was a Padawan, she stowed away on the rescue mission to free the former Captain and Jedi Master Piell from The Citadel. The Citadel was an inescapable Separatist prison, yet after that mission, with a few losses, the impenetrable became penetrable, the inescapable became escapable. Even when she was a Jedi, she and Tarkin did not see eye to eye, guess Ahsoka's disliking towards him stayed when she became the Sith Lady and accepted to be Darth Sidious' Apprentice. All the way back in the war, Tarkin was a rude and condescending man, when he became a member of the Imperial Military, he was still that obnoxious, self-centred man and there many times Lady Véurr either wanted to stab her sabre through his chest, choke him, electrocute him, she would even have no problem running her metal hand through his chest and crushing his heart. Dying with the Death Star was far too elegant for a pathetic man like him, on several occasions he even mocked her, even called her Ahsoka Tano just to grate her temper. She is only glad he's dead. That man was a foolish di'kut (idiot).
Anyway, from the moment Véurr met the princess, there was something about her that made her different, the Sith Lady could… feel the Force around her, but it was different, and she couldn't place her finger on it. She did not think much of it after, until now. There is a high chance that the former princess is a Force sensitive and is the one who delved into the old lightsaber. Then that must mean… she is the child of Padmé and Anakin Skywalker, and the boy who is usually by her side, is their son. The Skywalker children are there, no doubt Anakin is too. Darth Véurr clenched her fist, her metal hand almost grinding. Her montrals picked up movement from behind, one of the officers is approaching her, she sensed him stand to attention.
"Lady Véurr, the reconnaissance team and a Probe Droid have been sent down." He informed,
"Good." She simply replied, not bothering to turn back to the Imperial Officer,
"If I may dare say, the chances of finding the rebels on that ice cap are extremely low. You might as well be on a wild banth-" The officer suddenly reached for his throat as the air was being cut out from him. He felt like something was constricting him, hands wrapped around his throat, but there were invisible and began to see stars, his face almost turning blue, as his air supply was being cut off. That was when Véurr turned around to face him, her hand raised and shaped like a claw, Force Choke. Her gold eyes were glaring at him through her visor.
"Do not question my orders, Officer. I know the rebels are down there, the Force does not lie to me." Her distorted voice growled, and she released him from her grip. The officer collapsed to the floor, inhaling a large volume of air into his lungs. "Your insubordinate behaviour, shall not go unpunished though." Looking up at his General, he didn't get a chance to beg for forgiveness when blue lightening shot out from her hand that hasn't been replaced, electrocuting him. His screams of pain and agony filled the bridge, no one dared to make eye contact in case they'll get the same treatment. Véurr did not stop and increased the intensity of the lightening, sending more volts through his body, causing him to violently convulse. The smell of burning flesh began to fill the bridge, another few minutes passed, and the officer's body stopped convulsing, making Véurr stop; all that was left was a charred, smoking body of the officer. Well, it's not the first time their General has choked, electrocuted, decapitated or killed personnel on board, she always had a short fuse if someone questions her orders; even the smallest one or for making avoidable mistaks. Darth Véurr turned to the other Imperial Officers and soldiers. "Question my commands again, this will be your fate. Inform me when the recon team return with vital information. Dispose the body too." With that, Lady Véurr walked off the bridge, her black cloak flowing behind her, as she decided to retreat to her private quarters for meditation.
Meanwhile...
(Scene: Training Room, Rebel Base, Hoth)
Leia decided to go to the training room after breakfast to work on her lightsaber technique. Much to Anakin and Luke's surprise, she picked up on the fighting skills very quickly, that was thanks to the Martial Arts lessons she received when she was younger; when Alderaan was still there. She still has nightmares about watching her planet get obliterated, being held back by Darth Véurr and unable to do anything. Leia was supposed to be their princess, protect her people, but she could not protect them from the Death Star, she wished she could have helped when Radaa was being massacred, even help the citizens of the Slave Empire Zygerria. Sure, no one liked Zygerria, but they are still people and did not deserve the onslaught they have gotten by Véurr and the 501st. Leia swung her lightsaber in an arc, performing a basic Form I kata Luke showed her, but since Form I is very basic, she picked it up quickly and has read through some of the lightsaber forms. Not going near Form VII - Juyo/Vaapad, Leia studied Makashi (Form II), looked at Soresu (Form III) - Ben... Obi-wan Kenobi's fighting style, yet neither of them suited her, well... Makashi maybe an exception, it would be a fall back, but not her primary style. She liked Form V - Shien/Djem So, her father's and Luke's preferred fighting style, but because of her build, she wasn't exactly able to handle taking hard strikes and counteracting them. Niman (Form VI) was basically a jack of all trades, while focusing on the use of the Force and that suited her too. After a couple of hours, she finally found her niche, a style she can work with: Ataru (Form IV), the aggressive acrobatic style or known as The Way of the Hawk-Bat and The Aggression Form. When she practised that with Luke against his Form V, it flowed very well with her and was able to use her shorter height against her brother. It was thankful both lightsabers had a built-in training mode, setting the blade intensity to stun, in other words a small electrical jolt that will cause your muscles to spasm for ten seconds of more. Though Leia can't do all those cool acrobatic flips the Jedi are known to use often, she is able to literally hop-skip around Luke. Since she stands at four foot nine, just under five foot, while Luke is five foot six, she able to slip past his defences, as their father laughs whenever he gets a whack to his back. It took some time, but Leia got comfortable with using a weapon that belonged to another Jedi, a Knight to be specific and one that was close to their father and mother. It was Ahsoka's lightsaber, after seeing all or... most of the secrets it stored, those secrets being her memories and the former princess is still trying to comprehend how someone who could have been their sister, become someone they are fighting against. Even though she no longer hears the Kyber Crystal cry anymore, which is a relief because it means no more headaches, but on the odd occasion she hears the crystal stir or whimper, the dark memories it had to retain still hurt it. She is wielding a weapon that caused so much bloodshed during the collapse of the Jedi Order, Order Sixty-six, The Great Jedi Purge. While she cannot erase those dark memories in the crystal, she can give it a better future, redemption. How the young Togruta went from being a kind and caring person, willing to stand up for others; take the case with CT-6666, AKA: Six, Ahsoka stood up for him, treated him as a man, not a Clone. This is a far cry from what Véurr does and she barely tolerates the Stormtroopers, let alone her own battalion, at one point she used some of her own soldiers as human shields and abuses some of them. That is… from what she hears, they're might be different things being said on the Imperials' side and they may be singing praises for their leader.
To Leia, it seems like when someone joins the Dark Side, they develop some sort of split personality, their old personality gets pushed far down by the new one; just like Ahsoka, Darth Véurr is in full control, pushing Ahsoka Tano far into the depths of her own mind. When the time comes, she and Luke may be able to reach for Ahsoka and bring her back, their father and mother; before she died, believes she is not fully gone, Obi-wan believed so as well. For all they know, Ahsoka could be crying out for help while Véurr controls her body. They will save the person who could have been their older sister, they understand why she did it and they don't hate her for it, Ahsoka did what she did for them, her family because Anakin and Padmé saw her as a daughter. She tried to save and protect them, but lost meaning in its word, her Sith name even translating to Protector and now she is a protector for all the wrong reasons. She just didn't see the Sith Lord's manipulations, played with her fears, and fell right into his grip. Pushing the other thoughts out, Leia finished her kata and proceeded to work on the katas for Form IV, it is thankful her dad managed to salvage some books and store them on the datapad for her to study Ataru, since he is not well adept in it to teach her and don't get her wrong, the books do help. However, there's no way she'd be ready for Darth Véurr, she's an expert at Ataru/Jar'Kai, a subset of Ataru, along with two other forms: Shien/Djem So and Niman. Véurr is also a duel lightsaber wielder, she hasn't trained for that and neither has her brother, it would be suicide. It's hard to not call Véurr Ahsoka, because that is who she was, but simply forgotten. The daughter of Skywalker was so focused on her kata, she didn't hear the door open, turning, she nearly yelped in surprise seeing her father. Leia deactivated her sabre, glaring at Anakin, how did she not sense his Force signature? She can tell Luke a mile away, but not her dad? Maybe he knows how to mask his signature, guess that was how he managed to evade the Empire for so long, as well as Kenobi before Véurr killed him. Anakin spoke to his daughter first.
