Chapter 154: The Soft War
Struggles often begin and end with the truth.
Recap: The rebels elect a new leader! With their training complete, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Storm have left Ahsoka and Twilight on Onderon to monitor and advise the rebels as they continue to strike Separatists targets under the command of Steela Gerrera. Facing an escalation of rebel attacks, the Separatists have sent reinforcements to strengthen their hold on the city of Iziz as the battle for the planet unfolds.
"And that's the latest on the situation," said Twilight as the girl was shown sitting on a crate.
"Seems we might have trained them a bit too well," stated Storm as he chuckled a bit as Twilight smiled. "You sure you want to keep staying, Sparky?"
"I'm fine. I can take care of myself. Why? Do you... miss me?"
"Uh, well, no, I mean. Yes, I mean..." the boy was now fumbling over his words as the princess covered her mouth to suppress her giggle at seeing the boy she liked act this way.
"Don't worry, I'll be back."
"Right, I mean, I look forward to when you return," smiled Storm nervously.
Twilight ended the transmission as the girl leaned against the wall and sighed blissfully. She clutched her heart as she could only imagine Storm waiting for her, as it was a tad romantic in her mind. On the other end, Storm let out a stressful sigh when the transmission ended. The boy closed his eyes as he recalled something from earlier.
The Jedi Knight was in Yoda's quarters as the night previous from returning, he experienced some dreams. Well, more like fragments of stuff.
"I don't know what it is, Master. But I've been having these weird dreams as of late. Like... is any of this real?" said Storm.
"How feel, you are?" asked Yoda as he looked at the boy.
"I feel... gloom, like sadness even."
"Visions of someone?" stated the Grand Jedi Master.
"I don't know. The images seem to be of someone I know."
"Be mindful of these, young Jedi. The Dark Side of the Force tempts in many ways," stated Yoda as he warned Storm to not take his recent dreams in vain and to heed caution on what they reveal.
Back with Twilight, the Jedi was still on the planet Onderon with Ahsoka as they continued to oversee the rebels. And the rebels were hard at work in an attempt to collect support. A market square of people was shown as they did their business, with several droids patrolling the area. In the background of one of them was a cloaked figure as it was Lux, who placed a small object on a crate as it began to beep.
Elsewhere, another cloaked figure was shown pushing a transport of tools as droids passed them. It was revealed to be Ahsoka as she managed to fool the droids before she placed a similar object like the one Lux planted and walked away as it beeped.
A massive line of droid reinforcements was shown marching down the street. They passed by some people who noticed them. Among the crowd was Saw, who was hunched over and saw the droids out the corner of his eye before he touched his communicator on his wrist.
"Looks like more reinforcements. A small droid convoy leading a multi-troop transport. An AAT bringing up the rear." relayed Saw.
"Copy," said Steela to her brother as she was shown taking cover on a roof.
The girl peered out to see the droids her sibling relay before peeking out and seeing it herself. She pulled back to the group of rebels with her; she gave a countdown before peeking out with her rifle and began firing. The rebels shouted as they came out and began to fire at the droids from the roof. The droids noticed the ambush as the ones in the middle were mostly taken out as an explosion from a bomb went off.
"Ah! It's an ambush! We need reinforcements." screamed a droid as he ran.
The droid transport had its hatch open as an assembly line of Superbattle droids was shown hanging. They all dropped down and began firing back at the rebels. However, they managed to take out all of them, including the ones that hadn't touched the ground. The tank was now preparing to aim at the roof the rebels were on before Saw fired from behind, taking out the droids protecting the tank. He approached the lower hatch and threw a bomb before jumping to the top and doing the same with the other one before leaping off as an explosion went off.
The convoy and droids were now taken care of as the rebels smiled. The people nearby witnessed this as they began to murmur. Soon Steela jumped down from the roof onto the convoy as she began to speak to them.
"Do not be afraid, brothers and sisters. We mean you no harm."
Steela then touched her wrist as she sent a signal. Lux and Ahsoka met up as their wrists were beeping.
"It's time," said the boy as they received Steela's signal.
