Chapter 19: Someone to come back to
Jaral's story was met with absolute amazement, disbelief, uncertainty and excitement all together. A portal to another galaxy! A galaxy that just so happened to be dominated by a galactic superpower that just accepted to help the Rebellion in exchange for hyperdrive technology.
The departure of Jordan was the only negative note, but both Ezra and Mira realized that this was necessary to ensure the help from the Imperial Federation and decided to simply trust the fact that he would come back in a few months.
After giving her report, Jaral was finally informed about why the fleet had established a base on Atollon: apparently, during the mission on Horizon Base, Chopper ran and stole an ambulatory strut from a merchant, but when he came back, the Ghost had already taken off. So the astromech sneaked on an imperial freighter, befriended an inventory droid named AP-5 and the two not only managed to take the ship by themselves, but also found out that the Yawst system was already under Imperial control. AP-5 then cross-referenced the rebel's intel with the Imperial network and found out that Atollon was still out of the Empire's radar.
All in all, Jaral commented that the entire Phoenix Fleet betting on Chopper, of all people, wasn't the strangest thing she had seen that day. So she simply went to her cabin on Phoenix Home as she was exhausted from the long trip and all the new information that entered her head.
Only after 8 hours of sleep did she finally wake up and started to give her contribution to the construction of the new base on Atollon, which had been renamed 'Chopper Base' in honor of its discoverer.
She got on the Ghost when the freighter was on the carrier to load another cargo of materials and supplies to transfer on the surface, and she just so happened to enter from the cargo bay, where Ezra and Kanan were practicing with their lightsabers.
"Well, good morning, your ladyship." Ezra said mockingly.
Jaral just shrugged and gave them a tender smile. "Am I allowed to walk through or I have to dodge every hit?"
"Actually, maybe you should join us." Kanan invited her. "Remember that we all have a mission waiting…"
Jaral suddenly remembered. The Temple. Find Malachor, whatever it was.
"You're right." Jaral sighed. "With all that happened I was forgetting it."
"Understandable, but you better get your mind back here, now."
"I know. Okay."
She took out her two batons and ignited them. Then she and Ezra made the duelist salute, with the weapon in the right hand and aligned with the median line of the body.
They dueled for around three minutes. Jaral had made staggering progresses, but in the end, Ezra still came out on top by luring her into a trap, letting her believe that she had an opening that, instead, he created deliberately in his defense.
She chuckled. "Well, we have officially found something in which you are better than me."
The boy smirked. "Was bound to happen, sooner or later. Can't have you do everything."
From the gangplank came the voice of Sabine, who was watching the duel along with Hera.
"Don't encourage him, big sister, we have to keep him in line before his head gets too big."
The siblings chuckled at that, before folding back their weapons as the Ghost was preparing to land on the surface of Atollon. Jaral took a look out when the ramp finally opened and saw that they took refuge below a strange calcareous formation with various discs. One of the Hammerheads was parked beside a group of platform set on the ground to create a flooring in the sandy terrain of the planet. The terrain was reddish and full of those calcareous formations.
The new base was sitting pretty much at the top of a small mountain, which would make it perfect for defense in case the Empire ever managed to reach the surface.
Some prefabs had been placed, creating a small decoding center (basically Darvos' department) and a few lodgings for the personnel. There was also an infirmary, and right now the Ghost was bringing in a stash of medical supplies. Jaral and Ezra decided to use the opportunity to visit their mother at the infirmary.
Mira was in the prefab, ordering the personnel around so that every single item was in its place and making sure that every instrument was ready for the use.
When she saw her kids, however, she stopped and beamed at them, going in for the hug.
"Darlings. Always a joy to see you. Jari, how do you like our new base?" she asked jovially.
"Not bad. It's fine to have a place to call somewhat a home. Though I heard there were some problems."
"Oh, you mean the giant spiders roaming outside the perimeter." Mira said with a disgusted tone. "Honestly, it's a miracle nobody got injured dealing with them."
"As long as we have those sensors lying around the perimeter, they'll stay away." Ezra reassured both of them.
There was a brief silence between the three.
"I only wish Dad was here as well." Jaral commented in the end with a dispirited tone, making Ezra also feel the absence of their parent.
