CHAPTER 8
Tears of Jabiim pt 2.
JABIIM
The Last Laugh
Having moved from it's original location the Militia were waiting out the storm before traveling again to the rebel base with their prize, a bloody sack of the Governors head sat on the holotable the bottom red with ichor and the bag seeping out onto the table, "Stars Gaser you really need to keep that right there?" Jay asked Gaser, the Lt was drying off his rotary cannon when he grabbed the bag and put it on the floor. "Whats the situation in Choal, Cadet Jay you were monitoring communications?" Lord Asimov asked, standing at the table.
There was a pause among the Hyenas, "Lord Asimov asked you a question." Commander Sigma asked.
"And we're really going to ignore the rancor in the room my lord?" Jay asked aloud.
"We are, now report?" Lord Asimov asked.
Down the hall in a cabin Ahkilleon was sitting in darkness, the face of Kraym's son the eyes of blue filled with hatred, suddenly dimmed without life behind them Ahkillen could still see the balster, still see the boy fall. There was a bang on the door.
"Lad, open the door just talk to me, tell me what happened out there?" Turok asked but no answer came.
Turok sighed and walked away back to the Last Laughs common room, "Lad won't come out, what the hell did you guys do?" The trandoshan asked.
"The Governors death has forced the Empire to declare martial law over the whole planet." Jay said as the holotable with the blood stain still on it showing the planet, "Imperial forces are securing the city, expecting some kind of attack with the reports of Lord Asimov being there we intercepted them requesting Imperial reinforcements expecting a Militia Invasion." Jay said.
"Soon enough it will, we should begin preparations to return to the Jabiim rebels and begin planning." Lord Asimov said clearly.
Turok cleared his throat, "Excuse me, what the hell happened."
"The mission was a success, with one civilian casualty." Lord Asimov replied calmly.
Turok sneered hearing that, "What-happened?" he asked with a growl.
There was another long pause, "Governor Kraym had his son with him, in the chaos of the ambush the Governor and his son fled down an alleyway, my Padawan gave chase, Gaser was not far behind from we gathered at the scene, Kraym had attacked Ahkilleon so did the son, he was defending himself." Commander Sigma said "
"You son of a bitch." Turok said right in Lord Asimov's face.
Lord Asimov paced the room "It is… unfortunate-" "It's a fucking war crime!" Turok shouted
"What your mouth." Commander Sigma said "No." Lord Asimov said, holding his hand up, "Turok Skell is right, I take full responsibility for the events that have happened." Lord Asimov said to the whole room an another long silence "I will have no blame cast on my apprentice, his actions went against the Code's orders to keep padawans out of combat but in the heat of the moment and the need of mission he disobeyed those orders to track Kraym down, there will be no fault on my padawan, let us return to the Jabiim rebels with our spoils so we can leave this cursed world behind."
Later, Ahkilleon was still in the darkened room, the door opened and Lord Asimov walked in he stood there in the doorway his large shadow cast down on Ahkilleon, "Get up."
"I killed that boy." Ahkilleon muttered.
"Get-up." Lord Asimov said again, walking toward him.
Ahkilleon held out his hands the hands of a killer "I still see his face, I feel his anger, his fear, his pain his-" Ahkilleon felt Lord Asimov's hand on his collar "GET-UP!"
Ahkilleon ws dragged to his feet by the Lord and slammed into the wall "This thing you are feeling, this regret, this shame- it's called war, you feel it!" he pushed Ahkilleon into the wall again, and the padawan grabbed the gauntlet trying to push off but Asimov was to strong "It was him or you, he shot first you defended yourself end of story."
"No, no, not the end, the Rebellion would never-" Lord Asimov tore off his helmet revealing his scared face and missing eye, the patch flesh gone from his jawbone showing his teeth like fangs with claw marks scars to match "DO WE LOOK LIKE THE REBELLION!"
The shout was so loud everyone in the ship heard it, but none dared to intervene except Turok who was outside the doorway hand on his pistol wanting to step in but knowing he couldn't. This was between Master and Apprentice. "You chose this life, you chose the Militia, do you know how many civilians died when we took Raxus?"
