Flashback: 16 Years Ago

Location: Kalevala

Aurora's Age (5 Years Old)

Third Person's POV

A loud scream made Satine practically jump out of bed and run down the hall into her daughter's room. She expected the worst when she opened the door, but was gifted the site of her daughter, shaking in her bed, with tears rolling down her face. She had a nightmare.

"Aurora, are you alright?" Satine asked with fear dripping in her voice as she sat down next to her daughter in her bed.

Aurora shook her head. "No, I'm scared."

"What happened?" Satine asked with concern.

Aurora continued to shake, and Satine rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's ok." She whispered. "Take your time."

"What happened?" A voice asked.

Satine turned her head to see her mother, Boyana, standing in the doorway.

"She had a nightmare." Satine explained glancing at her daughter.

Boyana walked into the room. "What did she see?"

"Mother…" Satine began but Boyana held up a hand.

"Aurora, ad'ika, what did you see?" Boyana asked and Aurora looked up to see her grandmother standing in front of her.

"I-I…I saw Mandalore in dismay. Everyone dying, mother dying in front of me. Destruction everywhere, armies fighting againt each other. Jedi on the planet fighting with Mandalorians. What does it mean?" Aurora asked in fear.

Boyana smiled and reached a hand to touch Aurora's face. "It is nothing ad. Get some rest now, tomorrow you will wake much more rested."

"Nothing like that will happen?" Aurora asked.

Her grandmother smiled. "Nothing like that will ever happen.

Present Day

Aurora's Age (21 Years Old)

Aurora's POV

I woke up early the next morning with a regretful feeling in my stomach. In the back of my mind, I knew telling Korkie that I was his sister was the right thing to do, since I also knew that our mother would never tell us, but at the same time I felt like I shouldn't have told Korkie. I lied in my bed for a couple of hours debating on whether I should go and talk to my brother before I left for Felucia, but I realized that I probably should talk to him, and make sure that he was mentally saine…even though I wasn't.

I glanced over at the clock that was on my nightstand and noticed the time, 04:30 in the morning…my mother was gone already, along with Almec, as they were going to go and try to persuade a planet across the galaxy to join the Council of Neutral Systems, in other words, the palace was empty except for a few servants here and there, along with my brother, Zara (who was confined to her room since she was still sick with the flu), and myself.

I slowly got up and started to get ready. I already knew that I wasn't taking my starfighter to meet up with Anakin, as I wanted to get off the planet discreetly, so I opted to take a shuttle. For the first time, I wasn't going to bring Geenine, as I didn't think I needed her…plus, she could provide some company to my brother while I was gone. Once I was dressed in my usual attire for missions (since no one in the palace would be up at this hour), I walked out of my room. I walked down the hall to check on my brother, and to say goodbye to him, but when I walked into his room, he wasn't there. Thankfully, I knew where he was, as the only other place where he would find solitude, other than his room of course, is the palace's library.

For as long as I can remember, my brother was always, and still is, the better student out of the two of us. He excels in the academy and will most likely become a senator by the time he turns 21. Whenever he'd get frustrated, or angry, or sad, he'd come into the palace library and stay for hours just reading old texts that were documented. The texts ranged from current times, all the way back to Mandalore the First. He could spend hours within the library, whereas I could spend hours exploring an unknown part of the planet or being shot at by Separatist forces…which was 100% more likely than the first.

I sighed as I walked into the library where I saw my brother reading some text, deep in thought, with Geenine by his side.

"Have you spent all night in here?" I asked with humor as he turned to look at me.

He shook his head in annoyance. "No! Of course not. I tried to get sleep, but I couldn't. Geenine will tell you."

Geenine beeped in agreement as I sat down across from my brother.

"When're you leaving?" He asked.

"Soon, probably within the hour." I explained before frowning before the text he was examining. "What're you reading?" I asked in confusion.

"You won't believe this." He began. "So, I started to research True Mandalorians…"

My eyebrows shot up. "How do you know about True Mandalorians?"

He sighed before pointing to his ears. "I kind of have overly sensitive hearing as well Ro."

I rolled my eyes. "So, you heard my argument with Crashun last night?"

He nodded. "And I did some researching."

I sighed, of course he did.

"And what did you find?" I asked leaning forward to place my arms on the table.

"Something called the Ka'ra, do you know what it is?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No, what did you find about it?"

He smiled. "This is weird and kind of wild. So, the ancient founders of Mandalorian culture, the Taung, formed a religious society of warriors that was governed by elaborate laws the evolved into the Canons of Honor. They believed in the creation story of the Akaanati'kar'oya or the 'War of Life and Death' and it attributed to the stars that shined within the night sky, the Ka'ra, to the fallen rulers of the planet."

I glanced over my brother's features. "What?"

"Hang on it makes sense…eventually." He explained. "So, these early Mandalorians believed in a pantheon of deities including Hod Ha'ran, a trickster god, who was viewed as an agent of the fickle nature of fortune. The one they truly worshiped, however, was the destroyed god Kad Ha'rangir, who represented the opportunity for change and growth that destruction provided, and in opposition to the sloth-God Arasuum, who stood against Kad Ha'rangir as almost an avatar of stagnation. To win favor with the god, Mandalorians engaged in a form of ritual combat that defied the temptations of idle consumption that was offered by Arasuum. According to myth, the Ka'ra represented a guiding council that the culture's former leaders would join upon their deaths."