"You're learning fast." He commented,
"I learned from the best." Leia wittingly retorted, giving her dad a rogue smile. He scoffed, she is so much like her mother, but he sees a little bit of snippiness that reminded him of Ahsoka… Ahsoka… it hurts him to remember her. Now, he is being bombarded with constant reminders: Leia's snippy attitude, which shows every now and then, mixed with a bit of his wife's stubborn charm and now she found her primary lightsaber style. It so happens to be Ahsoka's fighting form, heck! Leia even uses a reverse Shien grip, as much as he tried to dissuade her from using that said grip, it sacrifices power for speed; but because of her build, his daughter was built for speed, just like his old Padawan. Though, in The Clone Wars' waning years which was 20BBY and 19BBY, his former Padawan built up an impressive muscle mass, he figured she was hanging out with the Clones a lot much to the Council's disapproval. In the old days, before the Empire, he often noticed the bed in their shared room was vacant, which meant she was sleeping at the barracks. The Clones practically adopted Ahsoka into their family, their brotherhood and taught her their customs and language; it explained half the swear words she muttered in Mando'a if she wasn't spouting Togruti, Basic and some Huttese she picked up from him. By the time she turned seventeen, half the 501st, along with some of the 212th brought her to Seventy-nines to celebrate; hell, they got drunk and miraculously got their asses back to the barracks, well… Rex and Cody were the ones who remained semi-sober. Apparently, the former Jedi Knight acted older than she looked and got away with being passed for legal drinking age. Anakin didn't really do anything about her being close to the Clones, he cared about his men too and was fine with the former Lieutenant General being close to her battalion, the High Jedi Council were uncomfortable about that, that it tipped into the rules about attachments. Once again, the Council were being bantha shits. He and Ahsoka actually cared about the lives of their men, tried their best to minimise casualties, the two would put the Clones' lives before theirs more times than they could count or what the Clones themselves would have liked and they worried about their General and Lieutenant General too. They were the only battalion to the least, in terms of way, casualties, until THAT incident. You could imagine how pissed Anakin was during the campaign for Umbara when command of his battalion was temporarily transferred, because he was ordered to return to Coruscant by request of the Supreme Chancellor, to Jedi Master Pong Krell, a Besalisk. A four-armed creep who wielded two lightsaber staffs and treated his men like dirt, calling them by their numbers and wasting their lives away like wind-up soldiers. When word of that reached Ahsoka, she was an angry Akul, fucking Krell was lucky to be dead already, otherwise Ahsoka might have started his suffering by cutting off his hands or arms, one at a time before killing him. It took the combined effort of Anakin, Rex, Fives, Kix - who threatened to sedate her, Dogma and even Six; whom she befriended and defended from that asshole Padawan Axel, to calm her down, before she murdered someone else. Bringing himself back to the present, Anakin offered to spar with his daughter to see how far she has come in such little time span.
Readying themselves, Anakin unclipped his… no, Obi-wan's lightsaber, he gave Luke his sabre and setting the weapon to training mode. Anakin was not up for losing more limbs, especially from his daughter. Padmé would be so proud of her, to see how far she come, as both a warrior and a politician. Leia is equally deadly with a weapon, as her words. The two bowed first as a sign of respect, then activated their lighsabers with a snap-hiss. The sound of the weapon was like music to both side's ears, the soft hum, the excited whir as the blade moved and clashed. Falling into their respective stances, Anakin and Leia waited to see who would make the first move, but neither side wouldn't make a step, not even a foot. Leia's dad gave her a teasing smile and insisted lady's first, yet she wasn't falling for it, playfully sticking her tongue out at him. The Chosen One, though he isn't sure if he even deserves that title anymore, finally moved, approaching his daughter and raised his sabre for a basic overhead strike, but a hard one and Leia knew her limitations, she can't block that without staggering. When the blade came, she hopped to the right, flanking her dad, swinging her weapon towards his hip, Anakin saw it coming, was able to twist his body and block the strike, making the sabres clash and they held in a lock. Anakin won the lock, pushing Leia back, but was quick to recover, faster than he would have liked; so far, so good, Anakin was impressed with his daughter, she is certainly comfortable with Ataru, though he would like to see her other styles. The Jedi Knight swung his sabre left and right, which Leia was dodging and blocking, once again, she slipped behind his defence, using her short stature; Anakin curses her short height sometimes, and before he knew it, Anakin found himself being flung into a crate, ribs first by a Force Push, his weapon deactivating. He was sort of dazed after having the wind knocked out him and groaned out loud. The Jedi Knight thinks he's getting too old for this.
"Really Snips? What did I-" Anakin paused at what he said, standing over him was not Ahsoka, his Snips, but Leia. His daughter. "Oh Force, I just called my daughter Snips.",
"Sorry dad." Leia apologised sheepishly. She helped her father onto his feet, turning off her own sabre. "Dad, don't worry that you called me Snips. I understand you miss her, but you can't wallow in your guilt for not saving her too. Ahsoka would not want that." Anakin sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"You're right, Leia. Ahsoka would not want this, we will save her. I know there is good in Véurr, but it's getting weaker. Come on, let's get something to eat and don't worry about my ribs. I'm not that old." Clipping their lightsabers back onto their belts, the two headed for the door to go to the mess hall. "That was an excellent Force Push, I take it Luke taught you that?",
"Of course, he's a good teacher as well." And they both laughed, the door closing behind them. It maybe all laughs for now, but the Empire is silently breathing down their necks and preparing to attack their base, after being hidden for three years, not now, not yet, soon. Darth Véurr will show no mercy on them.
With the Imperials…
Night…
(Scene: Véurr's Private Room, The Sakira, Imperial Star Destroyer, Orbiting Hoth, Space)
The Stormtrooper pushed a button on the wall that was basically a bell, to alert the person who was inside. That was person was Darth Véurr and very few have permission to enter her room, unless you have earned her upmost respect and favour; or the circumstance is incredibly important and requires her prudence. Few have, for this Stormtrooper, he was considered lucky because it was Véurr who ensured his fair treatment and that he was not decommissioned after the end of The Clone Wars and the transition of the Republic to the Imperial Empire. The soldier removed his helmet, revealing a man in his early forties with soft brown eyes, his face looked as if he fought many battles and in fact he has. This Stormtrooper has history with Darth Véurr, but it was the person he befriended before she became the Emperor's right-hand woman and Apprentice: former Lieutenant General Ahsoka Tano, when he first met her, she was just a Commander and she defended him from verbal abuse of another Padawan. His designation is CT-6666, but Véurr still calls him Six. His General made sure he was enlisted as a member of the 501st Battalion, Six still snickers at the irony and since he is one of the few Clones - their numbers are slowly waning due to their accelerated aging body. Six has the body of a fairly fit forty-two-year-old, but in hindsight he is actually twenty-one years old. Sometimes he curses the accelerated ageing, he only lives a half-life, he will be dead by the time he reaches fifty, if he is actually lucky to reach that. Anyway, Véurr, Ahsoka, it's all the same to him, he is forever indebted to her; Six would be unemployed with little or no purpose if she did not step up for him and convince the higher ups in the military to let him stay. In return, he offers her his absolute loyalty and a good soldier follows orders, honestly, the other Stormtroopers disappoint him, they're nearly a laugh; except those of the 501st, his General doesn't complain about them, some can't shoot straight at all. During his service, Six has experienced some bullying, he always puts up with it, not letting it get to him, but that went to hell when Lady Véurr caught wind of it. She had those that bullied him were executed on the spot, a lesson for those who ever try to bully or undermine a Clone again. His leader admitted she doesn't mind him calling her Ahsoka, only in her room or doing guard duty in her castle on Mustafar. Six jumps between Véurr and Ahsoka depending where they are.
While some say Six is loyal to a fault, they just don't understand that he and Véurr go way back. In their private talks, she admitted that he is the one keeping her grounded, the Sith Lady has a friend from the war she is able to trust and Six is glad he still remains her brother. The former Clone Trooper may be the only person who witnesses Véurr's softer side and on more than one occasion, he swears that his former Lieutenant General surfaces, if only for a few minutes. But Six cannot deny, despite serving under her during the Republic days for two years, then twenty-two years for the Empire, he has not gotten used to seeing Ahsoka with the glaring and sharp golden eyes; he misses the soft, ocean blue. A part of him regrets taking part in Order Sixty-six, he didn't know there was an inhibitor chip in his brain, what he is glad about is that he didn't out the traitorous Clones that turned and ran. Those Clones being Captain Rex, Wolffe and Gregor, the three snuck away and he noticed, but did not out them, it won't surprise him if they are alive and Rex, a possible chance is with the Rebel Alliance. Six thought about defecting several times but hearing Véurr tell him all the people who betrayed her because she went her way protect two very close people to her, that treated her like a daughter, he just couldn't leave. He knows his vod (sister), she practically went to the end of the galaxy to protect her loved ones, even if her methods were becoming unorthodox, his friend did everything she could. Then what was her thanks? They turned their backs on her, saying she was wrong to go down the path she went, what did they expect? Sometimes protecting your loved ones involved taking extreme measures, no matter how questionable they are. Those people should have been grateful, but Six is loyal, he'd never betray her trust. One could say he has a crush on Véurr, but he even had a crush when she was Lieutenant General Tano, like he said, he still sees the two names as the one person. Actually, scratch that, he is IN LOVE with her, from the day she stood up for him against that Padawan who had disregarding opinions on his brothers and him. Kriff, she risked nearly getting herself expelled from the Order defending him and starting a fight with Axel. When Six marched beside her at the Jedi Temple, he saw the satisfied smirk when she struck down Padawan Axel and his Jedi Master, he was smirking underneath his helmet too, karma is a bitch. Unfortunately, his Captain: Rex had developing feelings for Ahsoka as well and he was… jealous, felt a lot of envy towards him, he couldn't see what she saw in Rex. He also saw them on The Resolute talking, discussing their feelings, it was Rex who initiated that conversation, it made his blood boil and when he tried to kiss her… thank the Little Gods, Ahsoka ran, not knowing what to do or able to comprehend her feelings. He liked seeing the look of hurt on Rex's face, he knew it gave him a chance to be with Ahsoka, once he gave her some space. Now that Rex is no longer in the picture, maybe he has a chance to be with her? Perhaps she feels the same way, she him as more than just a brother? Six was mentally chuckling, Clones were created to serve and obey orders, not feel emotion, if word reached the Kamonians and the planet of Kamino, he and Rex would have been brought back to be reconditioned; still nothing is going to stop him, he might as well take a leap of faith at it, when the time is right. Pursuing a relationship might be the last thing on his General's mind.