Ahkilleon was silent, "Over two hundred thousand if not more, we new the risks, we gave the order because if we hadn't then millions more would perish."
"So what, I'm supposed to just suck it up and move on?" Ahkilleon asked.
"No, we will speak of this, but I need you here, now in the moment focused, ready.." Lord Asimov took his hand off "If I can't trust you to follow orders, or handle the hell of war then others will die, Turok will die, this whole team will die, do you want that apprentice?"
"... no." Ahkilleon whispered.
Lord Asmov summoned the force to bring both of the boys lightsabers that were on the floor to him "Good, we are almost at the Jabiim rebels base, when the alliance is secure we will leave this accursed planet behind, can I count on you Ahkilleon?" he offered Ahkilleon his sabers.
"Yes, Master." Ahkilleon said, taking a deep breath, before he took the sabers and Asimov turned to leave.
Soon after The Last Laugh flew into an open cave with hidden doors inside it and flew into an open hanger, there weren't many ships and the rain dripping from the ship was blown off when the ramp lowered and Lord Asimov walked out, they passed by the rebels families to the command center escorted by Gregor and some of their men before Governor Krayms head dropped with a splat onto the holotable, Nolan and Gregor gapped seeing the pale head drained of blood with blood shot eyes looking at them.
"Holy kark you actually got him?" Gregor said. Nolan leaned on the table and looked from the head to the militia, Asimov stood there over them "The Militia has shown you what a strike team of us can do, now imagine what a whole army can accomplish." Lord Asimov said to them. "What indeed?" Nolan asked aloud as he stood up, he looked around the room as f his officers and veterans.
Nolan nodded before he spoke "Kraym is dead, and with him all semblance of order in the capital now's the time." he said looking at Gregor who nodded, "For fifteen years we've fought alone, but l no longer." Nolan said, Gregor gave a growling cheer nodding at Asimov then "I thought that no one, would understand what needed to be done, that no one would understand what we suffered, what we need."
"Until now." Nolan said. "Lord Asimov, we would be honored to have an alliance with the Militia, on the grounds that we will be free to determine our planet's own future."
"You will have it." Lord Asimov said offering his hand, Nolan came up and grasped it and there was a cheer among his men, but the rest of the militia were silent, still haunted about what had transpired "Send word to all our forces, the times come for the final campaign, as soon as we can boost a signal My lord we'll let you contact your people."
Lord Asimov nodded "You have my thanks, but you should know Kraym's death came at a price."
"Where are there more of you?" Nolan asked looking at their numbers "No, Kraym's son was with him, the boy… was killed."
Nolan's face was stoic and he nodded "Just another casualty of war, he won't be the last, Gregor, show them."
"You should hold on moving your forces too soon, when the Militia fleet arrives we can easily force the capital and any other imperial forces into a surrender, and spare your Capital from a prolonged siege." Lord Asimov said, looking back at Ahkilleon.
"There won't be a siege, won't be a capital." Gregor laughed as he fiddled with the holotable controls and showed Choal on the plateau it sat perched on, a series of blinking lights underneath the messa. Asimov stepped forward and Nolan stood beside him.
Ahkilleon looked as Nolan spoke "We've been busy as you know, the raids we've launched outside the capital have all been a distraction, for months now we've dug under the ground via an old mine like how they did on Lothal, but we won't be putting our forces underneath it when the bombs go off."
"Bombs?" Gaser asked.
Gregor nodded "The same ordinance they use to blow up our planet's surface to get to the ore, we've got hundreds rigged under the city ready to blow, it'll take all those imps with them."
"What about the civilian population, the reports indicate Choal has over a two million people living there?" Gaser asked.
There was a silence, "You're not getting cold feet on us, are you Jedi, after you all killed that boy."
"That was an unforeseen tragedy, the stormtroopers and the Governors are colonizers, these are you own people, even if you succeed in taking over the planet we need Choal to maintain a central command, infrastructure, ports it won't be a victory it'll be chaos." Lord Asimov said looking at it logically "There has been enough death here, Nolan, your people have suffered enough." Lord Asimov said.
