So, Sorry about not posting for over a week, i've just been busy playing Jedi Survivor and it is SO DAMN FUN. Haven't finished it yet though. I also celebrated my 18th b-day with the boys, watching the Mario Movie, which was really good ngl. Anyway, I'll shut up and let y'all enjoy another chapter.
Chapter 26: The Academy
April 23rd, 2023. 21BBY
Jedi Shuttle, En Route to Mandalore
Normal POV
An Eta-Class shuttle en route to Mandalore is carrying 4 occupants that are to assist the crisis plaguing the planet. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, Clone Captain Rex, and Non-clone Sergeant Thomas Sullivan of the 501st. Duchess Satine had specifically requested Thomas along with Anakin and Ahsoka to help with the situation involving her struggling planet.
"The Jedi Council has given you a mission, Ahsoka," Anakin said, "It's your duty to see it through."
"Don't you think I'm just a little overqualified for this?" Ahsoka said dryly.
"According to Senator Amidala, Mandalore is a deeply corrupt world," Anakin explained, "If the cycle is to be broken, the future leaders at the Royal Academy of Government must learn the evils of corruption. Yoda feels that only a young padawan, or Sergeant," gesturing to Thomas, "like you two can get through to them."
"He's right," Thomas said, "it doesn't matter where I go, if there's politicians, there's bound to be corruption. Seen it too many times on earth with multiple governments. That's how many wars start."
Everyone in the shuttle knew Thomas was no stranger to corrupt governments, and his deep dislike for them as well. There were few politicians Thomas had met that he genuinely liked, those including Satine, Padme, and Senator Riyo Chuchi. He found out that they were actually genuine with their words and promises.
The shuttle made its way to Sundari, the Capital of Mandalore where the Duchess and Prime Minister Almec were waiting for them.
"My lady, if I may, what do the Jedi know of our ways?" Almec asked, "Do we really want them meddling with our children's education?"
"Surely there is nothing to fear from exposing them to new ideas, Prime minister," Satine answered.
Then the shuttle had landed, with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Thomas walking out. Thomas had a smile on his face as Satine moved forward to embrace him.
"Oh Thomas," Satine said happily, "I'm so glad you're here."
"As am I Satine," Thomas said, "I couldn't refuse when you had asked for help, since you had done so much for me."
Then they heard a throat clearing from Anakin, which made the two break apart from their embrace.
"Duchess Satine," Anakin greeted, kissing her hand, "Prime Minister Almec."
"Master Skywalker, so good to see you again," Satine said, "And you as well Ahsoka."
"Oh so you already met?" Anakin asked with the two nodding.
"Yes, we met when I was looking for Thomas to escort me back home," Satine explained, "They were both dueling with lightsabers when I walked in on them."
Anakin nodded, understanding. Satine then continued,
"I'm grateful that the Jedi Council could spare the two of you to help instruct our leaders and peacekeepers of tomorrow," Satine expressed gratefully, "Please thank Master Yoda for me."
Anakin then had a sense of nervousness as he looked between Ahsoka and the Duchess.
"Uhh," he started, "I'm afraid that due to our limited resources, I must return to battle immediately."
"So you will not be staying, Master Skywalker?" Almec asked the chosen one.
"No, but I assure you, Padawan Tano is a highly capable Jedi and has the full confidence of the council," Anakin reassured the Prime minister, "And Sergeant Sullivan is a capable soldier as well as an instructor, backed by the council and 501st."
"Very well," Almec said, "Cadet Korkie, Amis, Lagos. These are some of the cadets you will be instructing, Padawan Tano and Sergeant Sullivan."
"Nice to meet all of you," Ahsoka said with a smile.
Then Korkie noticed Thomas 1911 from left hip and the darksaber from his right.
"Those are fine weapons," he said in admiration, "May I see it?"
Before Thomas could say anything, Almec stepped in, "I'm afraid not, because of Master Kenobi's recent visit along with Sergeant Sullivan and the trouble that followed, no offworlders may carry weapons on Mandalore."
Ahsoka then turned to Thomas with a surprised look and then a smug grin.
"I should have known you were the one to cause trouble," Ahsoka said.
"To be fair," Thomas said in his defense, "General Kenobi isn't the golden child in this situation either. Plus, you got Vizsla to blame for all that."
