THE MANDALORIAN AND THE JEDI - III.1

ACT 4. END GAME. - 2.2

PART 4.3. Shadows in the Dark.

"Ezra Bridger?!", Kallus exclaimed, nearly bowling over as he stood. He'd been going over some intel on the Chimaera's movements over the past days - and was wondering why, of all the places it could have gone to, did it go to Dathomir.

A man clad in gray was now standing before him, a bit taller than he'd been a decade ago before he disappeared but a lot more heavily-set - judging from the girth of his neck and the width of his shoulders. Now that he'd removed the head-wraps and goggles that had been covering his face, he noticed that the only things - apart from his face and eyes, of course - that hearkened back to that scrawny, orange-clad boy was the green, fingerless gloves covering his hands, the small, bright orange, inverted triangle that served as the only decoration on his flowing light-grey tunic, and the familiar-looking, black-and-grey Mandalorian bodyglove he was wearing underneath.

"Hera?!", he said, flustered and having completely lost all sense of composure, as he pointed an accusing finger at the Twi'lek - who was clearly enjoying the spectacle that was unfolding before her.

"How've you been Kallus?", said Ezra with a sheepish grin.

"Nevermind that, godsdamnit!", the former ISB agent shrieked, walking briskly around his table and embracing the Jedi. "You too, naughty lady!", he scolded Hera as he pulled her in together with them. A few moments of awkward silence ensued before he let go. He composed himself, smoothing down his uniform and clearing his thoat.

"This is your fault", Kallus said, still struggling to recover from his embarrassment and taking another accusing look at Hera, who was now chuckling together with Ezra. "I can't imagine how much worse Garazeb took it."

"Oh, he didn't even manage to keep from falling over himself, unlike you, Kallus", laughed Ezra. "He actually cried, you know - so did Rex."

"Really? You must have been touched."

"I would have been if he didn't nearly break my ribs hugging me as hard as he did", complained the Jedi.

Kallus laughed, sighed, then looked at the two. "I suppose I'm fortunate that you didn't decide to spring this... Little stunt of yours in front of the other officers."

"No chance of that unfortunately, Assistant Director", said the general, smiling mischievously. "This one", as she laid her hand on Ezra's shoulder, "Is top-secret."

"Oh?", Kallus said inquisitively, before dawning on a realization. "Oh. So he's the asset?"

"Yeah. You know that the Remnant-"

"Has united and is gathering its forces in the systems around Dathomir, yes. It will be an uphill battle, general", he said as he stroked his chin, as if rifling through myriad factors and eventual possibilities in his mind. He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry that you won't be getting even half of the resources you requested for this mission - the conservatives in the Senate made sure of that, as always."

"So the Defense Council hasn't come through for us, then?", Hera said, disappointedly.

"No, they have. It's the reason why I even have authorization to form a Task Force to begin with - Senator Organa fought tooth and nail for that, as well as you being appointed to lead it. However, she had already expended much of her political capital covering for your belatedly-approved mission to Seatos earlier - unwisely, in my opinion...", he tentatively replied, earning an unhappy look from the general. He cleared his throat as he fidgeted at this, then continued. "So the Council could only manage to give you-", he continued as he handed her a datapad. "This."

Hera sighed heavily after taking a look at the screen. "This is barely enough if your reports on what we're up against is correct", she remarked dejectedly. "Lots of light cruisers, Home One and the Vigilance, a handful of other frigates - but that's it. Karabast-", she muttered in frustration, before being cut off.

"Language, general, language", the director scolded her, to Ezra's surprise. "They did do their best, you know - and I am right about your little escapade not making things any easier for them", he added, as the Twi'lek eyed him guiltily. "If you'd contacted me before doing anything rash, I might have pulled some strings, and then we might have prevented the Eye of Scion's departure altogether. Really, Hera. After all that we've been through? What's the point of having a friend in the Intelligence Service if you don't use him? Hm?"

"Sorry", Hera emphatically replied to the former nemesis of the Spectres, as she massaged the bridge between her eyebrows to release some of her stress. "Yeah, I know - what a mess. But you have to see that things had happened way too quickly - I had to act immediately", she reasoned.