Ahkilleon was stunned Lord Asimov was actually trying to convince him to stand down "These are my people Lord Asimov, these are the people who's fathers fought for the Republic, some of them were even part of Stratos's Nationalists, the rest all chose their side years ago. To hide behind stormtroopers, to help build their war machine, some even became stormtroopers."
"The people were scared-" Ahkilleon said.
"Shut it boy, you don't know what your talking about." Gregror snarled.
"No, my apprentice will be heard." Ahkilleon said standing between Ahkilleon and Gregor.
Turning his metal helmet to him "Speak, padawan."
Ahkilleon felt everyone looking at him again "I- I mean they were scared, afraid, they'd lost everything in the Clone Wars, then someone new comes along, someone stronger, who brings order, a promise of a better future but you don't know what that promise means, what you have to do to survive and who you'll hurt or kill-" his voice cracked hearing that realizing he wasn't just talking about the Jabiimi.
"They've lived with that choice for over sixteen years, and they'll die with it." Gregor said as he pulled out a device with a red antenna with a switch on it, "The bombs are armed, Nolan one push thirty seconds to the signal to reach the transmitters and boom."
"Are you with us Lord Asimov, I heard you stormed the Imperial Center on Raxulon as the city burned, what's two million more corpses more to the ones you've already made?" Nolan asked him as he held up the detonator, offering it for Asimov to do the honors of pressing the button. Ahkilleon could feel Lord Asimov was thinking it, and he watched in horror as Lord Asimov raised his hand to reach for the detonator to take it and grab Nolan by his collar "No."
His defiance was met by blasters being drawn, both the Militia and the Jabiimi rebels were all pointing blasters at one another, mostly at Asimov, the Lord released Nolan "We are leaving."
Nolan, coughing gritted his teeth, "No, you aren't." Gregor came up to Asimov with a scattergun in his hands ready to blow a hole in the man's chest at point blank range. "We can't risk you alerting the enemy."
"The enemy are your own people, do this and your war will never end." Lord Asimov said to Ahkilleons surprise, Lord Asimov not wanting to kill Imperials.
"It ends when we kill all our enemies, they had their chance now it's time for their treachery to come due, take them to our holding cells." the Militia didn't look like they were going to surrender and Lord Asimov didn't move, the tension in the air started to rise, Ahkilleon had his hands on his lightsabers ready to use them, he could sense four blasters trained on him and at this range most of them would die, "Stand down." Lord Asimov ordered a shocking turn of events.
"What?" Sigma gasped.
Lord Asimov faced his second in command "Do as I say, they win this round."
The militia stood down and the rebels came up to take their weapons, "Go to their ship, find whoever is still onboard and take'em, and get the special pets." Gregor growled at his men, the rebels were all slapped in irons around their wrists, and then a man came out with two cages, holding furry lizards in them. They had chains on them and as they shackled lord Asimov and Ahkilleon they hung the cages around their necks.
"What the hell are these?" Ahkilleon asked.
"Ysalamiri." Nolan said as the lizard hissed at Ahkilleon, "Turns out these little things are good at dampening you jedi and your powers, we found a jedi trying to get off our planet, the Empire would use these to transport him we figured we could them if we ever ran into other Jedi." Gregor said with a smug grin as he pushed Azimov to the holding cells "And the jedi?" Lord Asimov asked.
"He didn't make it." Nolan said watching them take the soldiers away, they took away their weapons, and started to remove their helmets, when they pulled off Gregors helmet one of the soldiers gasped "Alto Stratos?" one snapped.
All the soldiers looked at Gaser who stood tall in front of them without saying a word, his blondish brown hair was damp from the sweat under his beard and Nolan approached him, "No, your Gaser, his youngest."
Gaser said nothing, "It's a shame, our fathers were enemies brother, I can see why you'd fight with the Militia, why you wanted to kill Kraym, but this you don't need to stay with them anymore if you join us you can have a place in the new regime."
"Nolan, are you serious after everything-?" Gregor asked "At the end of the Republic evacuation my father punched the last cowardly jedi in the face for making Stratos right, join us brother." Gaser looked at the Hyenas and stepped back without a word showing he'd choose them over anything Nolan could offer.
