The Tersu's and Toja made their way down to the fairgrounds where the festivities for Restoration Day were being held. It was an exuberant event with music, food, and cheerful citizens visiting the multiple booths celebrating the New Republic. Rya walked ahead with Prisa enjoying the much needed time with her daughter. Lee watched the two most important women in his life enjoy the ambiance. His enjoyment was halted when he saw the press taking photos and calling out to Rya, "Senator! Senator, look this way! One with the youngling!"

"It must be difficult," Toja remarked empathically. "Living under the constant watch of the public eye."

"Yeah," Lee said, as Rya protectively picking up Prisa shielding her from any photographs.

"Your father would have loved all this. I remember how he used to brag about capital living, but even with all its glamor, I prefer the farm," Toja said gleefully. "I think it's safe to say he would be very proud of you."

"You think so?" Lee asked with the charm a boy rather than the man he was. He had never thought about what his father would have said about his life up until now. Not that he didn't want to, he had just been too busy over the years trying to stay alive. As he watched his own family in front of him being showered with attention for the position they held his annoyance gave away to pride. He had sense of accomplishment of how far he had come from Tarkintown. But his pride vanished as he wondered about the other two women in his life, his sister and mother. "What about my mother?"

"I can't really say my boy," Toja admitted. "She was barely in Tarkintown a day before she left. But Ruva did say the strangest thing the night you Tersu's showed up at the encampments."

"What did she say?" Lee asked curiously. Toja hardly ever spoke of his wife who had died the year after they had arrived in Tarkintown. She had fallen ill to Fester Lung and never recovered. Lee figured he never spoke of her because it pained him too much and raising Stobo alone was overwhelming in itself.

"Superstition really, she said your mother frightened her. Ruva insisted there was something about your mother….something dark. As though she might burn the whole encampment to the ground just so she wouldn't have to be there." Toja confessed. "I of course figured it was the shock of losing one's home. Such a traumatic thing, some can't handle that depth of pain."

Lee was shocked by Toja's account of his mother. From what he remembered Prisa Matno was a quiet determined woman. She was fair and hardworking. She was most alive when working on the farm and teaching him how to determine good soil from bad, how to save a crop, and other farming knowledge that had been passed down from generations of Matno's. But he never saw or sensed darkness in her. Frustration on the other hand was a part of her daily life. Frustration with Riv's crazy schemes, frustration with her father's pleas to leave Riv, frustrations with a Lenore who had no interest in farming, but with Lee she was calm and patient.

"Maybe that's why she left?" Lee suggested trying to preserve what memory he had of his mother. "Too much pain to bear."

"Don't put too much stock into my boy," Toja said, patting Lee on the shoulder. "I shouldn't have said anything about the matter. I will say this, I think you better make peace with your wife and get your family back to the farm. You all were happier there."

"That'll be a mission in itself. I haven't debated in years and going head to head with the Senator of Lothal will be no easy task," Lee half joked as he watched Prisa point to fireworks in the sky. He knew Toja was right. He needed to get his family home. He smiled and approached his wife and daughter, placing his arms around them. As tiny as the moment was, it was the happiest they had been in a long time. Rya leaned her head back against him and left out a long sigh as Prisa giggled while the sky lit up with color. "I know."

"Families are complicated," Rya said, turning to face her husband and lowering Prisa by her side. "I knew this the day I was sent to live under Arihnda's charge but I never imagined my own family would be. I don't want Prisa's to be in an unhappy home."

"Want my advice?" Lee suggested softly. Rya nodded desperately. "Get ahead of it all. Resign."

"Resign? Give up you mean," Rya objected.

"It's not giving up if it's on your terms," Lee corrected. "Look at everything you've done for Lothal in two years. If the people can't see that by now they never will. Speak your truth and walk away. That way they know your story."

"How will we support ourselves? The farm is in no shape to produce an income or even self-sustain itself," Rya said worried.

"We'll figure it out," Lee said as he touched her cheek,"together."

Rya smiled with a sense of relief until she looked down by her side and realized Prisa was gone. "Prisa? Prisa!"

"Calm down," Lee said.

"Our child is missing," Rya snapped in a panic.