"Well, you did manage to fish Ahsoka from nearly drowning", the director conceded. "And deciding to bring Jacen was either a stroke of pure genius - or dumb luck, more likely."

Hera smiled at Kallus' lighthearted gibe. "Anyway, as you both can see, this wasn't nearly what I was hoping for", she ended as she sighed dejectedly.

"I missed A LOT", the Jedi thought to himself as he looked on at the surreal scene, fidgeting - if someone had said to him that one day he'd see Kallus scold Hera like a school principal would tell off an erring child, there was no way he'd have believed it.

"Well, look at the fleet manifest again a bit later", Kallus said in a softer tone, with a knowing look at Hera. "You'll find the Mercy, two old Imperial Carriers - more importantly, double the complement of fighters and bombers. I also made sure that we'll have an entire squadron of those state-of-the-art New Republic Cruisers at our disposal", Kallus added confidently with a smirk. Her eyes widened at him. "A few favors, here and there", he said wryly in response, smiling. "You know, those Senators really should look before they sign off on anything."

"We may actually have a chance at this, then", Hera thought aloud, eliciting an excited nod from Kallus.

"A smidge better, anyway."

"Thanks, Kallus", she said warmly to her former foe. The director nodded, a delighted expression on his face.

Ezra chuckled. "Just like old times, eh?"

"If you mean 'going for it while ignoring the harrowing odds', then yes", laughed Kallus, as he turned his attention back to Hera. "Speaking of 'old times'... Spectre Six here", directing the general's attention to Ezra, "Can be put to work tying up loose ends, general. Covering our flanks, so to speak, before we engage the enemy."

"So, you've identified where they're getting resupplied?"

"The New Republic Intelligence Service never fails, general - well, at least that much I can say for the bureau I'm in charge of. The two largest facilities are on Corellia and Kuat."

"Hm. Me and Ahsoka actually shut one down at Corellia. So you followed up that lead?"

"Yes indeed. That one was a relatively minor operation in contrast to what I've found, general - and I'm planning to hit it as soon as may be. Commander?", he turned to the Jedi.

"I'm in", Ezra replied, nodding with steely resolve and anticipation.

"I'll inform my operatives, then - they're yours command, if you're up to it-"

"I am. Once a rebel, always a rebel", the Jedi said with a salute and a twinkle in his eye. The NRIS officer smiled in response.

"Now where have I heard that before?", he said with a teasing glance at the general. "Another thing, general. These-", he said as he handed her his datapad again. "Are the names that came up when we followed the trail of credits, as you requested - you were onto something. Before you ask, though - no, Xiono's isn't on the list", he ended with a smirk, as if he'd found another button to press, as he eagerly observed the general's reaction.

"So he really is just that dumb, huh?", Hera irritatedly said.

"Unfortunately so. It's either that, or he hates your guts - the latter more likely. Anyway, we'll get to work immediately", with a sideways nod towards Ezra.

Hera smiled at the two men in front of her. "Just like old times", she thought. "Madge and I have a lot of work to do before the Task Force can depart - which I plan to do as soon as possible. I trust that you'll provide Ezra with the coordinates for the location of the briefing with the other asset, Alexsandr?", Hera said as she turned towards the door.

"As soon as your fleet departs, general - not before he runs a few errands for me, though", casting a curious glance at Ezra. "Or at least start on getting some of them done, anyway. You know, corrupt Senators to catch, shipyards to disable, intel to gather - the kind of work you Spectres specialize in, eh, Bridger?", nudging the Lothalite, before returning his attention to Hera. "I'll then follow with the Vigilance as soon as we're through, general", he responded formally as he saluted her.

"Good, you do that", the Twi'lek answered with one last smile at them both before she turned around and made her way to the door.

"And Hera", Kallus blurted out uncharacteristically, calling her attention. He took a moment, then began to speak. "Thank you for entrusting her to me", he said sincerely. "The Vigilance. I won't fail you."

"I know", she replied with a smile, then exited the room.

Kallus then turned his attention fully towards the Jedi. "I had wondered at the possibility of your return when I got reports that the Chimaera was again at large", he said, as he laid a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Welcome back, Commander Bridger."