He was then brought out of his thoughts when the door opened, after standing outside for ten minutes. Six figured Ahsoka must have been meditating, straightening himself up, helmet under his arm and walked in. Inside, he did indeed find General Véurr meditating with her own helmet resting on the counter, her lightsabers were still clipped to her waist, have to be safe than sorry. There have been assassination attempts on her life and the Emperor, over the past two decades, all which failed. Six could not understand why some people cannot get it in their heads that attempting to assassinate two Siths is practically a suicide mission, he has seen his General stop blaster fire or deflect it with a flick of her hand with the Force. Six thought Ahsoka has actually gotten a lot more powerful since she joined the Dark Side, while he doesn't understand things about the Force, in the past he hung out Ahsoka often; when they were not on missions. She often vented to him about her frustrations with the Jedi Order and the High Jedi Council, he got quite an earful when he she became a Jedi Knight. The former Clone Trooper thought it was great, she can finally lead her own battalion of Clone Troopers, which was actually the root of the problem, she was refused by the Order to command a Clone battalion because they were afraid of giving her more power. He thought it was a load of bantha shit, hence why her rank was Lieutenant General than full General, and it was unfair, her turn to the Dark Side was justifiable. That was when he was ordered to speak.
"I received word from the scouts, they haven't found the base yet and decided to hole up in a cave until the blizzard has passed. The Probe Droid is still looking." He reported. Véurr just sighed, to be fair, she can't have her men freezing to death, but the droid is still looking and will relay information back to them. The Sith Lady made it noticeably clear to them to not return until the rebel base has been found and gotten a rough schematic of the building.
"Very well. If the blizzard is not blocking communications, tell them search again once the storm breaks." She commanded. Six likes it when Ahsoka is speaking and not through her helmet, the voice modulator does make her more intimidating; yet even without the helmet, though he silently scowls seeing the Jaig Eyes; she still has some buried feelings for Rex, her armour is an intimidation of its own, hence her name around certain planets like Coruscant for example: The Black Clone Trooper of the Empire. Her armour is a representation of the old Phase Two Armour, painted completely black, except there are some narrow red streaks. The helmet which is modified to make room for her montrals, but leaving her head tails free, is that of the Mandalorians, because of the T-shaped visor, but inspired by the Phase One Clone helmets; with the helmet on, the armour and the pitch black cape that flows behind her, it really would be wise that one should just run the opposite direction. Ahsoka earned other names too, on Shili other Togrutans who call her a traitor, named her The Black Akul, because of her ferociousness and merciless tendencies, just like the animal of the same name. When she brought Zygerria to the ground, practically burning, destroying Kadavo and sending the capitol Kiros up in flames, as well as bringing an entire race of Zygerrians to extinction, earned her the name Zygerrian Slayer. She also led the genocide of the Geonosian population and led another massacre on Radaa when it has been found out they were supplying food to the rebels. Six did not understand the rebellion, they're upsetting peace and order that Véurr and the Emperor helped bring. They're nothing but a group of terrorists. Ahsoka was right telling him the Senate was flawed and corrupt, senators spent more time arguing amongst each other than actually taking action, power is in better hands of one person.
"I will contact them at once, milady." Six replied, saluting his superior. He turned on his heel, heading for the door when Véurr stopped him for a moment.
"Six?" The Sith Lady turned to face him, her gold eyes bearing into his brown ones. "I'm glad you are here. You're the only person I can trust." Six didn't reply, but all Véurr needed from him in response, was a small smile and a nod. Six let himself out to head to the control room to contact the scout team who are planet side. Ahsoka told him she is glad he's still with her, the only person she can trust; perhaps he does have a chance with her. When they attack the base, once they find it, Six cannot wait to put a blaster bolt to Rex's head and he will be out of the picture. Ahsoka is his.
"She's mine. Mine alone and no one will ever take her from me, not even you Captain Rex." He thought, as he walked through the grey corridors of the Destroyer. Véurr knew the coast was clear as soon as Six exited her quarters, while she is grateful to have a friend from the days of the Republic, she is not oblivious, blind, or stupid. Six likes her, almost infatuated and during The Clone Wars she noticed his rising jealousy of Rex's attraction towards her. Véurr or even Ahsoka did not like Six in that spectrum, he was only a brother, their relationship completely platonic. Her feelings were stronger for Rex, but she pushed him away because she freaked out; first was due to the fact she did not fully comprehend her feelings, second is they were breaking the rules on both sides - the Komnians and GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Regulations forbade Clones to have emotional feelings and the Jedi Order strictly stated no attachments of any form and third… a love triangle was the last thing she and her former Master needed on The Resolute. After everything she did for him, using her high-ranking status, and letting him call her Ahsoka in private; Véurr may have been unintentionally encouraging Six. His simple crush on her is becoming more of an obsession and she can sense it, another headache to deal with and he was the better of the Stormtroopers to get along with. When they bring down the rebel base, she will have to speak to Six and explain things to him, if he doesn't listen, or understand well…
"A shame, I might have to kill him." Véurr thought darkly "He really is a good friend." Using the Force, a small device floated towards her and was gently placed in front of her. It was a gift by the 501st Clone Trooper Legion for her eighteenth. By then, the entire battalion knew of Anakin's secret marriage to Padmé Amidala, she figured it out into her second year as Skywalker's Padawan and there was a betting pool going around and a second one for her and Rex. No wonder Six was envious and it was dangerous. Tapping the small button at the side, the device came to life, revealing several different holo-pictures stored on it, some were taken by soldiers in the barracks, The Resolute; when she accompanied Anakin, it seems like Padmé was generous enough to chip in. Those photos were taken in secret, they all ranged from different points of the war and her gaze fell to the photo of her, a pregnant Padmé and Anakin all asleep on the couch in her apartment. Of all the Clones, the sneakiest… second sneakiest was Dogma, but Rex accompanied him for the laugh. Using jet packs, they managed to snap the photo and fly off back to the barracks before they woke up. The other photo beside it was her holding Fives in a headlock with Echo trying to pin her down. Véurr began to lament, guilt rising in her heart, was this right? Was she right to turn her back on those who cared about her because she thought she was protecting those closest to her? Was the price of power worth gaining by sacrificing the undying trust of all her friends? Did she throw all of this away? What if she chose to let Windu kill Palpatine, who promised her all this? Look at this now, the mess she caused, she helped the collapse of the Republic, killed everyone in the temple and she held no emotion that she killed the Younglings, killed her friend Barriss. To be honest, she was much closer to the Clones than she was with the Mirialan. Sometimes her friend didn't understand her and was beginning to delve more into the Jedi Code, leading to the two to argue a little more and Barriss did say some hurtful things to her face, they argued over the rigidness of the code. When she was a Jedi Knight, explained to her former friend maybe the code should be revised and lean towards the code of the Jedi Order of the Old Republic, Barriss' retort was she grew up in the wrong generation. It made her punch her friend and got quite a reprimanding from Luminara Unduli. The two hardly spoke, with Barriss training as a Healer and her being a soldier."Was I foolish to throw all of this away?" She asked herself, yet she quickly shook her head. "I can't have doubts now, this is the path I chose and those I cared about did not understand. They will be better off dead." They are more than welcome to meet the same fate as her 'mother' Shaak Ti, whose she had slain seven years ago on Malachor; the woman was foolish thinking she could get her daughter back, it wasn't happening, not since she kept the secret for so long. Shaak had many chances to tell Ahsoka before she died, but she threw them all away. "All links of my past must be severed."
Her Master now let's her keep the lightsabers of those she had slain in her castle, some call it a fortress, in her trophy room. A little thing that the fallen General Grievous used to do, Shaak's lightsaber is kept on a pedestal and she even has her old Shoto on display. Véurr managed to recover it during the construction of her castle, after she thought it was lost during her duel with Anakin, only to leave her to die and hanging on a cliff with one arm. Anakin severed her right arm above the elbow, just like when Count Dooku (Darth Tyrannus) cut off his arm during the First Battle of Geonosis. Véurr has killed so many and managed to locate Jedi who were in hiding, Quinlan Vos still evades her, but she wasn't bothered about him. Skywalker is still her top priority, he's on Darth Sidious' number one hit list, he is of course the glorified Chosen One, and has done an excellent job on that. The Jedi have failed, the Republic has crumbled, Anakin and his Master Obi-wan were forced into hiding, Véurr took much glee in killing Obi-wan, sadly she couldn't add his lightsaber to her trophy collection after her former Master called for it with the Force. Without warning, a vision from the Force was given to her, it was so intense and sudden the Sith Lady had to close her eyes as an image or voices were heard.