The pair then began to activate the small objects they planted as it was now displaying a hologram of Steela as everybody around the city was listening to her speak.
"People of Onderon, the time has come to take back our freedom. We have all been deceived. King Rash is a traitor who has sold Onderon to the Separatists for the crown. But Onderon is ours. We need your strength to reclaim our planet and restore our sovereignty under our true king, King Dendup."
The girl's speech began to incite some murmurs among the people, with some nodding to the people around them in agreeance. The people weren't the only ones who had heard Steela's little speech. King Rash was held up in his palace as he was talking with his allies about the situation concerning the rebels.
"The terrorists are no longer a nuisance but a threat to Onderon," stated King Rash.
"It is only a matter of time before they are all eliminated," said the droid commander Kalani that Dooku sent to the King to help with the rebellion.
"How much longer before they plunge us into chaos?"
"It seems they're only targeting the droid army. If you allowed the royal Onderon militia to assume control of security, the terrorists may stop and discuss terms," said General Tandin, the commander of the Onderon military forces.
"You will assume nothing, General Tandin. With their coordinated attacks and weapons, it is possible they're finding sympathy within your own ranks," said the droid to the commander.
"The threat is external, and your reinforcements have done little to stop them," said General Tandin at Kalani.
"We will not negotiate with terrorists. They fear diplomacy. They embrace mayhem. What do we know about them?" asked King Rash as the two commanders looked at each other before revealing what they knew about the rebels. An astromech rolled up and displayed some hologram images.
"We've identified Steela Gerrera as the woman in the hologram. Her brother, Saw, is also part of the group as well as the fugitive criminal Lux Bonteri," said General Tandin as the holograms showed the three one by one.
"The late senator Mina Bonteri's son?" asked King Rash.
"Yes, my lord."
"Why was I not told of this?" said Kalani.
"You just were," said General Tandin with a glare at the droid.
"Enough. It's clear that Dendup is behind this. We mustn't allow his followers any momentum. Justice must come swiftly, without mercy. Bring him in." stated King Rash, calling for his former predecessor to be brought before him.
The doors opened as the former ruler from whom Rash stole the crown came. The former King Dendup was shown with his hands behind his back, tied as he stopped and looked at Rash.
"What now?" asked Dendup.
"Your supporters have begun to publicly decry my reign. Am I still to believe you are not behind their attacks?" stated Rash.
"You must order them to surrender," demanded Kalani.
"Impossible. I have been isolated and alone without visitors, confined to my prison. Again, the will of the people is theirs, not mine." stated Dendup as he was telling the truth. To which he just laughed off.
"Well, then, we shall see what the will of the people is made of," stated the tyrant as thunder began to rumble in the background.
Speaking of the background, another person was listening to the conversation. A strand of bacon-colored hair was shown as the person it belonged to was leaning against the balcony. Sunset, sent by her master to observe from afar, listened to the conversation. She knew that Dendup was telling the truth; however, knowing that the rebels were causing all these surprise attacks and how they executed felt familiar. Too familiar.
"I have a hunch," muttered the girl before disappearing from the balcony.
With the rebels, they were currently in their headquarters as several were moving stuff around.
"Okay, guys, put it in the back with the rest," said Ahsoka as she informed two rebels carrying a large crate inside.
"Steela!"
Steela and Ahsoka turned their heads to see a rebel named Dono was shown running down the stairs as the rain began to pour down.
"They're executing King Dendup tomorrow in Yolahn Square," said the girl.
"Where did you hear this?"
"Malgan Market. The merchants. The Separatists are saying he's behind our attacks." Dono told her leader.
"More lies," scoffed Steela as she entered their headquarters with the others following behind her. "They're making him an example to humiliate us."
"Maybe, but their efforts could work against them. Executing him would only make him a martyr," stated Ahsoka.
"We can't let him die. We have to break him out somehow," stated Saw.
"No, we should wait until he's in public, at the execution," said Steela.
"That's where they'd expect it," responded Saw to his sister.
"I know, but this is our moment. We'll save him for all of Iziz to witness. We don't have much time." stated Steela to her brother.