Mira also felt that, yet she wasn't discouraged too much. "Jari, trust me when I say that your father will come back, because we are everything he has and would never give us up. Even if he has just gone back to his original galaxy."
The confidence of her mother was enough for Jaral, who decided to drop the argument. This was the day when they inaugurate their base. It was supposed to be a positive day, not one of self-commiseration.
After talking a quick small talk with their mother, Ezra lead Jaral to the command center, which was actually in the open and covered from above by one of the calcareous protrusions. The holotable was in the middle of the area while a small pedestal hosted the system's map and the communication post.
Sato and Darvos were there, discussing their next moves, when they finally saw the Bridgers and Jaral in particular.
"Ah, Captain Bridger." Sato said.
"Commander." the girl saluted. "Lieutenant." she added with a smile.
"Have you slept well?" Darvos asked.
"Yes. Knowing that we finally have a base was certainly a welcomed relief."
"The fact that you literally signed an alliance with an extra-galactic civilization wasn't enough to put you to sleep?" the lieutenant joked.
"I've been to Wild Space already and survived the traverse into an imploded star cluster. Honestly, at this point it's a little more than a side-note."
Ezra and the officers chuckled.
"It is indeed an important step." Sato said. "I've already informed Senator Organa so he can arrange to make contact with these visitors from the 'galaxy next door' and see if he can procure them with hyperdrives. Until then, we still have to count on ourselves."
"I'm aware, sir. Still, the idea of having a real army coming to our aid is bound to bring optimism. Especially since I personally saw them tearing a fleet of Star Destroyers."
"Damn, I really wish I was there." Ezra commented.
"All right. Enough chitchatting," Jaral said with a smile. "There's a lot of work left to do."
With that, she and Ezra went back to the Ghost, where the rest of the crew had just finished unloading the cargo and was getting ready to get back in orbit to load another one from the carrier.
Along the trip, the siblings and Kanan went at each other again with training.
The operations went on for hours. It was morning when Jaral had joined the effort, and now it was sunset on the base. Since flying at night was too much of a hassle, and most of the building was already done, Sato decided to suspend the construction works for the day.
Ezra had been helping building a well above the only source of fresh water, for which he and the engineers had to dig for two hours. Ezra had offered his telekinesis and also his strength to help finish the building fast. As he and the team reached the central command, out of nowhere Ezra received a friendly slap on his naked back, since he had tied his jacket on his waist to suffer the heat less.
The slap was not too harsh and the hand seemed small, so he smirked as he turned around and found Sabine looking at him with narrowed eyes and a mischievous smirk.
"Did I offend you in any way?" he asked jokingly.
"Yes." she replies in kind. "You're guilty of being too hot, right now. You're making my head spin."
In response, Ezra grabbed her waist with both hands and trapped her between his arms.
"We can go and give you the necessary treatment right now, if you wish."
"Oh, tonight for sure." she replied with a smile, but her tone slowly drifted into a grimmer one. "Especially since you're leaving soon."
The thought pushed her to hug him tightly, pressing her head against his chest so strongly that it looked like she was trying to fuse them both.
Ezra tried to comfort her by hugging her as tightly on her back and giving a small kiss on her head.
"You know I love you, right?" he whispered.
"I love you too." she answered with a lump in her throat. "That's why I hate that you're going without me." she added with a stronger but still tenuous tone. Her head was still leaning against Ezra's chest, looking on her right.
"There is no other choice. It's something that only a Jedi can handle." he said calmly.
"I know." she retorted. "But I think I understand how Hera's feeling, now."
"Yeah. I noticed that she has been avoiding Kanan recently."
"No more. I just convinced your Master to go and talk to her. Make him promise that they'll see each other again." Sabine now sounded proud.
Ezra chuckled. "I wonder if my sister is going through the same predicament with Darvos."
"I don't know. She is the one of the couple that is leaving. Anyway, I think I saw the two of them walking up one of the hills not too long ago."
Ezra mumbled in thinking. Were they going out on a romantic date right now?
It didn't matter. He had his own cyar'ika to take care of.
"When are you leaving, anyway?" Sabine asked.
"As soon as Ahsoka comes back, I assume. We wouldn't go far without her." Ezra answered calmly.
"I don't know. On that old station you kicked both their asses." Sabine said with a fond memory.
Ezra chuckled. "Well, they've gotten better, unfortunately. Besides, you complimented me by hitting me with your helmet."