Anakin rolled his eyes and turned to Ahsoka, "Just give me the lightsaber," with the padawan handing it over, begrudgingly. Thomas was about to hand his weapons over as well, but Satine stopped him.
"I think it would be best if Sergeant Sullivan kept his weapons for the duration," the Duchess said, "I trust that he wouldn't do anything rash."
Thomas smiled while Ahsoka was a little annoyed but didn't show it. Then Rex came up to Anakin.
"Excuse me sir," the captain said, "But it is time to depart. General Fisto is expecting us."
Anakin then turned to Satine, "If you'll excuse me," then left towards the shuttle.
Ahsoka and Thomas looked at each other before shrugging and joined Satine and Almec as they made their way inside the Capitol.
-Scene Cut-
At the Academy, Ahsoka was teaching a class, with Thomas giving some pointers of course, or cracking an occasional joke. He was merely watching from the side facing his girlfriend. He had his hat down but was scanning the classroom to make sure everyone was paying attention, and so far, so good. Right now, his alien lover was giving a lecture on corruption.
"Corruption is what happens when someone in power puts their own personal gain before the interest of the people they represent," Ahsoka spoke.
"So it is a result of greed?" asked Soniee, one of the Cadets.
"Yes," Ahsoka answered, "A leader sacrifices moral integrity for the sake of money or power. Entire star systems have collapsed into chaos, or revolution because their greedy politicians got caught up in a cycle of bribery and blackmail while their people suffered."
"Does that mean most government officials are corrupt?" Lagos asked.
"Well… no," Ahsoka hesitated, Thomas could see it was tough for her to explain this, he knew he had to step in at some point, "but the point is that temptation is always there, and citizens must be vigilant so corruption can't take root. The deadliest enemies of society dwell within its borders, and from these internal threats, the people need to be protected."
"But if you don't trust your leaders, isn't that treason?" Amis asked.
"It's every citizen's duty to challenge their leaders," Ahsoka explained, "to keep them honest, and hold them accountable if they're not."
"Wish people would have done that on earth," Thomas muttered to himself.
"How do you do that?" Korkie asked.
"By exposing corrupt officials for what they are," answered the togruta, "Lasting change can only come from within. Sergeant Sullivan can attest to that as he's from a place that had to fight against its corrupt officials in order to gain independence."
Ahsoka gestured for Thomas to step forward, and he did so. She stepped off to the side so the class could face the country boy.
"Thanks Ahsoka," Thomas said, "Anyway, like she said, I came from a nation on a single planet who was once ruled by a tyrant king who levied heavy taxes and forced its citizens to quarter troops without compensation. Wanna know what we did?"
Everyone nodded in anticipation.
"We kicked their sorry asses back to where they came from. From then on, we became an independent nation known as, The United States of America. With the birth of a new nation came a new set of laws. We drafted up a document called the Constitution, which guarantees rights for all its citizens. The laws, called amendments, were added in there as time went along, but the first two are the most important ones."
"What were those two amendments?" Lagos asked.
"The first amendment is the Freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and petition. Basically, you can say what you want, within reason, and not be dinged for it by the government. You can believe in any religion, can assemble a group wherever you want, and can do anything you want. The Monarch which we were under did not allow that."
"And the second?" Asked Korkie.
"The right to bear arms, or own firearms, like this one," Thomas pulled out his 1911 to show, with a lot of whispers and admiration, then he put the .45 away. "The founding fathers included this in the constitution so citizens would have a way of defending themselves against a tyrannical government if need be, and against other threats. If you cannot defend yourself or those who you love against a threat, then that's not very good."
"The takeaway from this is that you can love your nation, but dislike the ones who run it. Now I'm not saying Satine is corrupt, because she's far from it. The corruption could come from other parts of the government, in other branches. The head of the government isn't always the one who's corrupted," Thomas ended.
Then Thomas let Ahsoka take back over and she ended the class. After that, everyone went to their respective rooms with Thomas and Ahsoka getting their own private quarters, free from the war and from everything else. When the couple walked into their room, Ahsoka laid in the bed with a sigh of relief.
"Oh… finally," Ahsoka sighed with a smile on her face, "We got a room to ourselves, without the presence of any other masters."
Thomas chuckled, "I can tell you've been wanting something like this for a while."
"I have," she said.