"We meet again, after twenty-two years, Skywalker.",
"It doesn't have to be this way Ahsoka.",
"It is too late for me. You will pay for what you did on Mustafar!",
"Please, say it, one last time. My last request." Véurr wondered why Anakin was pleading. That was when the vision just cut, which surprised Lady Véurr. That wasn't much of a vision, but like the first vision she had of meeting Shaak Ti, it seems like the Force intends to bring a Master and an Apprentice together once more. This time, she will be ready to face Anakin Skywalker and will drive her sabre through his chest and claim his lightsaber, it would be a fine addition to her collection. Her Master would be pleased when she tells him that she has slain the Chosen One, it will put a deep wedge into the Rebellion, break their spirit even. It appears she is due for another round with Anakin and she will win, she was foolish back on Mustafar, but Darth Véurr had twenty-two years to perfect her technique, she has more than enough power to end the shining beacon of the Rebel Alliance: The Chosen One will be one with the Force. Standing up, Véurr walked towards her personal training room to practice her lightsaber technique and prepare for her fated meeting with former Master Anakin Skywalker and just like she said on Mortis, it is a promise she will carry out: the student will kill the Master.
Three Days Later…
Early Morning…
Day: Four Days Before the Assault on Rebel Base…
(Scene: Anakin's Sleeping Quarters, Rebel Base, Hoth)
It was early morning on the planet of Hoth, sunrise will be breaking soon, but for now, the entire base remains still as the rebels residing inside try get as much sleep as they can before getting up at their standard zero six-hundred hours to change, have breakfast and carry out their duties for the day. That's unless some of the co-leaders are still awake ensuring transmissions between rebel cells are running smoothly and getting reports and other paper work done, it is generally done by Leia Organa-Skywalker, but she is infamous for pulling all-nighters and the former princess has gotten scoldings and lectures by both her father and brother; surprisingly even Han has given out about her late nights and feared she was overexerting herself. However, for the twin's father, Anakin was not having a good sleep, which was evident by his face, showing discomfort and uneasiness and his hand were either clenching or gripping the bed sheet too tightly. It appeared he was having a dream or a nightmare, but it was neither; the Force was communicating with him, showing a glimpse of the future. Too bad the Force was not being very clear with him, Anakin could see no image or visual, but he was certainly hearing voices and they were clear as crystal and very distinct. He listened.
"Ironic, isn't it? Just like Mortis and Mustafar." It was Darth Véurr, but speaking through Ahsoka's voice, except it sounds dangerous and dark. What was happening? Anakin really wished the Force gave him an actual visual than something that is like an audio holo-recording.
"There's still time, Ahsoka. Please, let go of your hate, come back to us." That was definitely his own voice, Anakin was trying to get through to the best friend and daughter he has lost so long ago. Ahsoka is buried deep down, the Chosen One just needs to give her the strength to fight back or coax her out, to fight Véurr.
"You're wasting your breath, Master." There was a harshness and mocking tone from the Sith Lady's voice, it's because she is no longer his Padawan Learner. Yet, even when she was a Knight and so was, he, he still called Obi-wan Master and so did she. "Accept it, Ahsoka is gone. Only Darth Véurr remains and like I promised on Mortis: the student will kill the Master.",
"Ahsoka NO!" The vision stopped abruptly, causing Anakin to shoot up from his bed, out of his sleep and covered in cold sweat. He felt his heart beating, so hard it threatened to burst from his chest; that vision really was not much to go on. Anakin remembers Master Yoda's words, about Force Visions and if they show the future, they're never set in stone, but it could be a warning. Is it set in stone that he has to face Ahsoka for the third time? The first was on the mysterious planet of Mortis, where she was INFECTED by the Dark Side thanks to the Son - a physical manifestation of the Dark Side itself, the second time was Mustafar and she did turn because of Darth Sidious in the guise of Sheev Palpatine, now the Force expects him to face her again!? Will the third be when his luck runs out? He won't be surprised if Véurr has gotten stronger over the past two decades, but Luke and Leia must survive, they are the galaxy's only hoping to dethrone the Emperor and if he must become one with the Force that they can see this through, then so be it. This could be his twilight and he must prepare.
Few Hours Later…
(Scene: Mess Hall, Rebel Base, Hoth)
Former Captain of the 501st, CT-7567, Rex took his seat with his breakfast in hand. Ever since joining the resistance, his duty was to train the rebels in military ground assaults, close quarter combat, blaster arms training, guerrilla warfare and battle tactics. His knowledge dating back to The Clone Wars was seen as vital for the Rebel Alliance, Wolffe (CC-3636) has joined him too and aids him in teaching too. He and Wolffe brought with them much needed weapons used in the war from blasters, blaster rifles, grenades, a rocket launcher and kriff, even a flamethrower. Gregor (CC-5576-39) stocked up on medicine too, the rebels really needed the bacta. There was no point in going back to Seelos, wandering the boring, endless salt plains, trying to take in everything that happened from the fall of the Republic, the deaths of their Jedi Generals and… and their little sister's turn. Twenty-two years and the betrayal still feel fresh him his mind, Rex could not believe that Ahsoka would abandon the teachings of her Order, turn her back on everyone she cared about and became a Sith. She was there at the Jedi Temple, she led what Kanan Jarrus called Operation Knightfall and slaughtered all the Jedi in there, including the Younglings! Ahsoka struck down kriffing children! It was that night he, along with Wolffe and Gregor - Little Gods have mercy on his soul, he died during The Siege of Lothal, Ezra Bridger's home. Who knows where that kid is now, he feels the kid is alive, stuck with Grand Admiral Thrawn, but somewhere; maybe they ended up in the unknown regions of the galaxy. Thinking about Gregor, Rex recited the burial rite in his head.
"Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc. Ni partayli, gar darasuum." It translates to: 'I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal'. Gregor will never be forgotten, he is now with the millions of other brothers that have died during the war or passed away because of their accelerated ageing. He also wonders if his old General felt Shaak Ti's death, it's been seven years since her passing and her body was left on Malachor. When Kanan and Ezra recovered, they told them the whole event, the slimy bastard Maul was there, he isn't sure if he's alive now, fighting the last of Véurr's Inquisitors and then Darth Véurr herself arrived. Rex couldn't get the image out of his head, the thought of his old friend and crush, the one his heart opened up to, viciously attacked the young Jedi Padawan and held no hesitation in striking him down; until Shaak arrived. For the Jedi Master though, even she was overpowered and for whatever reason, something held her back, she couldn't leave with Kanan and Ezra, something made her stop. From what he knows, Ahsoka told him of her father, his name was Azure Tano yet knows nothing of her mother. Theories began forming in his mind, of what he remembers of Shaak, there was very little to compare them by, other than the blue and white striped lekku, one would never put two and two together that they are related in any shape or form. There's no way General Ti could be her mother! The Togruta he once knew was curious to learn about her parentage, but she already found a family, she had a family with the 501st Clone Trooper Battalion, with General Skywalker and Senator Amidala-Skywalker. Yet something in the back of his mind told him, Shaak is her mother. A humourless chuckle escaped his throat, before his own death, Fives (CT/ARC-5555) bled him and his other vod dry on Republican Credits. There was even a betting pool for him and Lieutenant General Ahsoka Tano, that was… until word got around that both him and her stopped pursuing their feelings. When she got scared and ran, Rex did not want to pressure any further and opted to wait, he got quite an earful from his battalion and even his best friend Commander Cody (CT-2224) of the 212th; working close with General Kenobi, gave him a lecture from calling him an idiot to being absolutely dense. Rex never forgot that lecture, then don't get him started when he was stuck in the same room as Anakin, questioning more like interrogating him, on what he did to upset someone he saw as a daughter, like any father would. He was quite sure he almost wet himself. Skywalker's overprotective father mode was tenfold when the two got closer to each other, he even got landed in a lecture with Amidala and that woman can be terrifying when she wants to be, it wouldn't surprise him if she had a blaster hidden under her desk as she spoke to him. The senator was practically Ahsoka's surrogate mother, so angering her was the last thing on his list. During the Republic days, he noticed in the barracks, that he was not the only one trying to win Ahsoka's heart, the transfer Shiny: Six seemed to have had a budding crush on her too. It was because she stood up for him at the shipyard from that di'kut (idiot) Padawan, Rex and Six, along with Skywalker went to the temple where the High Council sit to speak in their Commander's; she was a Commander then, defence. He wasn't blind to the trooper's jealous glares or the way he tried to get Ahsoka's attention and he had a feeling he was becoming a little obsessed, but it was controlled obsessed and he couldn't do much about it. Rex wondered where Six is now, probably died during the purge taking down Jedi with Véurr. Rex looked up, seeing Wolffe, Luke and Leia taking their seats across from him.
