Kasha looked around at the empty base that had been, up until recently, the home of her squadron. The ground staff and remaining pilots had drifted off, scattered throughout the galaxy. Kasha didn't blame them. The war had ended a month ago, less than a week after the squadron had been devastated fighting the Jedi.
Kasha's fighter was still there. She didn't know why she stayed, the base was empty, save a few droids who kept the place running.
Exiting hyperspace in a stolen ARC-170, Shaak Ti made a mental prayer that the force was guiding her correctly. As half a dozen ARC-170's exited hyperspace directly behind her, she began to twist and turn, desperately trying to survive.
"Force help me." she mentally prayed. It wasn't that she was afraid of death. More, she didn't want to leave the universe like this, in the hands of the Sith. She could feel the darkness closing and was determined to stay a light against the dark.
The bases proximity alarms went off and Kasha stepped up to the external screens. An ARC-170 was desperately trying to avoid being shot down by no fewer than six others.
"Well, any enemy of the Empire is a friend of mine I suppose." She murmured to herself and rushed into her fighter. Accelerating out of the atmosphere, she turned towards the ARC-170's.
Shaak Ti was about to die. No matter where she turned, they were going to get her. As an ARC-170 closed on her tail, she closed her eyes and prepared to be destroyed.
Laser cannons blazed and an ARC-170 exploded. But it wasn't Shaak Ti that exploded in a ball of fire. Twisting her head round, she saw a Z-95 Headhunter tearing into the ARC-170's as it pulled up into the formation. Taking advantage, Shaak corkscrewed her fighter round hard, coming up onto the tail of another ARC-170. Lasers flashed and another one of her pursuers spun out of control.
The Z-95 knocked out another two ARC-170's, hitting their stabilisers so they spun into the nearby moon. 'Whoever it is, they're good.' She thought to herself as she punched her final proton torpedo into another ARC-170, before despatching the final one with a deadly burst of fire as the craft flew into her sights, desperately avoiding the Z-95's fire. Unfortunately for the clone pilot, they didn't count on Shaak Ti and her connection to the force.
As the last hostile ARC-170 was destroyed, Shaak Ti reached out with the force, determined to try and identify her rescuer. The result was…puzzling. It was rather like looking in the mirror. Or perhaps more accurately, a force-free version of herself. The Z-95 waggled its wings at her and the pilot gestured for Shaak Ti to follow her. Trusting that the force had lead her truly, she followed the fighter into the atmosphere.
Kasha looked at the ARC-170 as it followed her into the base. Who was this pilot, she wondered to herself.
As both craft landed in the hanger, Kasha undid her flight harness and climbed out to face the pilot she'd rescued.
Shaak Ti undid her flight harness and climbed out to face her rescuer.
"Thank you." She said, before continuing. "I am Jedi master Shaak Ti."
"Jedi master!" Kasha spat as she climbed out. "Jedi took my older sister! I don't much care for Jedi!"
"The Jedi are-" Shaak Ti caught herself mid sentence. "Were the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. Surely you can understand the need for them."
Kasha gave Shaak a very long stare. "So when my mother slowly died, losing the will to live, that was justified too?" she spat. "Or perhaps you refer to the toughness of the orphanage I had to grow up in? No, you Jedi steal the children of others, people who don't matter." Suddenly Kasha paused, as Shaak Ti's name sunk in. "Wait, did you say your name was Shaak Ti?"
Shaak Ti nodded. Kasha looked away, confused.
"Then you are my-"
"Sister, yes." Shaak finished. "And it is probably the reason that the force lead me here today." An idea was forming at the back of Shaak Ti's mind. "Kasha, would you be willing to help me train pilots for a rebellion?"
Kasha shrugged. "Guess so. Don't like the Empire, especially what they did to the locals." Kasha gestured to the devastated city of Gorira sitting in the distance. "The Empire claims it's stopping old Separatist worlds from causing any more trouble. But these people were innocent. Count me in!"
Smiling, Shaak and Kasha Ti, sisters long separated, stepped into the base, ready to face the challenges ahead.