"They're counting on us to show up," said Saw as he turned and headed out the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Trust me."
"Stop!" commanded Steela to her brother as the thunder rumbled, which got a reaction out of him.
"Let me take care of this."
"This isn't about you," stated Steela.
"We can't afford a reckless move right now," said Lux as he backed up Steela's point.
"Yeah? Go write a speech about it," scoffed Saw to his allies.
"You have to weigh the risk," cautioned Ahsoka.
"That's why I'm going alone."
With that, Saw stepped out into the rain and headed to the palace.
"Follow him," said Steela to Dono as she nodded and left.
The rebel followed the trail of her leader's older brother as the rain kept coming down. Saw was shown turning the corner as she did the same a few moments later. However, she accidentally bumped into another hooded figure when she turned the corner.
"Sorry," said the rebel as she kept on following.
The hood figure turned and saw the rebel as lightning went off to reveal the person's bacon-colored hair and the sinister smile on their face. Sunset looked at her hand as she closed her eyes. The girl concentrated and used her skill as a Force wielder; a second later, she smiled before heading down an alley.
"I found what I'm looking for," whispered the Sith girl before vanishing into the shadows.
It was nighttime as the rebels devised a plan to save their true King. Steela was in the communications room as she was working on something when Lux showed up.
"Steela. Saw is strong. He'll be fine." said Lux, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"He's always been brash. Never thinks. He doesn't realize by leaving us, he's hurting us. We need a plan. They'd bring King Dendup through the east entrance of Yolahn Square. Security will be tight. And rescuing him will... will not be easy. Lux, please don't look at me like that." said Steela as she could feel the boy gazing at her with a smile.
"Forgive me. I'm sorry. I..." stuttered Lux as he apologized for fawning over the girl.
"Listen. I just need to be alone right now. Gather everyone to go over the plan." Steela angrily sighed.
"Of course," responded Lux as he left.
Steela kept her expression as he was leaving but then formed a smile on her face knowing that the boy was checking her out like he was interested in her.
In another part of the base, Twilight was shown in a corridor. The girl was looking at her reflection while messing around with her hair.
"What would he like? Maybe in a bun?" said the princess as she used her hands to put her hair in a bun and held it while looking at her reflection. "No, too professional. Maybe a ponytail?" stated Twilight as she changed her hair and made it into a ponytail. "No, too desperate."
The Jedi Knight sighed as she planted her face onto the crate and slumped against it. The girl turned her head to see the hologram image of her partner.
"I... I love you, Storm. I wish... things were different," said the girl.
Twilight sighed before burying her face into her arms. The girl wrestled with her inner thoughts, longing for Storm to be beside her. To hold her, stroke her hair, comfort her, and assure the princess that things would be fine. She wasn't the only one dealing with personal issues involving their feelings. Ahsoka was in another corridor as she sat on a crate and conversed with Anakin and Obi-wan.
"I sense fear in you, Ahsoka," said Obi-wan.
"The rebels are divided. If they try to rescue the king now, I'm afraid we might lose them," said the girl.
"We cannot control their fate."
"It's just, they're risking their lives to save just one," stated the Padawan.
"Do not underestimate the king's power. He represents hope and is critical to their success," stated Obi-wan.
"I feel responsible for them," said Ahsoka as a rebel passed her in the corridor.
"I know you do, Snips, but remember, purpose must come before feelings," said Anakin.
"I know, Master."
"Step in only if you and Twilight must, but remember, if this experiment is to become an effective strategy, they must learn to survive on their own."
"Yes, Master Kenobi. I understand," said Ahsoka to the Jedi Master as the transmission ended.
The palace was shown as droids patrolled the perimeter. Saw emerged from an alley as the rebel sought to break out Dendup. Once checking to ensure no droids were around, he looked at the palace while pulling out a grappling hook. He fired as it attached to the wall; the rebel began to repel himself upward as he scaled the massive building. He landed on the roof as walking about the gardens was Dendup.