Nolan sighed "So be it, take them away all but the padawan."
"Why me?" Ahkilleon asked.
"Insurance." Nolan said, looking at Lord Asimov, before they took them away.
They pushed Ahkilleon down the steps of the command center back over to the hanager where the Jabiimi rebels had cannons aimed at the ship, "Come out you bastard we know you're in there!" One of the rebels snapped.
"Whats going on?" Nolan asked.
"We got one life sign in the ship, he's locked himself in." the soldier replied.
Nolan took the man's blaster, a pistol, and pushed it against Ahkilleons temple "I'm in no mood for games whoever you are, either you open your ship or the boy dies."
Ahkilleon looked up at the ship and no answer, Nolan held the blaster out and aimed the barrel behind Ahkilleons back squeezing the trigger, he felt a surge of laser hot energy rip past his arm singing him, he let out a furious mouth closed yell, almost falling forwarded "Next one is in his head."
The ships exhaust ports flushed out air and the ramp lowered "no." Ahkilleon groaned before Turok came out claws up with his metal claws up to with Butch behind him.
"A trandoshan and a battle droid, slimy bastards." Nolan said "Throw him in the cell with the others, take everything aboard we'll need it when we start the purge."
The guards took Turok who looked at Nolan with a snarl and over at Ahkilleon, there was no wink from Turok to signal it be okay, or that there was a plan, they walked up to Butch and deactivated him before pushing the metal husk down with a heavy clank. Ahkilleon was on his own.
LATER
Holding Cells
The Militia were thrown in a dark dimly lit damp cave with bars on the outside of it, hands cuffed behind their back, they all sat around the muddy floor in their armor and uniforms, "Why my lord?" Sigma asked Lord Asimov. "Why the sudden change of heart?" Sigma asked
"Because Sigma Ahkilleon is my apprentice, I must be better." Lord Asimov said back to him.
"The shiny?" Naqia asked "With all do respect my lord, he's your subordinate he should follow where you lead?"
Lord Asimov hummed behind his helmet "He will, but teaching a padawan is as much a learning experience for the Master as it is the Apprentice, he has proven he is worthy to be a student, I must be worthy to be his Master."
"None are more worthy then you my Lord, but this, we're in a cell, handcuffed you got that anti-jedi lizard on your neck and they have the shiny. How the hell are we getting out of this?" Sigma asked.
Lord Asimov watched as they brought Turok into the cell and shoved him in with handcuffs on, "Where's Ahkilleon?" Jay asked.
"With Nolan, I tried to get a signal out but the messa is too thick, we're on our own." Turok replied.
Lord Asimov sat back against the wall "Then it is up to Ahkilleon."
"What, that cry baby?" Sigma asked.
"I'd be careful calling him that, that so-called cry baby once ran Darth Vader through with a sword, backed into a corner. Well lets just say you want to be as far away from that lad as possible." Turok said, looking over his shoulder "Stars help us all."
Back up above, Ahkilleon was led out into the main hall, where most of the Jabiim rebels were gathered, Gregor had come back with all three of the lightsabers around his belt. Ahkilleon was forced to his knees and Nolan stepped up onto a crate to address the Jabiimi loyalists, the soldiers, their families too. "We've been fighting a long time." Nolan started off.
"The Republic came with empty promises and we fought, the Empire came after and we fought them too, and we've fought well!" Nolan shouted.
Gregor roared with approval as did many of the others, even the kids "But tonight it ends, tonight we take back our world." Nolan raised the detonator over his head and everyone marveled at it with cheers "We drown away the traitors and kraven of the Nationalists, of the turncoats all of them when this detonator goes off we'll blast part the plateau holding up Choal city taking them all straight to hell those who don't die in the collapse or drown in the mud lake we'll hunt down like the dogs they are!"
More cheers, Ahkilleon was mortified seeing that even kids younger than Krayms son were enthralled at the idea of committing genocide. These weren't rebels, these were terrorists.