"That was exclusively your fault for leaving me behind." she replied jokingly.
"Hey, I love you too but there are moments where we have to do things separately." he said in the same tone.
"True. But I can't help it. I'm a Mandalorian, Ezra, we don't leave our companions to fight alone, especially not the one person we care more than anyone else."
Ezra mumbled. "What was that phrase...oh, right, M'hi solus dar'tome, right? 'We are one when apart'".
Sabine was taken aback for a moment. Ezra had pronounced that flawlessly, but most importantly he knew that phrase in the first place.
"Oh, so you learned the Vows of Marriage, already?" she said with a grin.
"Well, I plan for us to say them at the perfect moment." he replied with confidence. "But the point is, even if you won't be with me physically, you don't need vows or the Force to know that I'll always keep you close to my heart. And I'll be using the techniques you taught me, so, that too."
Sabine huffed in resignation. She knew she couldn't stop him in any way, but he radiated such confidence that she couldn't help but trust his words completely.
"You're getting better at this emotional stuff." she commented.
"Well, I've had time to think about it."
They finally reached the top of the hill, which was still within the perimeter of sensors that would keep the spiders away. Jaral shivered when she saw a couple of them crawling outside the perimeter.
She remembered a comment from Zeb that very much fitted: 'More than two legs is just...wrong.'
While she was keeping a watchful eye on the creatures, Darvos was dragging her by the hand toward one of the calcareous protrusions and stopped her a few steps away from the end of it.
"Here we are." he said.
Jaral dared to take away her gaze and look in front of her. The sun was setting right in front of them, painting everything in an orange and dark-blue light, making the other calcareous formations standing out in the endless plain of Atollon. Since the surface was mostly made of orange dust and sand, it created a pretty beautiful consistency of colors that the young woman appreciated.
"It's beautiful." she said with a grin.
Darvos was still holding her hand firmly. They both had removed their gloves so they could feel each other's skin, a pretty rare occurrence during the day, since they both had always a lot of work to do and could find some private time at night in the cabin.
"I'm glad you think so." Darvos said wittily. "Because there aren't many other places to see around here."
"Fascinating." Jaral mocked.
They looked at the sunset for a few seconds.
"So...you brought me here for a reason?" Jaral asked with curiosity.
"I just wanted to spend some alone time with the woman I love before...well, before she throws herself into a storm." Darvos said without the courage to look at her eyes.
Jaral sighed not too loudly, as she already suspected that this was the problem.
"You know I have to do this."
"Do you? You have been a Jedi for barely a week and suddenly you have to assist Ezra, Kanan and Ahsoka on a forgotten world with the Inquisitors on your tail." he still wasn't looking at her, but strengthened the clutch on her hand, not wanting to let her go.
Jaral simply closed her eyes for a moment and took a breather, letting her mind calm down and think clearly about her answer.
"It's what I'm meant to do, Darvos. Besides, I'm not going head-on against the Inquisitors myself. The guys will make most of the work. I'm only meant to be there to assist from the rear, and try to uncover whatever mystery Master Yoda wants us to solve."
"So now you follow the words of a ghost?" Darvos asked sarcastically.
Now Jaral turned her body towards him and grabbed his hand with both of hers. There was no violence in her gesture, though, it was an attempt to calm him down.
"I know it sounds bad, but the Force is hard to explain. I need you to trust me on this."
"You know that I trust you wholly."
"Then why can't you look me in the eye, right now?" she asked patiently despite the attitude of her boyfriend putting a strain on her self-control.
Darvos took a deep breath, calming himself as much as possible, then turned towards her as well. He too put the other hand on hers, and directing his gaze toward them.
"Jaral, do you have any regret?" he asked with a calmer tone, as if his mind was set on a goal.
The girl took a moment to think.
"Nothing big that I can think of, why?" she responded simply.
"Because as I told you, I never forgave myself for abandoning you on Lothal, years ago."
Jaral rolled her eyes. "That again? I thought we sorted it out."
"I know, but it's more than just that. Back then, I didn't tell you how much you meant to me. I had to wait three years until I had the chance to see you again and finally tell you that you were much more than a fleeting romance.
Now Darvos raised his gaze and stared at Jaral. A burning flame into his eyes that mesmerized the young woman.