The togruta then got a sly smile on her face and used the force to pull her lover onto the bed with her. This caught Thomas off guard and before he realized what was happening, Ahsoka was already on top of him.
"Hi," she said with a smile.
"Hi," Thomas replied with a laugh.
Ahsoka kissed Thomas on the lips deeply with the country boy returning it with equal passion. They began a makeout session on the bed, which lasted a while. Although, it never got past that, because if Ahsoka tried to go further, Thomas would give her a look, not of anger, but of gentleness that says, "Hey, not now." Even though it frustrated Ahsoka, she understood why. She knew that if they actually went further, it could possibly end up with the two teens becoming parents, which would be devastating for everyone.
The two lovers continued to lay in their bed for a little while, until Ahsoka decided they both needed a shower.
"Tommy," Ahsoka said softly to her human lover, "I think we both need to take a shower."
"Yeah same here," Thomas replied, "I kinda stink."
"Yeah," Ahsoka said bluntly, "You do."
Ahsoka got off Thomas as they both got up to head to the shower. They showered together because they figured it'd be faster. Afterwards, they headed back into their room to change. Thomas had a meeting with the Duchess he had arranged regarding the Mandalorian Protectors he had discussed with Kal back on Kamino.
"You sure you don't wanna come?" Thomas asked his girlfriend.
"Yeah I'm sure," Ahsoka responded, "I'm just exhausted from all the teaching today."
"I know the feeling snips," Thomas said, "Get some rest and I'll be back in a while."
"Sounds good," she yawned.
Thomas chuckled and left the room wearing his signature trench coat with a hat, and cowboy boots. He kept his darksaber and 1911 hidden underneath his coat. He met Satine in a private meeting place where he found Fenn Rau there as well.
"Glad you could make it Rau," Thomas said.
"Likewise Sergeant," Rau responded respectfully.
"So," Satine began, "Why did you ask to meet us both?"
"Because what I'm going to tell you, neither the republic nor the separatists can know," Thomas said, "And cannot leave this room, agreed?"
The two nodded their heads in acknowledgement.
"Alright," Thomas sighed, "I have a way that I can hopefully find my way home, but involves going into the unknown regions."
"That's suicide," Rau said, "no one that I know of has ever returned from the unknown regions."
"Which is why my plan doesn't involve sending people, rather probes," Thomas explained, "Back on earth, we used probes to find out data on other planets without sending actual people there. If we can get a probe to pinpoint earth, then using it as a beacon, we can mark a secret hyperspace lane to earth without any organizations other than the protectors knowing."
"But why would we hide your homeworld from the rest of the galaxy?" Satine asked.
"To protect it from those who might have ill intentions," Thomas replied, "Which is why I'm discussing it with you two. I already informed two others, my cousin and my mentor from Kamino, Kal Skirata."
The two Mandalorians nodded in understanding. They both knew anytime a government or corporation got involved in anything, it would be subjected to corruption. Thomas was merely trying to prevent that.
"So what would we do if we found earth?" Rau asked.
"We create our own secret treaty between the people of earth and Mandalore," Thomas explained, "Keep it on a separate file where only limited people may access it. Until Earth can become its own intergalactic power, this is a project that needs to stay off the books. The state of earth is not so good right now, and bringing it into an intergalactic war would only make it worse."
"So essentially, Mandalore will be uniting a planet in hopes to solve all its problems, and also training said planet so it can be able to defend itself if need be?" Rau asked.
"Correct," Thomas answered, "To put it in perspective, I never knew multiple races existed until I showed up on Ryloth. We haven't even put a human on another planet for God's sake, just our moon."
"So you're thousands of years behind technologically?" Satine asked.
"Space travel wise, yes" Thomas replied.
The two Mandalorians thought about it for a bit, thinking it over. They knew Thomas made some good points regarding his homeworld. Rau figured with Thomas' help, they can add earth to sanctuary worlds for Mandalorians or any refugee of any kind. Satine thought that if Mandalorians were to interfere in earth conflict, they could have a chance of stopping it. They decided that this was the best course of action.
"Very well," Satine said, "I will help you with this as long as you help me with this crisis."
"Understood Duchess," Thomas said.
"I will help you too young Sullivan," Rau replied, "After all, you wield the darksaber, and whoever wields it is the leader of the entire protector clan as well as the other clans."