"Morning Rexster." Leia greeted, cheerfully. The veteran Captain groaned, that damned nickname, Skywalker must have told them while telling them tales of the war. Wolffe was smirking that after all these years, the nickname was not forgotten. "You were in deep thought, Captain." Whenever Rex looks at General Skywalker's daughter, he certainly sees Padmé Amidala, she looks like her. Inherited her dark-brown locks, brown eyes, and her soft features, but has her stubbornness and determination, she also has Anakin's recklessness; on top of that, he can sense a little bit of snippiness in her, like Ahsoka snippy...
"Little Gods help me! I dealt with Ahsoka, don't let Skywalker's daughter be the same!" Luke was literally an almost carbon copy of Anakin, though he inherited the soft features of his mother. Just like Anakin, he's a gifted pilot, he did blow up the first Death Star after all. It's really good to have two Jedi in training, it gives the rebellion hope, a strength that they can take down Sidious and his Apprentice Darth Véurr. Maybe they can bring they can bring her back. Wolffe began snapping his fingers in Rex's face, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Thinking about her, Captain?" Rex didn't need to say anything, the look in his eyes gave it away and Leia could sense it, with and without the Force. She always had an innate ability to read people. Her father told her that Padmé was the same, must have gotten it off her.
"You loved her, as in more than a brother." She smiled, as Luke choked on his food. Wolffe was chuckling lightly.
"Those two spent two years pining before... well... it's complicated." Leia got the hint, unlike her brother who can be sometimes dense. Rex knew she figured out that he was in love with Ahsoka Tano, before she fell and became Darth Véurr. Rex was mentally laughing at the irony of her Sith name: Protector, a protector for a regime that gives the galaxy no voice, no say in any matter. The entire galaxy lives in tyranny and fear, he still asks himself how Ahsoka could allow this to happen, was she that blind to the Emperor's manipulations? He played everyone like chess pieces, The Clone Wars was a false war after all and the Jedi themselves are to blame for her fall, because they were too blind to see the true culprit. Just like Skywalker, the Togruta was beginning to question her belief with the High Jedi Council and she was on hot coals with Mace Windu and a few others. What did you expect from the pair? They were known to be the most unconventional duo.
"Rex," Luke called out, "Our dad believes Véurr can be redeemed and our mother died believing so too, we will bring her back." The words were comforting, but it's been twenty-two years! What if... what if it is too late? That little sliver of Ahsoka is probably consumed by the darkness now and there's no way she can fight it. Then something flashed Luke's mind. "Tell us about Ahsoka, who was she really? Before she fell." Rex was almost taken aback by Luke's suggestion, there was a similar eagerness when Ezra asked him that same question. He practically begged for some stories about the young Lieutenant General, but he couldn't bring himself too because the memories were just too painful. Sometimes... he wished he never met Ahsoka, but she was the best thing that happened within the 501st, she was like a ray of sunshine for him and his men, she treated them like men and in return, they adopted her as their little sister, their vod'ika (little brother/sister). "Rex, I know it's hard, but at least one good memory you have of her. Tell myself and Leia who she was before." Even though the twins saw Ahsoka's memories courtesy of the Kyber Crystal, they wanted to hear stories from someone who knew her. The Captain looked at Wolffe, who was giving him the nod. The Skywalker twins deserve to hear one story of Lieutenant General Tano and with that, he sighed. He mentally shuffled through all the memories he had of Ahsoka, from during missions off-planet or on their off-duty days in the barracks on Coruscant, there were too many. Several minutes silence passed as he tried to pick a memory and finally, he settled on one, it was one of the pranks she pulled on Skywalker, and he can still see the General's reaction.
"Okay, so our vod (brother/sister) was infamous for pulling pranks like her brothers. She pulled one on your father." He grinned, "This is what happened."
Twenty-four Years Ago...
Year: 20 BBY...
Canon: Star Wars - The Clone Wars
(Flashback/Scene: Ship Hangar, The Resolute, Orbiting Coruscant, Core Region, Space)
Rex was dressed in his Phase Two armour, with kamas attached on either side and his pair of DC-17 Hand Blasters holstered on his hip. His helmet though, is in his quarters, he felt he didn't need it, at the moment all they're doing is orbiting Coruscant in case they need to be contacted at a moment's notice. The Captain was running through supply checks on food, weapons etcetera. Their Commander was in the training room of the The Resolute practicing her lightsaber forms, then will be heading to the gym as she promised Fives and Echo (CT-21-0408/CT-1409) that she would spar with them. He often wonders if those two are a bad influence on her, she's closest to them as she is with all the other brothers. He lost count at the number of times those three have caused trouble, known for pulling pranks and ninety-nine percent of those said pranks are Commander Tano's ideas! The other one percent is Fives and Echo. She did catch him a few times and of course, he returned the favour, by messing with her cup of caff; the joys of what adding salt instead of sugar and the wrong cream can do. Captain Rex can thank his sanity that everything is remaining quiet, orderly, it was practically music to his ears. As he finished up on the supply checks, as well as needing to report them to Admiral Yularen. Unfortunately for him, the quietness did not last long when he heard the familiar high-pitched screech as a blue and white astromech that belongs to General Skywalker, appeared to be running away from something, rolling over his feet too. While the boots are study, Rex still felt the weight of the droid rolling over his toes and dropped his data pad yelling out swear words in Mando'a, most of which he even taught Ahsoka, much to his General's disapproval.
"Blasted R2 unit! What is that kriffing droid running from now?" He asked himself. That question was quickly answered when a voice roared the echoing hangar. Rex knew who it was, a pissed off Skywalker is not good. So, who braved the idea of poking the rancor with an electric prod? That was when he saw General Skywalker stomping around the corner, covered in head to toe in what appears to be… ship fuel oil and… is that foam? Now Rex wished he had his helmet, his strict demeanour was threatening to break, because he wanted to laugh at his General. So terribly bad.
"AHSOKA TANO!" He yelled out, thinking she could hear him all the way from the training room. No doubt he was projecting his temper through their training bond. Speak of the devil, in comes his Commander accompanied by Fives and Echo. Rex was praying to the Little Gods that those three did not pull another prank but judging by their faces and failure to remain proper, he and Anakin have found the culprits. "Ahsoka," Their General growled, "What gave you the bright idea to mess with MY ship!?" The Commander remained completely calm, not breaking under her Master's glare and was very blasé about the situation.
"Oh geez, I don't know." She mocked, making fun of the situation as Skywalker looked as if he was about to murder his Padawan. Her tone says it all as well. Rex wonders how the two stay sane in each other's presence, they are too alike, in every manner imaginable. Then she gave him a fake eureka moment. "Perhaps payback for installing additional MODIFICATIONS on MY own ship, without MY permission!" The young Togruta shot a glare that rivalled Anakin's. That's a sign she is pissed, and the three Clones were praying her infamous Togrutan anger does not come out. Her temper terrifies new Shinnies if she's pushed. They call her a Jedi Akul and with reason. "Half those modifications nearly got me killed three kriffing weeks ago!",
"Language Ahsoka!" Scolded Skywalker. The Captain just sighed, as Fives and Echo were snickering away at the scenario. Those two won't be laughing for long. "I thought your astromech R7 told you.",
"I spoke to R7 and he told me, he does not recall in his memory banks, you telling him about unauthorised mods." Ahsoka countered,
"Little Gods preserve me." Rex practically begged,
"It took me six hours to remove the mods! Six hours, Skyguy!" Rex was internally wincing. Seeing an angry Skywalker is one thing, but when he and his Padawan go off on each other like a pair of siblings, it's bad. No wonder General Kenobi has to play mediator between the two, he even noticed their antiques get silent scowls of disapproval because it is not proper by the higher-ranking Jedi; particularly The Stiffs - the title he gives to General Windu and Tiin, even General Unduli deserves it too. The only few Jedi Generals that find it funny is Kenobi himself, Plo, Shaak and even Fisto. The other Jedi Knights and Padawans just ignore their shenanigans and the Younglings laugh at them, because they find it so amusing.
"I thought they would help you, Snips!" General Skywalker countered, albeit, Rex and everyone else knew it was a weak reason.
"Help does not equate to getting your own Padawan Learner killed, you di'kut (idiot)!" With little warning, Rex snorted that turned into laughter, while Fives and Echo were doubled over. It appears their vod'ika is learning Mando'a and of course, Fives and Echo, perhaps even Hardcase; thought it would be very bright to start off with the offensive words. Anakin was either unimpressed with the insult, judging by his Padawan's tone and the laughter around him or just downright confused because he doesn't understand Mando'a. Rex is still teaching him the basics, Ahsoka already knows Mando'an insults and regrettably, Anakin himself is teaching Ahsoka his home language Huttese and proudly taught her the phrase: 'E chu ta' meaning 'fuck off' or 'fuck you'. It's a nasty phrase and if said on Tatooine, one would be offended very quickly. On top of that, she knows swear words in Togruti and Galactic Basic; technically his Padawan Learner is multilingual, and Force knows what will come out of her mouth. Anakin caved, seeing Ahsoka's reasoning, he should not have messed with fighter without her permission. If he was to install modifications, he should have contacted her and let her pick the mods that would benefit her.