I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

Korkie held up a hand. "Just wait, it makes sense. So, the struggle between idleness and change became further reflected within the ancient Mandalorian belief of the afterlife. Existing as a plane of spiritual energy in constant conflict between stagnation and growth, every Mandalorian who perished was to believe to join the army of the afterlife, defending their families that dwelled in the eternal, peaceful homestead. Ancient Mandalorians believed that this home beyond death was the only place they could truly reach a non-transitory existence. As time passed, the Mandalorians became disillusioned with the religious fanaticism of their ancestors and their war-worshiping ways."

He took a breath before continuing. "Their belief system moved further away from the supernatural, and a greater importance was placed on pragmatism. Where creation myths such as the Akaanati'kar'oya had once been regarded literally, later generations, like ours, viewed these stories instead as allegory, seeking to get philosophical insight from them rather than the truth. The ancient gods, while remembered, went largely unworshipped in contemporary times. Common wisdom suggested divine masters were to be tolerated only if they were able to pull their own weight within the culture."

I sighed. "Korkaran, the point please."

He nodded. "Right. The concept of a literal afterlife also waned over the centuries in favor of a belief in the manda. The manda was described as an oversoul, a collective consciousness, and the very essence of being a Mandalorian. To join with the manda after death, a Mandalorian was required to be knowledgeable of their culture and practice its tenets in their daily lives. For a Mandalorian to be ignorant of their heritage was to be dar'manda or without a soul and to be without a place both in their culture and the collective afterlife. The concept of being dar'manda was greatly feared in Mandalorian society and was considered a terrible fate."

I sighed. "So, what are you trying to tell me?"

He sighed. "Come on Ro, I know you're not that stupid!"

"No, I'm not, but I'm tired and I have to head to Felucia, so tell me the point." I explained with an eye roll.

"My point is, the Canons of Honor were based upon the ancient beliefs by the first Mandalorians…and that was developed out of the Canons of Honor?" He asked and my eyes widened.

"The Supercommando Codex." I said in shock.

Korkie smirked and sat back in his chair. "And that, dear sister, is the conclusion of my presentation."

"So, what is your point in telling me this?" I asked with a small sigh.

"Crashun is right." He explained.

I frowned. "How so?"

He sighed. "I know you and Crashun aren't the best of friends at the moment, but I think he is trying to do the right thing."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked.

"I had a dream." He explained making my eyes widen.

"What did you see?" I asked.

"Us, both of us, and Zara, fighting alongside Crashun during a war. A jedi was there, and clones…along with that being that I told you about last night, the being with yellow eyes and red and black skin." He explained.

"You had another vision." I explained.

"Did you have one like it?"

I shook my head. "No."

He sighed again. "Listen, I know you and Crashun have animosity, but if we are going to prevent our mother from being murdered by that being that we keep having in our dreams, we need Crashun on our side. It's better to have him with us than against us, plus he is a man of honor…like his father, and Mandalore the Preserver was his ancestor…he can help us Ro."

"But how do you know that he won't do anything to us? That he won't kill us?" I asked.

"I-I…I can sense it." Korkie explained.

"That means your powers are growing stronger." I explained. "As are mine."

"Can you do anything cool?" He asked with excitement.

I smiled. "I can heal myself and others, but I pass out when I try to, you know I have visions and can hear things really well…oh and I'm starting to move things with my mind…but it's not going anywhere."

He smiled. "Will I be able to do that?"

I rolled my eyes as I stood up. "Possibly. I must head to Felucia, Geenine will keep you company while I'm gone."

"Sounds good and be safe…but do me one thing." He requested making me turn around to look at both him and my droid.

"What?" I asked.

"Give Crashun a chance…he's always been a friend of the family, it's time we do the right thing too." He explained.

I smiled. "Bye Korkie."

I then walked out of the library and began to think about my brother's overall thoughts and suggestions. For an 18-standard boy, he was already so smart it was shocking. I couldn't believe how wise he was…he was the complete opposite from me, I was always headstrong, and he was always level-headed. We really were the opposite twins. Once I was in my shuttle, I piloted it off the atmosphere of the planet and into space. Soon enough I jumped into hyperspace and headed toward Felucia. Sure, enough I made it into the atmosphere of Felucia, but I realized that no Republic warships were within the atmosphere leading to two things happening, the first being that they landed on the surface, the second being that I was too late, and the fight was all over.

I continued to pilot the shuttle towards the planet, but then I felt a force come over the ship, that's when I realized I was being caught into a tractor beam. I glanced at the ship that was catching me in the beam, it wasn't a Separatist ship, it wasn't a Republic ship, it was unidentified.

"Son of a bitch." I murmured, starting to activate the controls to try and get out of the beam, but it was too late. Sure, enough I was sitting in the docking bay of the unidentified ship, in the shuttle. I quickly glanced around to see if anyone was coming, and thankfully there wasn't, allowing for me to get stowaway down to the surface on another ship. I quickly ran off my ship and towards another ship in the hanger, and just before I reached it, a gas canister rolled in front of me, and because I wasn't wearing my helmet, I breathed in the gas, causing me to become drowsy and eventually start to black out. Just before I went out, I heard voices say:

"When are we hunting this one? A Mandalorian Princess is worth quite a bit of credits."

"Not until Opress does what he wants with her first…apparently she betrayed Dooku."

"Huh, I'll be surprised if she makes it out alive."

"Don't worry, one way or another, she won't."

And that's when everything went black.

Mando'a translations:

ad'ika - darling

ad - child

Shoutout to Mandalore the Survivor for the information and for some of the dialogue between Aurora and her brother.