"Then it is decided," Thomas stated, "Satine, have your most trusted engineers work with Rau's people in building probes that can be sent off into the unknown regions that we can track. Concordia will be a good place to keep this project safe and out of prying eyes. Rau, I want some of you best warriors searching for Pre Vizsla. If you find him, bring him back to us alive. He will stand trial for his crimes against Mandalore and her people."
"Understood Thomas," Satine said, "And thank you for coming and helping my people in a time like this."
"Hey no worries Satine," Thomas said nonchalantly, "I'm always happy to help."
The three members of the meeting stood up, Thomas giving Satine a hug and Rau a firm handshake. Thomas opened the door and checked to make sure that no one was watching, and headed back to his room with Ahsoka.
Once he arrived, he found the bed empty. He then saw the light to the refresher on and figured she was in there. He took off his clothes and into shorts. He then climbed into bed and was about to fall asleep when he felt someone crawl into his bed with him and put her head into the crook of his neck.
This made the redneck smile and chuckle. Ahsoka then ran her hands onto the burn scar on the left side of his chest, making her frown. She knew that scar all too well, as it was given to him by Wat Tambor on Ryloth. That was the first time she saw him. He was beaten, bruised, bloody, and limp. The sight alone horrified her, because she never saw someone subjected to such brutal torture before.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked, "Thinking about it?"
Thomas sighed as she knew what she meant.
"Sometimes," he answered, "I no longer feel pain from it, just a reminder of why I'm fighting. Call it an injury, I call it motivation."
"Always have a way with words don't you?" she asked him with a smile.
"That I do, Ahsoka," he told her, "That I do."
The two lovers then drifted off to sleep, ready for the next day.
April 24th, 2023. 21BBY
Royal Academy of Government
Day two of teaching for Ahsoka and Thomas. Everything seemed to be fine, except for one thing. Korkie was a little shaken up from the events from the night before. He wanted to get to the bottom of the food shortages and who was behind it. Ahsoka noticed his lack of attention and called him out.
"Korkie," Ahsoka said, "You seem distracted today. What's going on?"
"We did what you said," Korkie answered, "We found the evidence of corruption."
This made Thomas' head jerk up. He hoped the kid wasn't referring to what he thought he was.
"The hell you talkin about?" Thomas asked.
"Well, we were hungry," Lagos explained, "So we decided to look for food."
"Food?" Ahsoka asked with an eyebrow raised. (Do Torgutas even have eyebrows?)
"Down at the government warehouse," Amis clarified.
"Someone let y'all waltz into a warehouse?" Thomas asked.
"No," Amis said, "We broke in."
Soniee cringed, "Oh great."
"So you committed a crime?" Ahsoka asked again.
"It sounds bad, I know," Korkie tried to explain himself, "But then we saw a meeting and offworlders…"
"And they chased us," Lagos added.
"Did it ever occur to you that they were chasing you because you dumbasses broke into the damn warehouse?" Thomas asked, pinching the bridge of his nose and earning a dirty look from Ahsoka before turning back to the cadets.
"No, it was a black market deal," Korkie retorted with frustration, "I know it. My Aunt Satine told us to stay out of it, but we must do something."
"Do you have proof?" Ahsoka asked, pretty annoyed.
"We made a holorecording," Soniee said, holding up her holorecorder, "The prime minister is meeting us tonight to…"
"Y'all really think this is a good idea," Thomas asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I thought you said it was the duty of every citizen to expose corrupt officials," Amis asked.
"I'm only saying you should take this slowly," Ahsoka elaborated, "Examine all the facts, and all of the people involved before you act."
Korkie hung his head in defeat.
"You both sound more like my aunt than Jedi Knights," Korkie said before the bell rang and class ended.
With that, all the students gathered their belongings and left, and Ahsoka observed Korkie closely, thinking about her next course of action. She looked at Thomas and he nodded, knowing exactly what she had in mind.
-Scene Cut-
Nighttime rolls around, and the cadets go to the location that Almec told them to. They were met with men in Mandalorian police uniforms who had their backs turned to them.
"You Korkie?" one of them asked.
"Prime minister," Korkie asked, "Is that you?"
"Secret service," the officer revealed himself, "You're all under arrest for treason, corruption, and conspiracy."
"You will come with us," another Secret Serviceman said.
"These are the same guards we saw last night," Korkie whispered to his fellow cadets.