A red-helmeted figure paced towards some of the crates littering the hangar of the Vigilance.

Spying a tiny crevice containing one of the bolts that held the durasteel floor in place below her, she discreetly stood on top of it, then dropped something that made a soft click. After scanning her surroundings to check if anyone had seen her, she made her way towards the shuttle that had brought her here - her NRIS handler had picked her up amidst an uncharted asteroid field near Tattooine a couple of days ago with it, not wanting to risk exposing the whereabouts of the Task Force fleet. She looked out into the void through the hangar's ray shields. "There certainly aren't any other ships here", she muttered quietly under her breath. "Good work, Kallus - I guess", she added in frustration.

In the distance, an X-Wing - of the model used during the height of the Rebellion - and a familiar-looking and heavily-upgraded Sheathipede-class shuttle, coated entirely with light-grey, sat side by side. Between the two craft, a black-clad and a gray-clad figure seemed to be conversing - though when she scanned them with her helmet-mounted systems, she found that they didn't emit even the slightest sounds aside from what their garments made as they moved about. The former was covered in a black cloak, its head covered with a similarly-colored hood. The latter wore a head-wrap that covered his entire head and face, a light-grey tunic, and green gloves. Underneath it all, a black-and-grey Mandalorian bodyglove covered his body - very similar to her own, she thought, which piqued her curiosity even more.

"I thought Hera's in command of Home One?", she thought, perplexed at the sight of what can only be the Phantom II - the new paint job covering it wasn't fooling her. As she spent a few seconds lost in her thoughts, she found that the X-Wing was already exiting the hangar. Both figures were nowhere to be seen. "Tch, where the kriff did those two go?", she said under her breath. Just then, she thought she heard a soft voice call her from behind.

"Hey", someone called again, prompting her to turn around and squint as she tried to locate the source of the voice. "There", she mouthed. In the shadows, she could barely make out the outline of the gray-clad figure from earlier - he was leaning back against the wall behind him, with crossed arms. He motioned for her to approach.

"Wait... How'd he-", she exclaimed suddenly as she realized that last she saw him - only a few seconds ago - he was far away into the distance in front of her. She approached tentatively, instinctively checking if her blaster pistol was in its holster, and unclipped it just in case. A few moments later, she'd made her way to the figure. Tensing her body, she spoke.

"You called me?", she asked.

"Yeah", he replied, with a voice that sounded eerily familiar - his unnervingly friendly tone spooking her even more given the tenseness of the situation.

"And?", she inquired, annoyed.

The figure merely laughed. As he uncrossed his arms, she pulled out her blaster and pointed it at him - but he put up both of his hands out, palms open as a signal of parley. He slowly moved his hands up to his head wrappings and goggles and removed them gingerly, so as not to alarm her even more. As he removed the coverings of his head, she gasped.

"Ezra?", she asked, stunned.

"He smiled at her. "How've you been Ketsu?"

She put back her pistol into its holster and removed her helmet, letting down her long hair. Struggling to think of words to say, she blurted out whatever it was that was present in her mind at the moment.

"Holy kriff", she let out weakly. He hadn't grown much taller than when she last saw him, but she did notice that his build had become far heavier, despite his flowing tunic - "Baby boy grew up", she thought. His demeanor seemed as warm and cheerful as it was when he disappeared over them in the skies above Lothal - "Even more so now, actually", she thought to herself, after taking a moment to reflect - but she also sensed a steely, quiet hardness that wasn't there before, like he'd endured a thousand battles in the ten years that he'd been gone.

"If you're here, then Thrawn really is...", Ketsu continued, trailing off consciously at the end to avoid revealing her thoughts to Ezra. "That bastard- he probably omitted WHO exactly was at the head of it on purpose", she thought, keeping the rest of her remark to herself.

"Yeah. He's the one leading the Imperial Remnant Coalition massing around Dathomir and the surrounding systems", the Jedi answered with a wry smile.

"Anyway, Kallus told me you'd be here", Ezra said to change the subject, laughing.