"Alright, fine! You proved your point. No mods to your fighter, unless you authorise it Snips." His Padawan gave him a triumphant grin, clearly seeing she has won the argument against her Master. It was a great feeling to bask in.
"Now, was that hard?" Rex finally stepped in, because his two di'kut vod (idiot brothers) need to be reprimanded for aiding Commander Tano in her… prank. Echo and Fives looked at each other, gulping as their Captain stared down at them.
"Since you two have aided Tano in this scheme, you both have to learn lessons. Fives, dish detail for six weeks and Echo, you're cleaning the freshers for the same time period too." He ordered, "Starting today.",
"Captain, six weeks!?" Complained Fives,
"You want me to make it three months?" Growled Rex and the two shook their heads. Ahsoka gave them a look to just accept the punishment as is. Six weeks, forty-two days is better than three months, the equivalent of ninety-days. Rex knew they opted for the six weeks. "Dismissed." He then turned to Commander Tano, "And you can help me write up my reports." He well knew his vod'ika hated report writing and it was General Skywalker's turn to finally laugh, how the tables turn. It was very assuming to him to see his Commander pout, literally giving in, grabbing Tano by the arm, he dragged her in the direction of his office, while his General went off to wash the foam and oil off of him, if the oil does come off.
(Flashback Ends)
Once Rex finished his story, the twins and Wolffe just lost all sense of composure, as the table erupted into laughter, causing them to get stares from the other rebels; who were unsure of what they are laughing at. That was when their father entered and asked them what they were laughing at. Luke explained that Rex was telling how the Jedi Knight, who was his Padawan at that time, pranked him by messing with his fighter, making him groan. Rex just embarrassed him and ruined his image in front of his children. They all continued to talk, Anakin decided to make no mention of the dream he had this morning, he does not want to worry the kids or Rex and Wolffe. It was when Luke brought, he had a dream, seeing Obi-wan, telling him to go the Dagobah System, that someone there wants to teach him the ways of the Jedi and that person wanted Leia to come too. Anakin had a feeling it was former Jedi Grand Master Yoda, who else would call for his children? Luke had his X-wing with a built in hyperdrive that will allow his fighter to jump to hyperspace. Leia wished to go, but her duties were needed with the rebellion and insisted that her brother to go and explain to this… mentor that her duties are required elsewhere. The former princess could not afford to abandon her post or the rebels, anyway, her father will still teach her. Anakin supported Leia's reasoning and Luke accepted, he will prepare to leave for Dagobah in two days and his father let him have R2-D2 to accompany him. On the inside, Rex was glad he told the Skywalker kids the good side of Ahsoka, before she helped bring the galaxy into chaos. When this is all over, every part of him wants to yell at her, if Luke and Leia manage to redeem her, blame her for everything, but… he forgives her, he wants to tell her that he forgives her and none of this was her fault. If there's anyone to point the finger at, it's Emperor Palpatine or he should say Darth Sidious. Rex prays that this fight will end, and the galaxy will finally have peace, true peace and the Republic restored.
Two Days Later…
Afternoon…
Day: Two Days Before the Assault on Rebel Base
(Scene: Bridge, The Sakira, Star Destroyer, Orbiting Hoth, Outer Rim, Space)
Darth Véurr walked across the bridge of the Star Destroyer after she had been contacted that the scouts have made significant process. Standing beside the Admiral at the command console, there was already a hologram of the two-man Stormtrooper Scouts, in armour designed for extremely frigid conditions and the Probe Droid. The other trooper was laying on his stomach, assessing the rebel base no doubt, Véurr was impressed that the rebels were able to hightail out of Yavin IV so quickly, when she led another strike on the planet. Hands behind her back, the Sith Lady ordered the soldier to debrief her on the scenario.
"We have located the base. It built into a low range mountain side, clever natural defence." The Stormtrooper started. Natural mountain defence, which means only one way in and one way out. The fighters will be stored in the hangar bay, as well as other supplies she will need to cripple. "From what our Probe gathered, there is only one entrance. An assault from the back door is not possible." A plan was already forming in Véurr's mind, it looks like it will have to be a two-stage assault, first will be to lure the rebel pilots out; pilots are an important asset to the rebellion, this will be down to the TIE Fighters and sending down two or even four AT-ATs (All Terrain Armoured Transport). The rebels hate those vehicles, exceedingly difficult to destroy with their heavy shields, but when their design was proposed, which her Master approved, despite her protest in already seeing the flaw; that being the long legs since the transport vehicle measures twenty meters in height, the rebels will find a way to exploit it. She tried numerous times before if they wanted mobility and heavy firepower, they should have examined the schematics of the AT-TE (All Terrain Tactical Enforcer) Walker. Honestly, it's almost as if the weaponry of The Clone Wars is obsolete. Their weaponry and the advancements were unrivalled, these tin cans were a joke. "We almost have the exterior schematics of the base made, just give us another few hours milady." Véurr simply nodded, while the Admiral addresses them.
"Excellent work troopers. Return once you are done." They will have the base schematics before the planet makes another rotation, it will be enough to plan an assault. The first stage will have to lure out the pilots and engage with their Imperial TIE Fighters in aerial combat. Once the pilots are dead or forced onto the retreat, the ground assault will be the second stage. The rebels will either have to surrender or die trying to escape and no doubt Anakin will remain behind to face her, one-on-one. Véurr does not want to kill, she's going to try and turn Anakin to the Dark Side first, as her Apprentice Darth… Vader. Darth Vader, the name suits him, Vader and Véurr, they will be an unstoppable pair, just like the old times and together, they can overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy for themselves. However, if he refuses to turn, then he shall die, and she will go after his children; who knows, maybe they are even more powerful than the Chosen One himself. Feeling her presence is no longer needed, Véurr left the bridge and train, even meditate before the meeting of her former Master.
Two Days Later…
Early Morning…
Day: Assault on the Rebel Base…
(Scene: Corridors, Rebel Base, Hoth)
It was chaos! Leia was right, it was only a matter of time before the Empire found them again, after they escaped Yavin IV. After the aerial fight between their pilots against the TIE Fighters and the AT-ATs, which is pounding their base's natural defence, they were ordered to retreat. Everyone is ordered to flee, grab whatever supplies they can and save whatever ships they can and get the haran (hell) out of here. The Rebel Alliance cannot collapse, Anakin ordered his son to get out, escape with R2 and head to Dagobah before they discover this fighter leaving the planet. Luke wanted to stay, but Leia managed to get it through his thick skull that whatever training he will get, will save them, and convinced him to leave, he left reluctantly just before the ground assault began. Rex was with Anakin holding off a wave of Stormtroopers, while Wolffe was with Leia and Han and Chewbacca, with C-3PO were trying to get the Millennium Falcon up and running, her engines do need some time to warm up. Anakin deflected a laser, bringing it right back at the trooper, hitting him in the chest, Rex had his trusty DC-17s, firing with the same dexterity as if he was fighting droids and not people. Anakin knew Leia and Han will need all the help she can get, she doesn't know he won't be making it out of this base, let alone the slim chance of alive and he discussed it with Han and Rex in private. They hated the thought of losing him but know that hope is in the hands of his children, it seems like the Force has finally decided to call him. Rex shouted at his General that they were going to get overwhelmed, so with that, Anakin blocked another laser fire, then pushed out with his hands, making all the Stormtroopers fall back. Grabbing Rex by his arm, the two turned and began to run, hopefully they will run into Leia as well. The other rebels were running towards the hangar to get into the transport ships with whatever supplies they have, along with vital intelligence, they could not afford the Empire to get their hands on them, it would be disastrous. Thank the Force, the former Captain and General ran into Leia, only… minus Rex's best friend. Wolffe is dead and they could tell be the tears that ran down his daughter's face, Rex instinctively reached out for his General's daughter and hugged her, telling her 'it will be okay' and that he is 'now in a better place'. He recited the rite in his head, Wolffe is with Fives, Hardcase, Gregor, Kix, Tup and many more that are too many for him to list in his head; he is with his Jedi Generals and… Little Gods have mercy on him. When her father asked who killed him, she only whispered one word:
"Véurr." The name made their eyes widened. This was bad, Darth Véurr is leading the attack, no wonder it is running so smoothly, she is a deadly tactician, Anakin realised that this is a two-stage assault; the first was to cripple their pilot numbers. The second is to raid their base. Rex knows in his head that they need to get out, pronto before Véurr finds them. Leia clipped her lightsaber to her waist, Anakin led her and Rex to the hangar bay where Han and Chewie were shouting at them to their asses onto The Falcon, hearing somehow that the Sith Lady herself is inside the base. Chewed did not like what his former friend had become, especially after enslaving his people, he remembered Ahsoka after meeting her and a group of Younglings when he was captured for the Trandoshan hunt. They saved each other's lives, now he is wondering if he regrets his decisions, there were many points in time to stop the Togruta's fall; Ahsoka was the last person in anyone's thoughts to fall to the Dark Side. Leia bought them some time by closing the door and using her sabre to slash the control panel. It won't hold long, but it will for now, until Véurr starts cutting through. Anakin held his daughter in his arms, knowing this is the last time he'll see his little princess, he ordered Rex to get on the ship with her and that was when the door was blasted open. Steps were heard, Anakin and Leia could feel the dark Force signature, almost making Leia feel nauseous. The Stormtroopers entered first, as Han ran inside to prepare his ship to take off, Rex caught Leia's hand, but she refused to budge. She was not leaving her father here, nor she wanted to lose him. The firing began, Anakin raised his arm to create a Force Shield to block the lasers, as Rex returned covering fire, using his free hand, the former General lifted both his daughter and Rex into the air with the Force and gave them both a hard push; throwing them into the ship.