The former King had a depressing expression as he walked. At the same time, Dono had managed to track down Saw as she looked through her binoculars and looked up, seeing Saw jump down into the place. After taking out a nearby droid, the rebel approached the startled prisoner.
"My lord."
"Who are you?" asked Dendup, a bit shaken.
"I'm Saw Gerrera."
"What do you want?
"Your freedom, sire. You're to be executed tomorrow, but I'm getting you out of here. The people of Onderon need your help."
"Stand up," stated Dendup as Saw got up from kneeling to his true ruler. "Are you one of the meddlers creating disorder, interfering in the affairs of the throne?"
"Only to restore your kingship as the rightful ruler," stated Saw.
"I see. This was all my doing. I opened the door. That's why the Separatists are here. I was faced with a difficult choice: to join the Republic or the Confederacy. Both are corrupt, but I had to pick a side before one was chosen for me, except I chose neither." confessed the former King.
"Now is the time to take back Onderon. Our movement is gaining momentum. It has the backing of the Jedi." confessed Saw.
"Jedi?" said Dendup, surprised to hear that detail.
"Yes, sire."
"I've been waiting a long time for this," smiled the former King.
"Follow me, sire. Onderon awaits."
Saw pulled out his grappling hook as he was looking to get Dendup out. However, when he fired it, the grappling hook bounced off the shield that kept any prisoners from escaping from the inside.
"Oneway shield," stated Saw as he realized he was trapped.
Soon alarms went off, and spotlights came on. Soon Destroyer droids rolled from both sides of the gardens as they aimed their guns at the pair.
"A bit late for a midnight stroll, eh," stated Sunset as the girl appeared from behind the droids with a sinister smug grin. The Sith girl snapped her fingers as her droids moved in.
From the outside and down below, Dono could see the roof to the gardens was now sealed off. Alarms were still blaring as she knew what that meant. With that, she turned tailed and ran to inform the others about what went down and avoid any more droids showing up.
With the others, they had just finished discussing their plan to save their King.
"Do any of you have questions?" asked Steela to the group.
"It's a risky plan, but it's our best shot. Ahsoka, Twilight, will you two join us?" asked Lux to the girls.
"We can't. We've already been more involved than the Council wanted," said Ahsoka.
"Some more than others," whispered Twilight to her friend, resulting in the Padawan giving a side glare to her friend. The princess then cleared her throat to address the rebels. "I'm afraid we've been instructed to sit this one out."
Just then, Dono appeared.
"They have Saw. He's alive, but I watched them take him away," said the girl to the group.
Everyone reacted differently as Steela knew her brother would get himself caught over his ego.
"We have to save him," stated Lux as others shouted in agreeance. Soon they all started to get ready to go save their comrade.
"No! We have to save King Dendup. We don't have time or the bodies to do both." stated Steela.
"He's your brother," stated Lux.
"That's what Saw would want, what he would expect. And I expect the same from everyone in this room," said Steela, telling her men to follow her orders.
"I know it's a hard choice, but I agree. Purpose must come before feelings," said Ahsoka as she stepped forward and assured the rest of them to trust Steela.
The next morning was shown as the sun was coming up. However, from the palace, screams of agony could be heard. Saw was being suspended as the Separatists shocked and tortured him. The latest electricity ceased as he was left panting.
"Where are the other terrorists?" asked Commander Kalani.
"Onderon is our system, not yours," replied the boy as he held his defiance.
A nod from the droid as he told the one operating the control to send another jolt. Electricity flowed and gave another shock to the rebel as he screamed again.
"Enough," said Commander Tandin as he told the droid to cut the electricity to avoid them killing their prisoner.
"Aw, but it was just getting to the good part," stated Sunset, leaning against the wall as she bit into a fruit.
"We have to keep him alive. He is a direct link to the terrorists," stated Commander Tandin.
"You pity him," responded Kalani.
"I pity your ignorance," said the human to the droid. "You can control the people of Onderon, but you won't sustain it against their will. What you're doing guarantees others will take his place."
"They, too, will suffer," stated the droid.