A pang of intense shame wracked her mind for a moment before she buried it. "Y- Yeah", she said, flustered at the irony of her situation. She almost spilled it all, then and there. "Don't lose it", she thought to herself as she forced herself to regain her composure. "Careful. These Jedi are quick to read emotions...", a voice in her head said. "He's far too at ease with a comrade-in-arms now to notice, probably - so you're most likely in the clear", it speculated further.

"He certainly didn't mention you. Not to me, anyway", she said to him as she held out her arm.

Ezra took and shook it. "I figured that I could do at least one thing in advance, seeing that you're here", he remarked as she raised her eyebrows inquisitively. "Kallus said you're an asset now - for the New Republic, on Tattooine", he explained. "It just so happens that I plan on going there, sporadically - I'll be needing your help, if that's okay."

"On Intelligence Service business?"

"Let's just say it's for a personal project", he answered wryly.

"Well, it's good to see you", she finally managed to exclaim, giving him a strong pat on his shoulder and getting a hearty chuckle back from him in response. "And if it's my help you'll need, you can count on it", she continued as she smiled at him. "We'll help each other. Boba is a demanding boss", she said.

"I'm told you're the one keeping tabs on the various families and syndicates around Tattoine and the surrounding systems", Ezra said.

"Mainly Boba and the Hutts. I try to... Steer the direction of the meetings towards something that won't be a detriment to the New Republic, that's all."

"'Wish there was a way to get them all on our side", he naively remarked. "The odds aren't on Hera's favor, judging by the numbers", he added, a steely look in his eyes as if eager to get on with with his work, whatever his role might be.

"No chance; and it ain't", she smirked. "Why're you here, by the way? I figured there'd be a chance that you'd be back, as soon as I heard from my NRIS contact that Thrawn was at large again", she asked. "These Jedi can be tricky", she thought, as she made made use of her training and calmly regulated her emotions. "Need to be careful."

Despite everything, for the first time in a long, long while, she was genuinely happy and relieved to see another person. Even though a lot, to put it mildly, has changed since their days as young adults fighting a rebellion against the odds a decade ago, she found that she couldn't help but feel that idealistic spark reignite inside of her all over again.

"This", she made a mental note to herself determinedly, "Is off-limits, even to Hux."

"Where I'm going, I kind of need to keep under the radar", he said with an apologetic smile, finally bringing her back to reality.

"Figures", she answered. "So, judging from the fact that you're here with the NRIS and the stunt you just pulled on me, I take it that it isn't exactly common knowledge that you're back?", she shrewdly guessed.

"Yeah", he answered sheepishly as he put up his hand and lightly touched the hair behind his head - a mannerism that he hasn't yet grown out of, Ketsu observed.

"If that's the case, then a headwrap won't exactly be the best tool for you, whatever it is you've been tasked with - can't be easy or small though, you being a Jedi and all that jazz", she fondly chided him. She then gingerly handed him her helmet, as if she herself was surprised by sincerity that accompanied what she had decided to do. "Take this", she said to him with a smile. "I think you'll be needing it."

"You sure?", he asked, touched by the gesture.

"It's the least I could do, after you saved all of us on Lothal", she earnestly said.

With a smile, Ezra took the helmet. "It would be my honor, then", he said with a nod.

Ketsu looked down at the holodisk in front of her. As always, the dead drop in Mos Eisley had yielded something... quite interesting for her - just as Hux promised.

"The recording is on its way to you even as we speak", the right-hand man of the leader of the First Order crackling voice rang in her head during their call the day before. "It's the first we've successfully taken. Grand Admiral Sloane is expecting results after this."

He had finally contacted her, out of the blue, after staying silent since their debriefing just after the incident, over a year ago now, on board the Vigilance the day that hostilities began - for what purpose, she didn't quite expect, especially just a few weeks after Thrawn's final defeat over Dathomir. She heard his voice clearly ringing in her head - more clearly, in fact, than could be possible through the encrypted holoprojector they'd always communicated through.