"Don't panic. She must be nearby," Lee said scanning the crowd which seemed to have grown denser. Rya swiftly walked over to one of the Peace Officers to report the situation. Lee frowned. He didn't want to scare Prisa. He knew she had gotten in the habit of wandering off these days but he had always been able to locate her within minutes.

"Create a perimeter," the officer said. "Don't worry senator, we'll find her."

"Prisa!" Rya called out. "Prisa! Where are you?!"

Lee moved through the crowd toward the toy booths knowing it was where his daughter most likely wandered off to. Scanning the group of children he saw no sign of his daughter. He was beginning to grow worried. As he turned around to see if there was anything else that would be of interest to Prisa he heard the lead Peace Officer shout out orders.

"Hold it!"The peace officer drew his blaster and pointed it directly at Toja who had Prisa in his arms. "Let the senator's daughter go!"

"Ahhhh!" Prisa screamed out of fright as more officers appeared and pointed their blasters at Toja as well. The crowd cleared and watched, as Toja patted Prisa's back to try to calm her.

"It's alright dear. There's just a misunderstanding," Toja calmly said. "Don't be frightened."

"Hey!" Lee yelled and ran over as two of the officers pointed their blasters at him. "Lower your weapons!"

The officers looked at their lead for direction.

"He's part of our family!" Lee exclaimed. "Lower your weapons, you wannabe bucketheads!"

The crowd began to chatter at the situation as Rya ran over to Toja and Prisa.

"Thank god for you Toja," Rya said as she hugged Toja gratefully. The peace officers slowly lowered their blasters and turned their attention to the crowd of spectators that had formed.

"Nothing to see here," one of the officers said. "Move along."

"Are you alright?" Lee asked Toja who seemed unphased by the whole incident.

"I'm fine Lee," he replied. Surprised that he called him by his first name, Lee placed his arm around Toja's shoulder supportively. "Not the first time I've had a blaster pointed at me just so you know."

"Let's all go home," Rya suggested as she stroked Prisa's back as she rested her head on her shoulder. They began to make their way through the crowd when Toja stopped and collapsed.

"Toja!" Lee yelled, kneeling down. He cradled his head in his arms so he wouldn't be on the ground. "Hang in there. You're gonna be fine. Rya get help!"

"Go," Toja whispered wheezing. "Go home."

"Toja," Lee could feel the emotion build up inside him. Stobo had died in his arm and he didn't want history to repeat itself. He watched as Toja's face became pale and immobile.

"Don't worry… Stobo and I will be together now….," he whispered with a smile before closing his eyes and passing.

Lee knelt down in front of the memorial tree on the farm. He took a deep breath as he placed his hand on the bare spot above Stobo's plaque. He then took a hammer and began to nail the freshly engraved one that read Toja. With each hit he drove the nail into the thick trunk of the tree that had withstood the test of time. Once the plaque was in place he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. It was Rya who was just as sadden as he was to lose the old Rodian.

"Strange, it seems like yesterday since he passed," Rya said.

A year had gone since their departure from the New Republic Capital. Their return had been anything but smooth. When they arrived nothing had been kept up and the lodgers Denz had employed to rent the premises while they were on Chandrila. They also had refused to leave the premises and fought the Tersu's for wrongful eviction through the Lothal Courts. But in the end then Tersu's were able to reclaim their property along with a mountain of debt in legal fees. They had been able to take out a loan and borrow most of the credits from friends and connections. Though their dues were swiftly approaching and the Tersu's were facing a financial crisis.

Rya had not been in contact with Denz since her resignation speech. He thought it was cowardly resign and had tried to convince her to push back on the call to leave office. But she knew her heart was no longer in reconstructing the New Republic. She wanted to reconstruct her family, or at least salvage what was left of it.

"I was going to go out this afternoon and install sensors on the perimeter. The wildlife is getting a bit too bold for my taste and coming on to the property," Lee said stoically. He was struggling since Tojo's death and his nightmares were back in full force. Lee knew Rya was trying to do everything in her power to help him through it, but there was nothing she could do.

"Will you be back before dark?" Rya asked.

"I'll try," Lee responded vaguely.

"Lee," Rya said gently. "I know this has taken a toll on you, it's taken a toll on all of us, but we need to talk about the farm."

"What about it?" Lee was caught off guard. He thought this was going to be one of Rya's pleas for them to reconnect as a family. But from her tone he sensed it was more business than anything.