"Then the war is lost. You have strong tactics, but it's unfortunate you cannot calculate a different approach," said Commander Tandin as he left.
The droid merely looked at the human.
"You know, this would be so much easier if you'd let me use my skill," stated Sunset as she could use her powers to figure out where the rebels were with ease.
The droid didn't listen to the girl as he didn't want to admit he was wrong to another human. Sometime later, Saw was now in a room, as he was handcuffed and slumped over a table, slowly gaining consciousness.
"Here, drink. It will give you strength," said Commander Tandin as a small servant droid brought a cup, and Saw began to drink it. "The Separatists have very little compassion or patience for things that stand in their way."
"Hmm. We have a duty to protect what's ours, General, a duty once entrusted to you," responded Saw.
"I thought you depleted your arrogance with Kalani," chuckled the commander.
"It replenishes every hour," responded Saw with his own chuckle as the commander shook his head and sighed at the boy.
"King Rash is the crowned head of Onderon. What's yours is his, and he will do with it as he pleases," stated the commander as he sat on the other end of the table.
"Dendup is the true king," responded Saw.
"Are you following his orders?"
"We take orders from no one."
"Aligning yourself with the past does not bode well for your future," said Commander Tandin as he tried to warn the rebel about his actions and what they may lead to.
"We share the same future. We can sit here as free men or servants of the Separatists," stated Saw.
"I am free, while you have chosen to become a terrorist," stated the commander.
"I'm not a terrorist. I'm a patriot!" stated Saw as the pair stood up and looked eyes at each other. "And resistance is not terrorism."
The servant droid in the room looked at both humans as it could detect the tension.
"King Dendup chose his people instead of taking a side in the intergalactic war. Separatists have taken over Onderon because we let them," said Saw as Commander Tandin shifted his eyes downward to take in what the rebel was saying.
The time for the execution of former King Dendup had arrived. A group gathered before the palace as they prepared to see what would happen. King Rash and his allies emerged from the gates as some droids brought Saw and Dendup. They were coming down the stairs as, at the same time, walking through the crowd, were the rebels as they were looking to rescue their comrades. Dendup was stopped before a small machine, as in between the two posts was a forcefield that cackled.
"As your king, I present to you Ramsis Dendup not as a former king but as a criminal sponsoring terrorist acts against the people of Onderon. But fear not, good citizens. As your leader and protector, I will see that you are safe from such villainy. He has betrayed you, and today he will pay for those treasonous deeds with his life." proclaimed King Rash.
Looking down from one of the balconies were Sunset and Commander Tandin as they watched for any possible attempts by the rebels. All the while listening to King Rash's decree.
Dendup was kicked in the back of his legs as he fell to his knees, just in front of the execution machine. The electricity crackling could be heard as he looked up to see King Rash smiling down at him.
"Your people will see you into the next world. May you find forgiveness there," stated King Rash.
The tyrant laughed before taking a bit of the fruit he had. He then dropped it into the force field as it held in place. The two Manga guard droids banged their staffs on the ground before spinning them and aiming their electro staffs at the ends of the machine as they sent electricity through and caused the forcefield holding the fruit to heat up as it dropped to the ground, perfectly sliced in half.
The reaction of what the people saw and how Dendup would die caused them to be scared and murmur. In the crowd, Lux, Steela, and their comrades looked at each other from their respective spots and nodded. Knowing that if they were going to save both of their comrades, they needed to pull this off with perfect timing.
"Time to die," stated King Rash.
A droid grabbed Dendup's shoulder and moved his head into the machine so his neck was in the forcefield.
"Wait for my signal," said Steela.
"Ready weapons!" declared King Rash to the droids as they prepared to execute the former King. They banged their staffs to turn them on and reeled back as King Rash raised his hand.
"Not yet," stated Steela.
King Rash's hand was then looking to come down.
"Now!" shouted Steela.
The signal was given as the rebels began their plan. Steela took out the guards about to execute Dendup as Lux threw some smoke bombs. All around, the people were murmuring at what was going down. With the cloud to conceal them, the other rebels in the cloud emerged and began to fire at the distracted droids.