She fingered the vial that it came with - a powerful psychoactive drug, derived from the same substance used on Twi-lek slaves so that they could... Become more pliant with rendering any service that their masters desired of them. This did more than just that, though. The average person would probably go completely insane within a few seconds with this in their systems, while someone with a far stronger mind would still struggle just to keep in control of themselves - the perfect foil to Force-users.

Spinning it around with her fingers, she saw the faded symbol still vaguely showing on it. "Inquisitorius", she said under her breath. Memories of the one job she'd done for them resurfaced, back when there was still an Empre - seducing the Jedi hiding out in plain sight on Cantonica took months of consistent work. That is, until she finally let down her guard just enough that she'd been able to prick her with a needle similar to the one she was sure this vial she's holding also had equipped. Then they came; took her into custody. Easy money. Then her thoughts came back to the holodisk - and the conversation that preceded its arrival.

"The war is over, Hux. It's been more than a year since you nearly sicced your dogs on the Vigilance with ME still in it. You've lost, and you failed to deliver on your payment. You're lucky I even picked up."

"Patience. We have achieved our desired result, thanks to your help."

"Really? I can't imagine how - Thrawn is dead, along with the best hope you had of restoring the Empire with him. But good for you, I guess - then again, your congratulations isn't why I signed up for this!"

"On the contrary - Grand Admiral Sloane never supported Thrawn - but that is none of your concern. And yes - while you never failed to accept the mountains upon mountains of credits that you kept on demanding for our transactions over the past years - I DO concede that we HAVE a deficiency as regards your compensation."

"You're damn right... Since you've admitted as much already, why'd you think I'd EVER work for you again?"

"Oh, I'm quite sure you'll do EXACTLY AS I SAY, this time..."

"Don't smile at me like that, you kriffer. We're done. Don't contact me ag-"

"One moment. I have good news for you..."

She remembered the holoprojection pan over to a bound and seated figure, his hair unkempt, blood soaking his forehead, and his uniform tattered. Even through the grainy quality of the projection, she knew who it was.

"Pellaeon..."

"Yes. He's yours, IF you deliver on this final transaction."

"What do you want?"

"Simply... The Phantom. Alive, if possible."

At that, she was brought back into reality - back to the device lying on her desk that had her mind wrestling with itself. It had been two days before Ezra was due here at the Shadowcaster from his trip into Mos Eisley when she received Hux's call; she'd now spent too much time idling since and now had to tend to... set things in motion- before he came back. She had to get on with this sooner or later. Her hands trembled as her finger hovered over the button at the center of the holodisk, as if she dreaded to find out for sure what she'd long suspected ever since that day on the Vigilance, when explosions that rocked the ship had cut short their brief reunion.

"Gotta run!"

She remembered him say as he ran towards the Phantom II, while she made her way to the shuttle that brought her there. From inside the hangar, they had seen an Imperial II class frigate and its light cruiser escort come out of hyperspace in ambush and begin letting out their opening salvo. As she saw the Sheathipede-class craft exit the ray shields on the hangar and make a bee-line straight for the Imperial frigate, a powerful explosion rocked the ship - throwing her against a large shipping container, knocking her out. When she came to, the explosions where still going. She set off again, this time reaching the shuttle, her handler already on the controls when she finally entered.

"Where'd you go? We were supposed to leave a few minutes ago! Now we have to- Kriffin' hells!"

"Shut up, Mara! Get us out, or I'm taking over!"

"We can't take off in this kind of situation!"

"The kriffers! They didn't even bother to tell me that they'd be attacking right away!", Ketsu remembered herself cursing. A few tense minutes had followed as the ship trembled at receiving withering fire. "The shields won't last much longer at this rate", she had said; however, the heaviest of the blows that she felt were hitting the Vigilance stopped, as their ship suddenly maneuvered around. "Kallus is crazy!", she vividly remembered screaming. "They don't stand a-", she had begun, but was stopped in her tracks. From her view out from the hangar, she had caught a glimpse of a conflagrating hulk - the very same frigate that had been attacking them less than half an hour ago - wheeling across the ray shields of the hangar opening as the Vigilance made it's maneuver to turn back and engage its remaining attacker.