"Our debt," Rya confessed. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to crawl out of this hole in time and keep the farm."

"I'll go into the Capitol tomorrow, make a few calls," Lee said, turning to their speeder to head toward the edge of the property.

"Lee," Rya repeated. "I'm serious. We're out of favors. We've gone through our savings, borrowed from our friends, and now the banks are asking for payment. We need to sell if we're to have any chance of starting over."

"I'm going to pretend like you didn't just say that," Lee said, packing the speeder without much thought.

"I know it must be hard to face," She walked over to him and placed her hand on his. "But there is no other way."

"There's always another way," Lee said and pulled his hand away from hers. "Jules said she could get me a job with the Defense Forces. I'll be away for long stretches of time but I could make enough to get us out of the hole easily in a few years."

"And be away from us for that long?" Rya asked, looking over at Prisa who was playing in the side yard. "She's only four."

"I'll be back before you know it," Lee said.

"I don't like this Lee," Rya confessed. "The best course of action is to sell the farm and buy something smaller that needs less work. You and I can get jobs and start rebuilding again."

"Jobs doing what? Rya you're an ex-senator and I'm a farmer and soldier." Lee said shortly. "I'm not going to give up Prisa's inheritance. Especially after everything my family suffered losing it the first time. I won't let it slip through our fingers again."

"Lee you didn't loose the farm the first time. It was taken," Rya reminded him. "There was nothing you could do. Your Father –"

"Don't bring up my father," he said quickly. "I know he was a flawed man. Always trying to cut corners, trying to prove his worth, never accepting the gravity of the situation, and always leaving me and Lenore in a worse position than before. But I'm not like that."

"I never said you were," Rya frowned, uncertain how this conversation shifted so drastically.

"It may be hard to imagine but this place was beautiful and self-sustaining once," Lee said. "My grandfather saw to it that my mother knew everything there was to know about farming and made sure to pass that knowledge to me. And I fully intend to pass it on to Prisa and any children of hers. My father promised he would get back everything the Empire took from us, but he didn't. So it is up to me to fulfill that promise, for my family, for you, Prisa, and Lenore if she's still out there somewhere. "

"Lee," Rya said as gently as she could, approaching him closely "No one is asking you to. It's not up to you to fix your father's mistakes. It's ok to let go."

"I have to try," Lee admitted and affectionately held her face. "Or I will never be at peace."

"Why do you always leave me?" Rya held back tears. "You said we would figure this out together…"

"Give me two years," Lee offered. "If we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel by then, we'll sell."

"Two years?" She gasped. "Why because I took two years as a Senator?"

"It would be a fair trade, right Lieutenant?" Lee remarked. A tear ran down Rya's check and Lee knew he had hurt her with his comment. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, "Rya, please, you know I have to do this. I have to try. Or else I'll always wonder. And if I don't, Lenore's sacrifice will be for nothing, Toja's actions will be for nothing."

"Two years Tersu," Rya reluctantly agreed.

"I promise it will fly by," Lee tried to lessen the pain."I'll be fine. I'll be working alongside Jules. You know we work well together. It's mainly transportation and prisoner transfers so nothing too dangerous. I'll write home all the time."

"Ironic isn't it?" Rya said stoically.

"What?"

"Joining the defense forces to save your family from debt…" she said and looked him square in the eye. "The same thing you disowned Lenore for."

"That was different," Lee said, trying his best to brush off the remark. He knew Rya was not in favor of this decision but she had a point. "This is the New Republic not the Empire."

"Then why is history repeating itself?" Rya darkly said. The two of them stood under the tree watching Prisa from afar. They both sensed that things would not pan out the way they were planning but both hoped they were wrong. "When will you go?"

"I'll contact Jules tomorrow," Lee replied.

"Then forget about the sensors. I can install them tomorrow while you're in the capital. Spend the rest of the day with us," Rya said. Lee nodded and saw it gave his wife some relief to know he wasn't trying to abandon them. "Prisa! Time for lunch!"

She walked down toward the side yard to get Prisa who had grass stains all over her clothes. Lee watched his family a moment longer and took a deep breath. He thought about the last person he wanted to think about in the moment: Denz Loncak. He thought about what his old friend used to always say before they started a mission: I have a bad feeling about this.