"Follow me!" said Dono to the group as they took out the guards and grabbed both Saw and Steela. "This way. Come on. Let's go." She gestured and turned to go back through the crowd but was shot dead as Superbattle droids emerged from the crowd.
Soon the rebels were surrounded and outgunned.
"Surrender now or die," stated Kalani.
"It's over. Do as they say," said Dendup, as he wanted to avoid any innocent bloodshed.
They all begrudgingly put their weapons down and put their hands up. From the crowd, Ahsoka and Twilight were disguised and watching their friends in trouble. They knew not to get involved unless they absolutely needed to. And judging from how things were going, they might have to.
"Calm yourselves. The threat is over. See for yourselves as these traitors all endure the same punishment." King Rash assured the people they didn't need to be scared and that the traitors would pay for their crimes.
"Good try, sis," said Saw.
Commander Tandin saw this as he turned and began to walk.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," stated Sunset as she didn't look at the commander but knew what he was about to do. "You do it, and there's no going back."
The commander took the girl's warning and left to coordinate the rest of the militia. Sunset heard the door close as she chuckled sinisterly. She felt the commander would do this, yet she let it happen. Now she wanted to see what happened next.
The Superbattle droids grabbed Dendup as they set him up again for execution. They pushed his head into the forcefield and ensured his neck was in the middle as the droid held him in place. At that moment, the Jedi were slowly moving up through the crowd.
"Ready weapons!" said King Rash as the execution droids were about to stab their staffs into the side of the machine.
"They're innocent! Let them go!" shouted a few people in the crowd as the girls moved up.
"The snake will not strike again!" declared King Rash.
"Stop."
"What?" said King Rash as he turned to see Commander Tandin and his men as rushed from the palace to point their weapons at them.
"The only snake I see, sire, is you."
Ahsoka and Twilight saw this from the crowd as both put their weapons away. Seeing that the commander would help their friends, they could avoid having to get directly involved and risk everything.
"Traitor!" stated King Rash, having a spear pointed at him.
"I was. Not anymore," said Commander Tandin as he looked over at Saw.
"What are you doing, General?" demanded King Rash as he was being held by the commander.
"Go," stated Commander Tandin to the rebels as they grabbed Dendup. "Let them through. Make way. Everyone, go with them."
"But, sir..."
"Go."
The rest of the guards obeyed as they began to leave their leader to be circled by the remaining droids as King Rash chuckled. The Superbattle droids now all aimed their guns at the commander, who still held their leader.
"Huh. What now, General? As soon as you release me, you'll be shot dead." stated King Rash.
Just as the droids were about to take their shots, flipping forward from the crowd was Ahsoka as she turned on her lightsaber. The Padawan acted on her own accord and leaped into action. She used the Force and pushed all the droids down.
"Jedi?" said King Rash as he saw Ahsoka.
"Now we're talking!" stated Sunset as she jumped over the balcony and fell.
She landed with a thud in seconds in a kneeling position. The girl lifted her head as the evilest smile appeared. The Padawan saw the Sith Lord approaching her as she tried to do the same thing she did a moment ago. However, Sunset merely put a hand out as she canceled her Force push like it was nothing and kept walking. Sunset turned her lightsaber on and dragged it behind her like a predator about to kill its prey.
"General, follow me!" said Ahsoka to the commander as the droids began to get back up.
"After them. Kill them. Kill them!" ordered King Rash to his droids.
"Dendup is the true king!"
"We want the Separatists gone."
"Save Dendup!
The crowd was now voicing their voices as they began to shout and cheer. They were all blocking the way of the Superbattle droids as they were allowing Ahsoka and Commander Tandin to escape. All the while, King Rash stepped back to avoid any of the people from potentially getting their hands on him. Meanwhile, Sunset just looked past the crowd and saw Ahsoka disappear around the corner.
"Run, run, little Padawan," laughed Sunset evilly. The girl now had the next target that she was going to kill. She turned to address Kalani. "We're in charge now. Use whatever means necessary to destroy the rebels."
"Yes, Mistress," said the droid as he obeyed Sunset's command.