"Destroyed?", she remembered thinking to herself, now completely put out of her depth to comprehend. "It can't be- How could it have been…", she now thought, her mind racing with thoughts of earlier that day. The sounds of laser cannons and plasma torpedoes being loosed on some target had filled her ears then. Another huge explosion rang, but it wasn't from the hull of the New Republic vessel - seconds later, the ruins of an Imperial Light Cruiser sped across the ray shields. A sound filled her ears, though this time it was the Vigilance's hyperdrive revving up .

"Did he... Did Ezra-", she remembered herself about to contemplate back then before being brought back by the sound of her name.

"Agent?", Mara called out to her. Ketsu turned and saw her putting on her pilot's helmet. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Of course", Ketsu answered, as she took her position in the shuttle.

"Buckle up!"

The voice rang in her head, clear as if it had only been yesterday. She remembered their ship make its own hurried exit out of the hangar. She had looked back and saw the heavily-damaged Nebulon-class frigate begin its jump into hyperspace; intense pangs of shame and guilt tormented her now just as much as it did then - "I did that", she thought. Their own shuttle, meanwhile, had also also been preparing to make its own jump as she was lost in her thoughts and emotions. Just as she saw that the Vigilance had blinked away to make its escape, another, much larger ship arrived, dropping from its jump with a loud thud.

"Thrawn", Ketsu remembered whispering under her breath as the vision disappeared before her eyes and was replaced by a luminous sea of shimmering blue.

She snapped back from her reverie. She knew exactly who the Phantom was, but she didn't want to believe it. She didn't want it to be him. It couldn't be. It was too easy; she was in a position that was simply too perfect. It had to be some sort of trap to expose her. Why risk it?

"This is a friend you're talking about here!", a voice in her subconscious yelled at her - but that voice was simply too weak compared to the other one who was simply salivating at the prospect of finally layings its hands of Pellaeon.

"Kallus and Hera were your friends as well, and that didn't stop you from planting the homing beacon you got from Hux", the other voice spoke.

The other voice shoved a memory, nearly two decades ago now, into focus.

In it, she saw that she and Sabine had been planning for their eventual escape from the Imperial Academy. She remembered receiving a hand-written note telling her to meet someone, discreetly, in the garrision headquarters at midnight. It turned out to be the Senior Lieutenant in charge of security in the facilities - Pellaeon. Somehow, he found out. Instead of arresting her then and there as she expected, what she found was a wild desire in his eyes. He had asked the unthinkable from her then, and proceeded to threaten to expose her and her friend unless she gave him a taste of her flesh. He then offered her an easier way out of the Academy, if she made it satisfying for him. Worse of all, he suggested that he'd propose the same to her sweet little sister, Sabine Wren, if she didn't comply. To ensure that he would keep his mouth shut, to give them a better chance at escape - most of all, to protect Sabine - she had agreed, without uttering a single word about it to her 'lil 'sis.

It went on for months - he made her his slave; less than an animal. She remembered creeping dread fill her as she found herself feeling increasingly more comfortable with each day of being so carelessly, shamelessly used. He left nothing to his imagination, and there was no reprieve for her. Then she found out that he'd been the one who was scheduling the Imperial shuttle all along, the access to which he'd been dangling over her head the whole time - he was purposefully making it so that, each time, they just wouldn't quite have enough of a window to stow away on it.

He was drawing it out. He was enjoying himself.

In her rage she had confronted him - and when he dared to bring up Sabine's name again, she flew into a frenzy and found herself standing over his unconsciousness body. She remembered panicking, not knowing what to do - until she realized that this was their opportunity. An hour later, they'd made their escape - but she also vividly remembered looking at the back of Sabine's head on that shuttle, almost boring a hole right through it as a curious feeling swam inside her.

"You're going to pay", she remembered herself thinking. "Both of you."

Her eyes glistened with tears as the other voice urged her on. You're so close now. All you have to do is take it. Before she knew it, her hands were wound up into fists. Clenching her teeth, she punched the button on the holodisk with her finger.

It showed a grainy still of the Phantom, almost too blurred to make out the details - except for the familiar shape of her helmet in the midst of a whirling mass of blaster fire and dismembered bodies.

"Ezra", she whispered weakly, as she burst into tears.