The four cadets all lined up back to back to defend themselves against the guards. They tried to fight but were quickly overpowered since the secret servicemen were better trained. Then out of nowhere, two figures jump from the rooftop of the building. One of them is the familiar Togruta padawan, and the other is Thomas in his combat gear. The duo quickly take care of the guards, making them retreat.
"Seems like ol' Al set y'all up," Thomas said, helping Soniee up.
"That's treason," Korkie said in disbelief, "He's the leader of our system. He couldn't possibly be a traitor."
"We need proof," Lagos said.
Soniee then realized something, "We have the recording."
The cadet pulled out the recorder and replayed the video. They stopped in front of the hooded figure from the night before.
"That's no good," Korkie said, "You can't see who it is."
"No problem for me," Thomas said with a grin and opening his palm, revealing Ashla, "Ashla, can you ID this hologram?"
The A.I scoffed, "Puh-lease, child's play."
The A.I then analyzed the hologram revealing the identity to be Almec.
"That's him," Amis exclaimed.
"You're right," Soniee exclaimed as well, "That is the prime minister."
"We have to take this to my aunt and warn her," Korkie said, then realizing his mistake, "They know I talked to her."
"On it," Thomas said as he powered up his wingsuit and flew to the palace.
The cadets and Ahsoka ran for the palace instead since they can't fly. They arrived at the palace and as they neared Satine's room, they heard a pissed off Thomas.
"SON OF A BITCH," he yelled, pissed and yeets a chair across the room out of pure instinct.
Korkie arrived seeing the dead guards saying, "We're too late."
The cadet went inside and found Thomas standing over a table with clenched fists and an angry look on his face.
"They took her," Korkie said, feeling guilty, "This is all my fault."
He put his face in his hands as he felt the weight of the guilt upon his shoulders. Lagos tried to comfort him but he refused.
Thomas breathed heavily to try and calm himself down. He lifted his hands off the table to reveal that it was cracked from his rage. Ahsoka noticed his hands were bloody, but knew if she tried to make him take care of it he'd refuse, so she didn't say anything.
Thomas was really worried about Satine, but even more worried what Almec could find out if she cracked. He didn't want anyone to know about the project, especially not a corrupt official. If Almec knew, he could find earth and poison it with corruption, which would make it ripe for intergalactic raiders to invade. Earth doesn't have the firepower to defeat any of the galactic forces. He'd be damned if someone enslaved his home planet.
"We'll get her back," Thomas said, "We have to."
He then says something else softly, "For the sake of Earth."
Ahsoka was the only one who heard it. She wanted to ask but guessed it was a private matter.
Korkie spoke up as he approached a corpse of a guard, "Who knows what they've done to her."
The four cadets approached Ahsoka and Thomas.
"Now what?" Amis asked, "How are we supposed to find her?"
"Who can we trust?" Lagos asked.
"I need all of you to calm down and focus," Ahsoka ordered, "We know the prime minister is behind this."
"After my aunt, he's the most powerful person on Mandalore," Korkie said.
Then Thomas got a devilish grin as a plan started to form in his head, "Then I say we pay Ol' Al a visit."
-Scene Cut-
Ahsoka along with some secret servicemen approached the prime minister in his office. Almec was going over something on his laptop when he noticed the Togruta.
"Master Jedi," Almec greeted, "This is an unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you?"
"Actually Prime Minister," Ahsoka said, "It's what I can do for you."
Ahsoka then turned to the door to reveal the cadets being escorted by four more secret service men. Almec was surprised by the capture of the cadets but was relieved nonetheless. Meanwhile, Thomas was sneaking in using his new camouflage mode on his suit as well as his scaling claws on his hands and boots.
"I believe some of my students are in a conspiracy against you," Ahsoka explained.
"Intriguing," Almec merely said with a smile.
Cut to the prison where the four cadets are being escorted to their cells. While his fellow cadets stayed silent, Korkie was having none of it.
"You can't do this!" he exclaimed, "We trusted you, Master Tano."
"Thank you for bringing the traitors to justice, Master Jedi," Almec expressed.
"They mentioned that Duchess Satine was their leader," Ahsoka said, "We should arrest her too."
"Do not worry," Almec reassured her, "We already have her in custody."
"Really?" Ahsoka said, acting surprised, "Where?"
"That is none of your concern," Almec said quickly, "Now, I must prepare a public statement about the Duchess and her crimes."