"I spent three years thinking about you and then, by some kind of miracle, you were in front of me once again. I lived with the regret for three years and now I'm not taking that risk again. Not when we're in the middle of a war and we have no guarantee to see the next dawn."
"Darvos…?"
"Jaral...why in those three years you never picked anyone else?" he asked straightforwardly.
"Because no one else was like you, Darv. You're strong, kind and smart. There is no way I could find someone else after meeting you." Jaral said almost automatically.
Darvos took another deep breath that moved his entire upper body, but he still retained eye contact.
"That's all I need…" he murmured.
Suddenly, he knelt on one leg, while his right hand reached for something in the back pocket of his pants.
A realization started to dawn on Jaral as her eyes widened.
When Darvos took out a small black box and opened it, revealing a gray ring, her heart actually skipped a beat or two. She just stared with jaw wide open. Her right hand still held by Darvos' left.
The lieutenant never broke eye contact even while his expression became suddenly a giggle.
"Surprise…" was all he could say to broke the stale moment.
Jaral made a hesitant step back, not leaving the man's hand.
"I...I don't...is this really happening?! This planet doesn't cause hallucinations, right?!" she started to stutter with the speed of the salarian she heard the day before.
"No. It's not an illusion, I promise." Darvos said with a nervous smile while shaking her hand a bit to pull her back towards him.
Jaral reached briefly through the Force and got the final answer: this was all real, and Darvos' aura had never shined like in that moment.
The girl let out an amused huff and brought the free hand to her forehead.
"Oh, Force. I think I'm gonna panic."
"Yeah, I understand." Darvos chuckled.
But then, Jaral managed to regain the minimal composure necessary to regulate her breathing and look at Darvos with an emotional expression.
"Ok, here we go…" Darvos whispered, before hardening his expression and looking at her with a passion burning like a thousand stars.
"Jari, I love you. I love how smart you are, I love how beautiful you are...I...I love how badass you are...damn, I should've written something down…"
"No, no, it's okay. Go on." she encouraged him.
Darvos took a moment. "I love how you never give up, no matter how much the universe seems to go against you. You're kind, generous, strong...and in my eyes, there isn't a more perfect being than you, in this galaxy or others. And if I die tomorrow, I want to know that my fate is tied to you forever.
"Jaral Bridger. Will you marry me?"
"Darvos Tanis, I will marry you."
As they both chuckled, Darvos raised on his feet, took out the ring and put in her left finger.
Then they kissed. A long and warm contact to seal for good their new engagement.
After their little discussion, Ezra and Sabine met at the holotable with the rest of the Ghost crew. Kanan and Hera seemed to have sorted out their feelings concerning the mission as Kanan was keeping a hand around Hera's waist, even though he was trying to be subtle about it.
They had gathered in order to plan the next moves. First they had to finish the base, true, but that didn't meant they should stop harassing the Empire.
In order to start, however, Sato needed his junior officers.
"I hope they come back quickly." Zeb commented. "I really need to hit the bunk soon." he added while stretching an arm with a tired face.
"I'm sure they…" Ezra started, but right then a warm and joyful sensation transpired from his bond. So he looked toward the hill where Jaral and Darvos were supposed to be, but he couldn't see them.
"Well, whatever it is, seems like they're having fun." Ezra shrugged.
"I hope it's not that kind of fun, we can't wait that long." Rex commented with a bit of annoyance.
"No, if that was the case, Jaral would raise her Force shields so I wouldn't know." everyone had a mixed reaction to that comment. "No, whatever it is, they're just enjoying it. I think they'll be back soon."
In fact, three minutes later, the two officers came down from the trail side-by-side, clearly laughing and Jaral clinging with both arms to Darvos' shoulders.
They all waited for them, but the more the two came closer, the more Ezra noticed that something had changed. His acute sight inspected both of their bodies, until he spotted a ring on Jaral's left finger and his eyes widened in surprise, along with his jaw.
Everyone else looked at him curiously when the boy suddenly made some steps forward to intercept the officers, who stopped in their tracks and smiled at Ezra.
"Did you just…?" Ezra asked pointing at Darvos.
Darvos hummed positively, looking at his new fiancee's hand.
"And you said…" the boy now pointed at his sister.
Jaral hummed as well and showed her left hand for all to see.