PART 4.4. Wounded - 1.

Ezra…

A voice whispered faintly as white lights began to flood his vision.

Ezra?

It asked again, now louder and clearer than before - and now also more obviously filled with excitement. As he opened his eyes, he saw Hera's face come into focus as his mother tearfully welcomed him back to consciousness.

"How do you feel?", Hera worriedly asked, her eyes tired, red, and sore.

"Hera?", Ezra asked weakly. "Aren't you supposed to be commanding the fleet?", he quipped rather lamely, managing to manage a smile through his cracked lips. Hera chuckled, despite herself.

"The battle is done, Ezra", she answered, now more lively and cheerfully. She smiled. "Three days ago. We won - Dathomir is ours."

"Really?", Ezra said incredulously, earning a wry smile from Hera. "I mean- That is, congratulations, General Syndulla", he said, as he motioned towards the back of his head with his left hand - as he lifted his arm, though, a sharp pain made him wince and abruptly put it down.

"Careful", the Twi'lek said in a worried, motherly tone as she guided Ezra's arm gently down the bed. "It took a ten-hour operation and a full day inside a bacta tank to fix you up - and it looks like you still need some time before you're fully healed from being-", she paused for a moment to compose herself, her voice breaking from remembering the scans detailing her son's extensive injuries that Madge had handed to her at her request as soon as soon as Luke had transferred Ezra to the Mercy. "From... From being nearly disemboweled."

"That spear was nasty", Ezra quipped with a laugh, which make him cough. He then took a look under the hospital robe he was dressed in and saw the ugly, blackened gash running from just below his left nipple and down until just above his left hip, which made him wince. "Holy kriff... Agh. It really was that bad, huh?"

Hera couldn't help but shed tears at the harrowing evidence of the injuries that her son had just barely survived through - she'd endured forty-eight hours of worry, first as she observed him being operated on, then waiting by his side, tending to him and crying in fits all the while, as his body struggled to recover after being wheeled out of the operating room - but she couldn't help but laugh at the same time at the utter ridiculousness of what his reaction had just been upon seeing his scar. She stroked his head, then made a face as if she was preparing to scold him with all the air of a gentle mother that had been worried sick once again by the antics of her perpetually-problematic son - but paused instead when she saw Ezra brace himself for the inevitable telling-off he'd be getting.

"Yes. I saw the images and scans - you would have died Ezra, if Luke hadn't... Cast it off and held you together", Hera simply said with emphasis after drying her tears. "Whatever he meant when he said that; I assume he meant that he used the Force?"

"Something like that", Ezra answered before becoming pensive for a few seconds. Finally, he continued. "Hera, the weapons of those Witches- They weren't ordinary blades... And the wide-bladed spear I got stabbed with was the same. I felt the dark magicks imbuing it burn me - what I mean is, it felt like it wasn't just physically consuming my flesh; it was devouring my spirit as well", he explained. The general shuddered. "It must have taken a lot out of him just to get it out of me - pretty sure I couldn't have done it if I'd been in his shoes, especially that quickly. But I think you already have an idea that Luke is a special guy - even among us Jedi", he concluded, giving the Twi'lek a wry smile.

"Well, he had to be if he somehow kept you from bleeding out and dying with that gaping hole through you", Hera answered, laughing through her tears. "The medical staff and droids at the Mercy had to replace most of your digestive tract, spleen, and left kidney immediately", she continued, "Because you can't live for more than a few minutes without those and they were damaged beyond repair. You can just imagine what you must have looked like - I was worried sick, Ezra. As soon as I knew that the day was ours, I delegated everything to Kallus, Carson, and Madge and went straight on here with the Ghost."

The Jedi winced. "You don't have to remind me... Thank you, mom", Ezra said with a warm smile. "And yeah, I owe Luke my life."

"He insisted that you saved his first, and it was him lagging behind that got you got skewered in the first place", Hera replied. "I'm guessing you're even", she continued.

"Nah, he's just too hard on himself", the dark-skinned Jedi sheepishly shot back. "You're both giving me too much credit."