Ahsoka looked at Almec with suspicion as he boarded his personal speeder. As he left, Ahsoka approached one of the guards.
"Officer," she ordered, "I need to interrogate the prisoners immediately."
The officer nodded and let her through onto the elevator taking her to the cell block. While she was doing that, Thomas had already entered the prison thanks to cutting a hole in the wall using the darksaber. Luckily no one heard him, and he made his way through the prison undetected.
"I'm in," Thomas said to Ahsoka through a hidden commlink hidden in her Padawan braids he made specifically for Togrutas.
When Ahsoka approached the cell, the guard let her in. As soon as the door was shut, she dropped the act.
"Careful," she told the cadets, "We're being watched." She gestured to the guard outside the cell.
"Did he buy it?" Lagos asked
"Have you find my aunt?" Korkie asked.
"Not exactly," Ahsoka said, "But I know they have her here in custody. Thomas is currently searching for her whereabouts."
"Why didn't the prime minister tell you?" Korkie asked.
"Secrecy I guess," she answered.
"I knew this plan wouldn't work," Amis asked.
"Hey, have a little faith in me more will ya?," Thomas said through the earpieces he had given the cadets as well, "I'll find her, and God help me if I don't."
"We'll just modify the plan a bit," Ahsoka added.
"How are you going to do that?" Soniee asked.
"Don't worry," Ahsoka reassured her, "You'll know when to act when either me or Thomas gives the signal."
"Mine involves making Al's pants turn a new shade of brown," Thomas said, making the Cadets and Ahsoka quietly grin as they tried not to chuckle.
The cadets nodded and Ahsoka turned to the door as the guard had let her out. Ahsoka then turned to the guard.
"You will take me to duchess Satine," she ordered using the Jedi mind trick.
"I will take you to Duchess Satine," he parroted.
Ahsoka and the guard left, unknown to the fact that another guard had caught onto their plan.
Cut to the guards escorting Ahsoka to Satine's cell which is heavily monitored as well as elevated. This must've been maximum security, Ahsoka thought. As Ahsoka approached the controls, a guard stopped her.
"What are you doing?" the guard demanded.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes out of annoyance.
"I must interrogate the Duchess," Ahsoka said using the mind trick again.
"You must interrogate the Duchess," the guard dumbly parroted again.
With that, Ahsoka approached the controls, and lowered the duchess. As the cell opened, Satine collapsed to the ground.
"I'm getting you out of here," Ahsoka told her.
"Ahsoka," Satine said weakly, "It's a trap."
"I see you found the Duchess, youngling," Almec said walking in, "You may stop your playacting now, sergeant."
"Prime minister, sir!" the two guardsmen said sharply.
Ahsoka was confused but then realized she was fooled as more and more guards surrounded her.
"Using a Jedi mind trick was a very poor decision," Almec reprimanded the Padawan, "My guards have been trained to resist such archaic magic. And now you have revealed yourself as a conspirator. Set for stun."
As the turrets aimed at Ahsoka, the lights suddenly cut out. This threw everyone into a panic, especially Almec. Everyone but Ahsoka was confused. Then, they heard a whistle that sounded like it was piercing glass. The sounds of the guards screaming as they were taken down by gunshots and lightsaber slashes. While this was occuring, the cadet's cell door was opened. The cadets were confused as to what was occuring, then they heard Ashla's voice over the comm.
"Alright Cadets," Ashla said, "Time to kick some ass. I'll direct you to Satine's cell."
"Thanks Ashla," Korkie said.
As the cadets made their way to the maximum security cell, the beat down of the guards resumed as Ahsoka now joined in the beatdown. Given the Darksaber by Thomas, she was able to take down more of the guards. Once Almec was left, the lights came back but as an eerie red glow that kept on flickering every couple of seconds. The only figures standing were Almec, Ahsoka, and Satine.
If Almec wasn't afraid then, he most certainly was now. He again heard the same whistle, but couldn't pinpoint the source of it. As the lights dimmed, then went bright again, a hooded figure suddenly appeared in front of Almec, scaring him, making him stumble to the ground. The figure wore a black cloak, a mask with red glowing eyes, and tattered clothing.
"P-Please," Almec begged, "H-Have mercy."
The figure merely chuckled in a mechanical-like voice.