Ezra's breathing became intense from the excitement, while everybody else looked in awe before turning their expression to one of sincere happiness for the couple. Hera looked like her eyes were about to turn into pink hearts, while Sabine couldn't hold a brief squeal.
Ezra was the first to finally step forward and hug the two of them, chortling without restraint.
"Guys, you actually did it." he said finally. Then he separated from them quickly. "Wait...MOM!" he said loudly as he jogged toward the infirmary. Right out the entrance of the prefab, Mira was talking with two of the nurses. Ezra called her again and Mira finally noticed him.
"Ez, what's happening?" she asked in confusion.
Ezra, however, simply grabbed her arm gently and pulled her toward the holotable. "No time to explain. Come and see!" he said excited.
Mira struggled a bit to keep pace with her enthusiastic son, but when he finally let her go and she saw Jaral and Darvos, she immediately took notice and her jaw too fell for it.
However, she immediately regained composure, shook her head with a warm smile and then stepped in front of her daughter.
"You know, if we were still living peacefully on Lothal, I'd say it is too early for you, but in this moment...I only wish for you to be happy." the woman said with a bit of a nostalgic expression.
"Thanks, mom." Jaral replied before receiving a heartwarming hug from her mother.
"So when is the party?" Sabine asked when the women separated.
"At the very least until Jordan comes back." Darvos answered. "Seemed pretty rude to leave out my future father-in-law."
"Come to think of it, it almost seems like you waited for Dad to get as far away as possible before making the move." Ezra joked.
The observation made the rest of the group chuckle.
"I'm sure Jordan will be over the moon when he'll know." Mira said. Then she went in front of Darvos and put her hands on his elbows in a more formal hug. "I know I am." she said with a gentle smile that had Darvos make a spin of joy in his head.
"Welcome to the family, Darvos." she finally said before the two shared a hug.
"Thank you, Mira." he said back.
Then the woman had a realization. "Speaking of which, how do we make your marriage official?"
"What do you mean?" Jaral asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean, in order for you to be properly married, there should be a figure of authority, but we are definitely no citizens of the Empire anymore. Who should we turn to?"
Come to think of it, that might be a problem. Not that the two young betrothed needed someone to legitimize their marriage, but still, without someone to officiate the ceremony, it would most likely feel incomplete.
Darvos, however, didn't seem to fret too much as he stepped in front of the holotable and looked at the man at the exact opposite.
"Commander Sato, sir. Would you be willing to officiate the ceremony, when the time comes?" he asked without hesitation.
Everyone was taken aback, and even Sato seemed surprise. Yet, they weren't citizens, as Mira stated, but technically, Phoenix Fleet was a community, and Sato was its formal leader. His approval would give a sufficient legitimacy to the union.
"If that makes you happy, my friends, then it would be my honor." the Commander finally said with a polite smile.
"Great. Thank you, sir." Darvos couldn't hide a bit of enthusiasm in his voice, this time.
That heard, Jaral turned toward the other teens.
"Ezra, Sabine. You two are going to be the best man and maid of honor. I won't hear any objection." she said happily.
"Yes ma'am." the teens replied in unison with a happy voice.
A round of congratulations from the rest of the group to the betrothed, then a familiar voice spoke in a jovial but composed tone.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Everybody turned around just to see Ahsoka, giving a curious smile at the euphoric group.
"Ahsoka." Kanan greeted. "Oh, nothing big. Except that our two officers are going to marry." he added jokingly.
"Oh, congratulations." the Togruta said. The officers nodded in gratitude.
"Yeah. But first, we have a mission to take care of." Jaral said with determination. "We'll think about the proper rites after."
"Well said." Kanan approved. "Ezra, Jaral, you better go get some rest. We leave at dawn." he sentenced. The two Padawans simply nodded with a serious expression.
And with that, everybody started to go to its respective lodgings.
Hello there.
Following my new line of 'not dimply describing the show's episodes' this chapter wanted to represent the moment of the quiet before the storm and I hope you enjoyed it even if it is pretty short. I thought it was the moment to take a break from all the action scenes and focus on the personal relationships of the main characters and how they are going to deal with the prospect of going into what seems like a suicide mission.
Once again, I invite you to leave a comment or a suggestion for the future development of the Saga. Even the slightest feedback is a great stimulus for me to continue.
See you for the finale of Year 2.