The rebels and the Jedi safely returned to their hideout with Dendup. The rest were muttering and murmuring as they saw their former King.
"You know they know the Jedi are here now?" said Twilight as she spoke off to the side with Ahsoka. "Because of what you did, they're gonna send more droids to kill them."
"So, what do we do?" asked the Padawan to the Jedi Knight, knowing that letting her emotions get the better of her caused their involvement with this rebellion to be revealed and put more at risk.
"We have to inform the Council," said the princess as they would decide the next course of action. The girls soon turned to the center of the room as Dendup saw Commander Tandin.
"Why now?" asked the former King.
"It was time for a new approach, my lord," responded Commander Tandin.
"Do I have your loyalty?" asked the former ruler.
"And that of the army."
"You also have ours. With your rule, our numbers will grow," said Steela.
"Thanks, child," said Dendup to the girl before turning to his side and addressing Lux.
"Your mother would be proud," said the former ruler as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Thank you, my lord."
"We must first win the will of the people. That is the only way. The Separatists will assemble their forces. Count Dooku will want me dead more than ever." said Dendup to everybody as he stood up.
"Then we'll have to teach them another lesson. Together!" stated Saw.
Everyone cheered as they looked to give the Separatists a fight they wouldn't soon forget. Amid the cheering, the Jedi walked forward as Lux saw them.
"Ahsoka, I knew you couldn't resist a good fight."
"Am I becoming that predictable?" smiled the girl to the senator's son.
"Only to me," responded Lux as that got the Padawan to smile while gazing at the boy.
"Please, excuse us," said Twilight as she grabbed Ahsoka and left the room.
As they left to contact their allies, the princess took the chance to tease the Padawan about her little crush. Safe to say, Ahsoka tried to deny everything. Soon the pair were in a dark room as they contacted their comrades.
"The Separatists know we're backing the rebels," said Twilight.
"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later," said Storm.
"Then prepare yourself, girls. The real fight is about to begin," stated Obi-wan.
"Will you be able to send some help?" asked Ahsoka.
"That's up to the Council, Ahsoka," said Anakin to his Padawan.
Once the discussion was over, Storm was shown in Master Yoda's quarters again. The night prior, the boy was tossing and turning in his bed as he was shown some visions. Visions that were... haunting, to say the less.
"Hmm... premonitions, premonitions, you say," said Yoda as he sat across the teen after listening to the boy speak. "These visions you have?"
"They're... of pain. Sorrow. Suffering. Death." said Storm.
"Yourself you speak of or someone you know?" asked the Grand Jedi Master.
"They're of someone."
"Close to you?" stated Yoda, almost with a discerning tone.
"Yes," confessed Storm.
At his response, Yoda shook his head. Almost like Luna whenever she was disappointed in her apprentice.
"Careful, you must be when sensing the future, young Storm. The fear of loss is the path to the Dark Side."
"I understand, Master. I won't let these visions come to pass," assured the teen.
"Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not! Miss them, do not! Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is."
"What must I do, Master Yoda? How can I suppress these visions? What must I do to ensure that whatever suffering I'm seeing doesn't come true?" asked Storm.
"Train yourself to let go!" stated Master Yoda. "Let go of everything you fear to lose!"
"Everything?" muttered Storm.
"Everything! Including, Twilight!" growled Yoda.
The boy gasped a bit; hearing that come out from the Grand Jedi Master almost put fear in him. Storm then looked up past the small Jedi as emerging from the shadows was Luna. The Jedi Master asked Luna to observe and listen in; the teen was left looking at the two great Jedi Masters as whatever visions and nightmares he was experiencing these past nights all had one correlation. And it was because of the princess.
Author's Note: The rebels have gotten ahold of their true King and the will of the people. However, now the Separatists know that the Jedi are directly involved with aiding the rebels as that means, things have escalatedquickly. Especially, since Sunset is also here. And while the girls are handling their own problems, it seems that Storm has been having some weird thoughts as of late. Which Yoda and Luna are not a fan of and are warning him to be careful. As always, leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments.