Epilogue: Sacrifice
Bly walked behind Aayla Secura, his men around him as he thought about how he had wished love could have worked between them, but he had been afraid for her, and she now belonged to Kix, a clone that saved his life, miserable as it may be.
Therefore, Kix was acceptable for the Twi'lek he considered a sister. He had had high hopes that... Bly's thoughts were disturbed when an order, given by a cold, cracking voice, filled his helmet: "Execute Order 66."
Bly froze in mid-step. "Yes, my Lord." He responded reluctantly, looking at his soldiers. All had their eyes fixed on Aayla's back, and were beginning to crouch slightly, like a nexu about to pounce. He would have to make a decision quickly, for his men wouldn't wait fo... Aayla stopped in her walk and looked up at a passing bird, his soldiers began to lift their guns.
In that split second, Bly decided. The clone commander jumped forward to shield Aayla Secura from the blaster fire, shouting her name as he did so.
Aayla spun around in time to see Bly's bullet riddled body fall face down at her feet. She paused for but a moment before springing into action, cutting down the blood-thirsty troopers. The men that had served her faithfully so long, that betrayed her in a moment.
Bly tried to block out the screaming of his brothers, slowly pushing his helmet off. His breathing was hard, and he had to fight for each breath. He was dying.
Bly felt a small, soft hand roll him over, and he opened his eyes to see Aayla Secura pulling him into her lap. Bly smiled up at her, noticing the pain in her eyes. Pain conceived of killing those close to her heart, men she had loved and trusted, all atop the sacrifice of her oldest companion.
"Oh, Bly." She was crying, tears running down her cheeks. "Why, Bly?"
Bly smiled again. "You've got a handsome guy that needs you. I have fulfilled... the need you have for me."
Aayla looked around at the strewn bodies of the other clones. "Why? Bly, why did they..."
Bly shook his head, cutting her off. "Ask Kix. It is a long story... The story of the fall of the Jedi..." Bly coughed, tasting blood. "And the rise of the Sith."
Aayla's tears fell harder. "I can feel them, Bly. The younglings..." She looked at Bly, who could only see a hazy form, his eyes clouding over.
For a moment, she feared he was dead, but then his eyes cracked open slightly. "Kiss?" He teased, a smile spreading over his lips, braking Aayla's heart. "Of course." She whispered, leaning down and gently kissing him. It was short, and tearful, tasting of blood and death, but so much was spoken in that kiss... a love that had never bloomed, the death of a friend and the rise of a new era, reverberating in both souls of lost love.
Aayla looked down at Bly, the latter of whom was breathing with great difficulty. "Name your kid after me, huh?" He smiled, eyes closing as he forced his lungs to draw another breath. Bly forced his eyes back open a crack, using all of his strength to lift his arm and wipe blood from the Twi'lek's lips, streaking it on her cheek as he cupped her face in his hand, rubbing his thumb over it.
"You're...bleeding..." He whispered, eyes closing. "Love Kix...Aayla..." And, tasting that beloved word once more, Bly perished in the jungle, surrounded by traitorous brothers, but in the arms of his angel.
Aayla felt tears sting her eyes as she looked down at the broken body of her closest companion. "You are a brave man, Bly." She whispered. "And you'll always have a place in my heart."
With those last words, Aayla stood and prepared a burial place for the clone commander, burying him under a flowering bush and placing his helmet, upon the fresh mound of dirt. A helmet scared and singed with war, death and loss, for what purpose? She looked down at it for several moments before turning to the others. Traitors or not, they had served and loved her for a long time, given the love of comrades, and therefore, did not deserve to be abandoned in the open... They had no one else to bury them but each other... and they would never be found, lost forever in the wilderness of Felucia.
Once her task was complete, Aayla looked into the horizon, and, chiefly, Coruscant. She had to find Kix.
The End.