"Mercy?" he said, "Like how you were going to execute Satine for trumped up charges of treason?"
The figure removed his cloak and mask to reveal Thomas with a devilish grin on his face. Almec's eyes widened.
"What's the matter Al?" Thomas mocked, "Cat got your tongue?"
"What's the meaning of this?" he said.
"Uh-Uh," Thomas said, holding his 1911, "I do the ordering here now. Ahsoka, go call for Satine's guards, and bring the cadets in."
Ahsoka nodded and did so, letting the Cadets into the room where they saw Almec on his knees with Thomas standing over him.
"I would kill you where you stand, since you're nothing but a corrupt piece of shit," Thomas said dangerously, "But I know that's not what Satine would want. She thinks you deserve incarceration. I think you need to be six feet under. You should thank her that I'm not putting a bullet in your skull right now."
Thomas merely looked at Satine where she nodded in approval. He holstered his 1911 and pulled out some handcuffs.
"On your feet," Thomas ordered, "hands behind your back, cocksucker."
Thomas handled Almec pretty roughly as he forced the prime minister into his cell.
Cut to the rest of the guards arresting Almec's men with the former Prime Minister being raised in his maximum security cell.
As Almec was being raised, Satine turned to Thomas and Ahsoka.
"You must know by now that I didn't bring you two here just to teach," Satine started, "I knew something was Amiss, but I had no one to trust. I thought if I brought a Jedi, especially if they were close to a good friend of mine, we could solve this mystery together."
"I never doubted you, Duchess," Ahsoka said.
"Me neither," Thomas agreed.
"Same here, Aunt," Korkie added.
The cadet then embraced his aunt who had a smile on her face along with Thomas and Ahsoka.
-Scene Cut-
April 26th, 2023, 21BBY
Cut to the outskirts of Sundari, where an ETA shuttle was landing at the loading docks being greeted by the Mandalorian Royal guard along with Satine and Korkie.
"It was an honor to serve with a Jedi Knight," Korkie said, "And you as well, Sergeant."
"Call me Thomas, kid," the redneck said, "Sergeant is just for the field. Plus, you're the family of Satine, which makes you my friend."
Korkie merely nodded and smiled.
The ramp of the shuttle opened and Anakin walked down and out of the shuttle. Ahsoka and Thomas then approached the Chosen one.
"I hoped this assignment wasn't too boring for you," Anakin said with his arms crossed.
"Eh," Ahsoka shrugged, "It had its moments."
"Well, like the one where you convinced untrained children to help you overthrow a corrupt governor," he said with a smirk.
"That was the best part," Thomas said, "You should have seen the look on his face when I literally scared the shit out of him."
"Oh this you gotta tell me," Anakin laughed with Ahsoka rolling her eyes.
"Weeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllll," Thomas hesitantly said, "Let's say I had to go pretty dark."
The three made their way onto the shuttle bound for Courscant. As they entered, the shuttle took off and left the planet. With the plans for the probes kept out of prying hands, Thomas had the peace of mind knowing that Earth was with some of the few people he really trusted in this galaxy.
Outro Music brought to you buy George Strait's "Troubadour."
I still feel 25 most of the time
I still raise a little Cain with the boys
Honky-tonks and pretty women
Lord, I'm still right there with 'em
Singing above the crowd and the noise
Sometimes I feel like Jesse James
Still trying to make a name
Knowing nothing's gonna change what I am
I was a young troubadour, when I rode in on a song
I'll be an old troubadour, when I'm gone
Well, the truth about a mirror
Is that a damned old mirror
Don't really tell the whole truth
It don't show what's deep inside
Or read between the lines
And it's really no reflection of my youth
Sometimes I feel like Jesse James
Still trying to make a name
Knowing nothing's gonna change what I am
I was a young troubadour, when I rode in on a song
I'll be an old troubadour, when I'm gone
I was a young troubadour, when I rode in on a song
And I'll be an old troubadour, when I'm gone
I'll be an old troubadour, when I'm gone
Wasn't expecting that now were we? Thomas basically going all death wolf on Almec and his soldiers, making him need a new pair of pants. Even Catholic boys can become scary as hell. Look at Matt Murdock and Hellboy. They represent devils and demons but are Catholics as well (Little hellboy fun fact right there if you didn't know). As always, like, review, and I'll see you in the next one. I'm out y'all. Have a good night/day and God Bless.