"It didn't sound like that, hearing him tell his side of the story", his mother said proudly. She paused for a few seconds before continuing. "To be honest, it was a crazy plan. I couldn't have done it without your help, Ezra", she said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "You did good-", she said finally, smiling and sighing with relief at seeing her boy get through in one piece - largely. "And it isn't too much credit. You gathered vital intel; we even took down some turncoat Senators with it. Then you shut down their supply chain from Corellia and Kuat. You led the strike on Dathomir, and Luke said you saved his life; without the two of you shutting down the Witches and their temple, we couldn't have won against Thrawn."

Ezra smiled, then nodded. Suddenly, a realization dawned on him - he'd completely forgotten about something, and he couldn't believe it. Worry quickly replaced the joy that was etched on his face.

"Ezra…", Hera began, after taking few moments to consider her words.

"Th- The coordinates...", he asked with trepidation. "What happened to the Chimaera and the Eye of Scion?"

The Twi'lek sighed. "Believe me, we tried to avoid damaging the Eye - but when we saw it move towards the Chimaera after it was incapacitated, we had no choice but to destroy it. We couldn't risk Thrawn slipping away", the general explained, pausing for a moment before continuing. "The Chimaera, on the other hand - Thrawn initiated the self-destruct sequence-"

At this, Ezra winced, hope draining away from his eyes.

"Ezra, listen to me", Hera said, now gently laying her hand on his arm. "Thrawn initiated the self-destruct because he had no other choice when he found himself cornered by Luke-", she continued, eliciting an excited gasp from her son. "Yes, he proceeded with your plan by himself together with C-1 - he went straight with the Phantom towards the Chimaera after he transferred you here on the Mercy... That's the good news."

A worried expression formed on Ezra's face at that last bit. "...And the bad is?"

"Fragments - and encrypted at that. There's no telling if the coordinates will be complete when it's decoded - if it ever is", she answered, reaching out to his back to rub it - trying to comfort her son. "Thrawn took everything down with him."

"And Luke?"

"He got out just in time."

They remained silent for some minutes. Finally, Ezra spoke.

"However long it takes, Hera", he said as he stared into the ceiling. "I'll find a way back."

PART 4.5. Wounded - 2.

Take me. Take all of me... JUST LIKE I'LL TAKE ALL OF YOU.

Right there- Just like that. FORGET ABOUT HER.

ISN'T THIS BETTER?

Hours, then days passed, all spent in a strange, horrifying stupor. He found himself completely conscious for every moment, but only his basest instincts were at play in his body - he was left inside, completely trapped, impotent and without anything to do but scream in his mind.

Every day was the same as the last - she would start by injecting a little of the serum at the base of his skull, and she would inject another substance into herself; then begin to have her way with him. It wouldn't take long - a couple of hours, at most - before the animalistic urges would surge and take over his body; and then suddenly, she too would be powerless. Despite the extreme depravity of everything that was being done to her by the animal inside him, he sensed extreme pleasure - more than anything else - wash over her entire psyche, overpowering everything else that was swirling in her mind : ruthlessness, greed, desire for revenge, but most of all, guilt. She was destroying herself, and he didn't know why. He was sure, though, of one thing - she had completely and thoroughly given in to her brokenness. As the days progressed, she increasingly lost more and more of herself; meanwhile, in the throes of his carnal prison, he struggled and fought against the urge to finally let go of his sanity.

I'm sorry Ezra. YOU CAN'T GO.

Don't stop. DON'T STOP.

GIVE IT TO ME. 'Lil 'sis won't get you too. Not this time.

All the while he felt a familiar presence creeping and welling up from inside him. Images of a trangular prism glowing with a sickening red light filled his mind as it was flooded with hatred, disgust, and loathing - not just for this person who was intimately joined to him and ravaging him, but also towards himself; for allowing himself to be so foolish and blind that he let himself fall into this situation, despite all his powers and prowess in battle.

Then, the moment finally came. He was tired of being used; tired of being weak. He reach out into the void and pulled out... CONTROL.

AUTHOR'S NOTES : 2023 1127 - Still unfinished; posting to motivate myself to finish :) Expect the final update to this chapted within 24 hours :)