"HAN! GET OUT, NOW!" He yelled, at the top of his lungs. Rex quickly caught a distraught Leia, who attempted to join her father, reaching out with their bond.
"Don't do this, dad!" He could hear her crying in his head. A tear slipped down his cheek.
"May the Force be with you, my princess. Take care of Luke and win this war." With that, Anakin cut his bond with children, inside the ship, Leia was clinging to Rex for dear life as she cried; tears running down her face. Rex could feel her pain too, he's going to lose the last friend he knew from the war. He is probably now the last Clone Trooper of The Clone Wars. Han and Chewie tapped on several buttons and hit the ignition, activating the thrusters at full speed, narrowly escaping Véurr's wrath. The Stormtroopers were suddenly ordered stop firing, as a black armoured figure entered the hangar. She ordered the soldiers to leave them and check the rest of the base. With a flick of her hand, a large crate was sent crashing, blocking the door, she wanted the two of them to be alone.
"We meet again, Master." The way she addressed him was mocking, the distort of her voice was chilling to him, as he stared at the helmet and seeing the Jaig Eyes. Véurr reached for her helmet, removing it, and tossed it to the ground. For the first time in twenty-two years, Anakin lays his blue eyes on the pair of gold that burned into his soul. For the first time, he finally sees the face of his former Padawan, his best friend, sister, and daughter; how the times have changed her. The roundness in her face is gone, sharp angles of her jawline have replaced it, montrals grew another inch and her head tails were slightly longer. The armour reminding him of the Clone's Phase Two armour is intimidating. She has changed so much, he is not facing Ahsoka, he is facing Darth Véurr, the Sith Lady who killed her; but he believes his sister and daughter is in there.
"It's been a long time." He replied, keeping an air of calm. "You can come back, Ahsoka. There's still time for you, please." Anakin's stretched out his hand. "Let's go of your anger, but I will not turn to the Dark Side." His response was met by the sound of her unclipping her twin lightsabers.
"You are twenty-two years late for that, Skywalker." It is weird for him to hear her voice, it is Ahsoka's voice, but… at the same time she is no longer Ahsoka Tano. "Seems like I can't turn you after all. If I can't have you, then your death is imminent." Véurr activated her lightsabers simultaneously, hearing the synchronised snap-hiss, revealing two crimson blades. Anakin just gave the Sith Lady a sad and despondent look, seeing the person he once knew is gone. Taking his Master's lightsaber, Anakin pressed the button, a blue blade sprang forth and he slipped into his Djem So stance, as Véurr did the same, one of her lightsabers being in the reverse Shien grip and the other in the forward grip. She also noticed that the Jedi Knight was not wielding his own lightsaber, which meant he handed it to his son no doubt, instead it was Obi-wan Kenobi's lightsaber. Once she strikes Anakin down, she can finally add the sabre to her trophy room. Anakin felt he was on Mustafar again, but this time, he is fighting a fully-fledged Sith Lady, not the person who just started to get aquatinted with the Dark Side. Instead of being surrounded by hot temperatures, ash, and lava rivers, they were fighting on a planet with the exact opposite conditions; cold temperatures, snow, blizzards, and glaciers. While it is clear Veurr is primarily an Ataru style fighter, she learned enough to be skilled in Form V and applying her knowledge of Jar'Kai to it, both she and Anakin were in an Offensive Neutral stance and waited to see who would move first. The Sith Lady and the Jedi Knight began to circle each, being wary of moving first, Veurr knows Anakin's move set as much as he knows hers... or does he? After five minutes, Véurr struck first, dashing towards Anakin and slamming both her sabres on top of him, Anakin raised his weapon horizontally to block the strike, but was almost taken aback by the strength of the attack. His hard rock Form V stance almost buckled, but he managed to not collapse or stagger, Véurr certainly has been training and she even learned a new trick or two. Anakin realises that he is not facing Ahsoka, he has to face her as Darth Veurr. He countered a swing coming to his right, pushing it away and quickly ducked under the second lightsaber, flanking her left side and brought his sabre down on her left forearm, with every intention to cut it off. Véurr simply raised her left arm, surprising her former Master and shocked him when his lightsaber made contact with her gauntlet, but not cutting through it! That meant it was resistant to lightsaber strikes. His opponent merely smirked, as she moved his lightsaber away from her, still making contact with the gauntlet and showing no sign of melting.
"Impressed? Mandalorian Iron has its perks." Anakin doesn't know how she got her hands on such material, the Mandalorians were extremely protective of who they give their armour or forge their armour to. Either she forced someone to do so or she took it from someone's dead body, who knows, to Anakin, having one piece of armour made of Mandalorian Iron is bad. Anakin suddenly yelped in pain when her boot him in the leg, miraculously not breaking it, but making him drop his lightsaber. Anakin figured they must be steel-tipped, which explains the pain, obviously he forgot he taught his former Padawan the art of unarmed combat and that she is known for her deadly low and sweep kicks. Deciding to play fair, his enemy turned off her lightsabers, getting into a fighting stance, Anakin stood up doing the same. They should be on an even playing field, since they both have a prosthetic forearm, then the Chosen one attacked first, jumping in with a basic punch that Véurr easily blocked and countered with backhand to his face with her left. It struck his cheek, staggering him. Véurr got in close to his defences, lashing out with a combination of basic punches, cross-jabs, upper cuts, and hooks, all of which Anakin was able to block with his reflexes and aid from the Force. What he was not prepared for, was Véurr leaping into the air, performing a spin kick right into his ribs. Anakin flew back, thankfully where his lightsaber is, he called for it, making his weapon fly back into his hand and he stood up in his Form V stance, activating it. The Jedi Knight and General tried not to wince due to the pain in his ribs, they're either cracked or broken because of that kick. Noticing her opponent is back to being armed with a lightsaber, she unclipped one of her sabres, getting into the same stance, this time, she has a trick or two up her sleeve. Darth Véurr ignited her weapon, then focused on the Force, pouring the energy of the Force Lightening into her blade. Anakin's eyes widened with shock as electricity ran up the blood-red blade, to him, this was bad, yet he remained calm. Véurr rushed towards him and slammed her sabre, the crackling electricity was making him extremely uncomfortable, as she pushed her sabre and his, closer towards his neck. Véurr's Sith gold eyes glared into his blue, gold eyes meeting blue, years ago it used to blue eyes facing blue, not this. The two clashed for what felt like an eternity, they were evenly matched in skill and also knowing each other's skill set, before his friend fell, even though some of her fighting style is there. Lady Véurr stopped the electricity running through her blade, before the energy shorts out her weapon. Now the electricity is one less thing to deal with for Anakin, Véurr still continued her relentless pounding at his defence, maybe age has finally caught up to him, he is only forty-four though and Véurr is five years younger than him. The former Jedi Knight now Sith Lady appears as if she has the stamina of a rancor and is nearly strong as a Zillo Beast! Anakin was breathing hard as sweat ran down the side of his forehead. The pair who would've been once seen as a father and daughter, clashed once more, now holding each other in a lock and luck seemed to on his side as the Chosen One overpowered Véurr, pushing her back and found his opening, swinging his lightsaber against her armour. Sadly, Véurr moved in such a way that the strike only left a hollow slash mark, her plastoid armour now hot to touch, but not burning her, as the orange hue died down, leaving small, sizzling puffs of smoke; a slash mark on the black chest piece. Véurr growled at Anakin, her lip curling and revealing her sharp canine fangs like that of a predator. Taking out her second lightsaber, she dashed towards Anakin, igniting it, the three lightsabers clashed, red met blue, another lock. This one held longer this time, but the victor of this hold was Véurr and her lighsaber blade struck Anakin's right leg, the wound was deep as he howled in pain, dropping his saber. Anakin fell onto the floor, as Obi-wan's lightsaber rolled towards her feet, she picked it up, attaching it to her belt, with whatever strength he had, Skywalker managed to get onto his knees as his enemy pointed one of her sabres, as shut off the second one, at his throat.
"This is it." He told himself, solemnly. "This is where I die." He looked up to Darth Véurr, who was once Ahsoka Tano, he tried to search for any of sign of a sliver of light that could be the person he accepted as a daughter but found none. The darkness has completely consumed her, or he cannot bring her back because he is a reminder of her past, while his children could be her future. Accepting his fate, Anakin wanted to hear something special to him, one last time before he becomes one with the Force. He looked right into Véurr's gold eyes with a sad and pained look. "Please." Anakin whispered, "Say it, just this one time. My dying wish." Véurr's hand began to shake a little, wondering if she should strike down her former Master, but he won't turn, he's too dangerous to be kept alive and with that, knowing what he is asking for, she replied back to him.
"Goodbye Skyguy." Anakin smiled, he nothing else to live for and mentally saying goodbye to his children. The fate of the galaxy is in his children's hands and the Rebel Alliance.
"Goodbye Snips." He didn't see the blade impale him through the chest, a clean stab. Anakin felt his life drain from him and in return, he saw light, he saw his wife Padmé smiling down on him and looking more beautiful than she was before. An angel, his angel, she brought out her hand and Anakin accepted it. Darth Véurr looked at the body of Anakin Skywalker, she knew it was another piece of her past gone, but there was something different about this kill. There was no feeling of triumph or satisfaction, there was... remorse? Emptiness? It didn't feel like a victory, she should be relishing it, but she couldn't. This is another or the last link if her past gone! This victory is sombre or bittersweet. Véurr is usually the type to leave bodies to rot, on the planet they died on, but she couldn't do that with Anakin, it wouldn't be right; he deserves a burial, he deserves to be buried with his wife. It is settled, her Master will not know about this, this burial will be in secret. Lady Véurr found a large cover and placed it over her former Master's body. The crate blocking the door was moved away by the troopers as they entered to check on their General. Before them, they saw her without her helmet, placing the cover over Anakin's body and they knew it was a victory for the Empire. The Chosen One is dead. One of the troopers, no doubt Six, approached his leader with helmet and she took it, placing it back on her.
"Bring my personal ship around." She ordered. They waited ten minutes before her personal carrier landed in the hangar. Picking up Anakin's body, she made her way to the ramp, entering the ship, not before turning back to her battalion. "I have personal matters to attend to. Finish the clean-up and I will return in one planetary rotation, if not two." The ramp sealed itself as Véurr placed the body in the small bunk, then went to the cockpit where her personal pilot sat.
"Where to ma'am?" He asked,
"Naboo." Was her answer, clear and straight to the point. The Imperial transport ship took off, exiting Hoth's atmosphere, as the pilot entered Naboo's co-ordinates to make a jump into hyperspace.
Several Hours Later...
Night…
(Scene: Funeral Services and Crematorium, Naboo, Mid Rim)
Naboo is under heavy influence of the Imperial regime, the other population are aquatic-based people known as the Gungans, have been enslaved much like the Wookies of Kashyyyk. Those working for funeral services were incredibly surprised or unprepared for an Imperial ship to land on the landing platform and even more when the figure coming out is Darth Véurr carrying a body that was wrapped up. Véurr normally does not bury her victims, unless there is something special about this one. Véurr rarely makes visits to Naboo, so the staff and civilians were wondering why now? In one of the spires that overlooked the green plains, was Padmé's resting place and that is where she will place Anakin. One of the staff members found the courage to approach her.
"How may we help you, Lady Véurr?" The human male bowed respectfully before the Sith Lady, but she paid no heed.
"I want your finest coffin, perhaps a similar one to Senator Amidala's. I will pay any expenses, but do not make me wait." Nodding, the male colonist gestured to follow him. When they were inside, Véurr put the body down, as the coffin that was used for Padmé's funeral was wheeled out. It looks like they made another and there was a blank thin metal plate to write or carve something on it. Véurr wished to do this personally, so handing the tool needed, she began engraving into the metal in Galactic Basic. The process took ten minutes, no mistake in spelling could be made and finally, she was done, looking at her handiwork. On the plate was:
"Anakin Skywalker
48 BBY-3 ABY
Master. General. Friend. Brother. Husband. Father."
Darth Véurr used the Force to lift the lid of the coffin, gently placing it down. Turning to the wrapped body, she removed the covering in front of the staff, revealing a Jedi, which they recognised by the robes. Why was Véurr giving this Jedi in particular a proper burial? Lifting the body, she carefully put Anakin into the coffin made of fine stone and putting his hands over his stomach, his eyes closed. There was a sense of peace on his face, she could not leave his body to freeze on Hoth, nor let the planet be his tomb; her former Master deserves this. Then the coffin was sealed, as the Sith Lady levitated the stone slab over Anakin Skywalker. The nails were drilled into the lid, forever sealing it. Véurr made it clear she wanted to be alone, taking the coffin with her as she headed in the direction of where his wife was laid to rest.
Meanwhile...
Time Unknown…
With Rex, Leia, C-3PO, Han and Chewbacca...
(Scene: Millennium Falcon, Western Reaches, Space)
Inside the Falcon, Rex quickly caught Leia as she fell to the floor, hearing the Force cry out like a shockwave that overwhelmed her. She knew what it meant, she did not need to be Force bonded to her father to know what happened. Her dad is dead, he is one with the Force, but he left her. The greatest Jedi known in the galaxy is gone, slayed by the person who used to be his Padawan, turned Jedi Knight. All Rex could do was comfort the daughter of Skywalker as she cried for her dad, the good General died fighting, for the survival of the rebellion, the galaxy, for democracy. Han and Chewie bowed their heads in respect. These are dark times indeed. Rex lost a friend in Anakin Skywalker.
"Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc. Ni partayli, gar darasuum." He muttered, as Leia clung to him. She thought Véurr could be redeemed, but killing her father, means Ahsoka is too far gone. Her father's death will be avenged, Jedi teachings be damned.
With Luke...
Time Unknown…
(Scene: Swamps, Dagobah, Western Reaches, Space)
Luke broke out his meditation, startling the elderly Master Yoda. He heard his sister weep through his Force bond. For some reason, he asked himself why his dad cut his bond to him and her, he knew why. He felt it through the Force, it was crying, mourning. His dad died, he should have stayed! Now Véurr killed him and left him to rot on the icy planet of Hoth. Yoda hummed before speaking, letting Luke embrace his emotions, to let him cry for the father he lost. He was taken from him and Leia too soon, now he's with their mother and the Force.
"Gone, Knight Skywalker is. Mourn him with you, I shall. Dark times indeed, these are." Yoda bowed his head in respect of the Anakin Skywalker, a great Jedi he is and even a greater Jedi Master he could become, if the Council did not reject his rise in the rank. Luke was not aware of Leia's dark thoughts in his grief, but he would not let it consume him, his father would want them to move and safe his Togrutan friend. The son of Skywalker still believes Véurr can be redeemed, but Leia thinks the opposite and it might cause a rift between the twins. The forgiver and the avenger. Yoda sensed it and hopes that the Force will help change her judgement on the misguided Jedi Knight Tano.
Back With Darth Véurr...
(Scene Padmé's Burial Chamber, Naboo, Mid Rim)
There was more than enough space for two coffins. Anakin has every right to be with his wife, it's probably what he would have wanted. Véurr removed her helmet as a sign of respect, respect she rarely shows to others. This is a significant difference to her callous, cold, and brutal attitude; her gold eyes, for the first time in twenty-two years actually softened, they showed sadness, guilt... pain above all else. Using her two arms, Lady Véurr lifted the stone coffin, positioning it next to Padmé's. There was a gentle 'thud' due to the weight of the coffin, but it was placed with careful ease to not disturb the body inside. Darth Véurr stood beside Anakin's coffin, her hand running over the thin metal sheet she engraved. Her eyes closed for a brief moment, before opening them, if anyone was around, they would be astounded, Véurr's eyes are normally gold, now they are a soft blue, like a calm ocean as tears welled up in them. At this moment, it wasn't Darth Véurr, it was the lost Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano.
"I'm so sorry, Master." She said softly. "I know you wished to be buried here, with your wife." As quickly as the tears came, she wiped them away and her eyes returned to their gold colour. Ahsoka is Darth Véurr once more. Picking up her helmet, Véurr looked back at the two stone coffins, then putting her helmet back on. The Lady of the Sith vowed this will be the one time she will ever show emotion, but deep down, it is dragging her into further depression, as she has no one else but the Emperor's loyalty and must continue to serve him and crush the Rebellion. The door closed behind her, the moonlight lighting up the room and suddenly, Anakin's Force Ghost appears standing over his coffin, as the ghost of Padmé Amidala-Skywalker appeared beside him. She caught her husband's hand, gazing into his eyes with a look of hope and sadness for what has become of the Togruta.
"There's hope for her Ani. I can see her light." There was indeed hope in the spirit of Padmé's voice,
"I know." Was Anakin's reply.
Fin
That's it! And I'm going to hide out in the Unknown Regions of galaxy before I get mobbed. I really hope you all enjoyed it!
Bye!