Ahkilleon looked out around the base and at all the Jabiimi rebels their long brown beards were like lion manes frizzled and their teeth like fangs weapons aimed at him, "Listen to me, LISTEN! You don't have to do this, there's got to be another way Nolan." Ahkilleon tried to get up off his knees but the bindings held him tightly and the two rebels guarding him shoved him down.
"You're too young to understand, we need to send a message to the Empire and anyone else who would try to take our home from us." Nolan said as he held the detonator.
Looking at him with pleading eyes Ahkilleon begged "We don't want to take your world, we want to help you get it back, I know what it's like to lose a home, to lose family, you feel helpless, angry, just want to lash out and hope you'll feel, but it's just a hole and it eats you alive you think your doing the right thing your so sure until it turns to bile in your mouth and you're so sick at what you've done you puke." Ahkilleon said and for a split second Nolan's brown eyes shared the emotion in
Ahkilleons plea looked like it almost reached him "I…" "Nolan, we have to act now." Gregor barked at him as everyone waited, Ahkilleon saw the crowd cheering Nolan on to do it.
"Nolan please, if you do this not all the rain on Jabiim will wash your hands clean of that blood." Ahkilleon snapped trying to get up again but he was held in his place.
Gregor smashed Ahkilleon in the face with the butt of his rifle "Shut up you karking jedi, your kind only lie, betray what would you know." a few more hit Ahkilleon for good measure so hard the chain with the Ysalamiri lizard cracked open, Ahkilleon hunched over the cage waiting for the lizard to see the opening he focused on the creature, like he'd seen Ezra do a hundred times with other animals maybe it could dampen the force, but all living creatures had the force in them if he could just get it to move.
"You're right Gregor, no hesitation for our people, for our freedom." Nolan said, holding up the detonator looking at it, his thumb rubbing over the red button. Kanan would come up with a good plan to get out of this, Hera would fly in with Chopper doing something crazy but they weren't here. Zeb could maybe break free of these shackles with his strength, Ahkilleon tried but they were to tight, Sabine would shoot her way out or have a back up plan ready to blow up somewhere to cause a distraction.
No.
He was all alone.
There was no other way, he had to do what he did best, fight.
To the very end.
"Nolan…. if you do this, I have to stop you and if I can't convince you to stand down… I'll put you down." Ahkilleon growled as the Ysalamiri slid out of the hole in the cage and between his legs.
Gregor let out a ferocious laugh "Put us down, how about I put you down runt?" Gregor barked, aiming his blaster rifle at her, Ahkilleon looked down the barrel, "You give the orders here, or him?" Ahkilleon asked hoping, praying Nolan would see reason "Do it." Nolan said pressing the button and starting the countdown.
Gregor smiled, squeezing the trigger, Ahkilleon ducked and held his shackled wrists up to have them shot off, the Ysalamiri scattered out from behind his legs and Ahkilleon felt the force surge through him once again. He summoned his lightsabers off of Gregor's belt and turned them both on the red one skewering Gregor through the chest, "He's loose!" one of the jabiim shouted and they opened fire, Ahkilleon deflected the incoming shots and started to redirect them back into the rebels, one by one they fell down and six tried to rush him thinking their numbers would overwhelm the boy, Ahkilleon spun in a whirlwind taking out all six of them in two spiraling swings, he looked up to see Nolan running back into the base alarms starting to sound at the sound of blaster fire. Nolan slipped behind a crowd of Jabiiimi rebels who were coming out of the entrance toward him. The ones with families screamed and started to run for cover as the soldiers surrounded Ahkilleon, had tried to reason with him, he used diplomacy, he acted as a jedi using violence as a last resort, Nolan still had the detonator, he was running out of time. There was no other way to stop him from killing everyone at the camps and the city, innocent or otherwise, it made Ahkilleon scream as he charged the rebels. His blades become a flurry of red and blue those shooting at him Ahkilleon remembered his training with his mother.
Anticipating where the next shot would come from he blocked and deflected them but more were coming, he couldn't do it forever and he remembered Asimov's training. About anger, about it being an emotion like any other, he felt his fear and pain turn to that anger, he focused on it, he channeled it into his force and felt himself fly into the air near the bulk of the Jabiim forces and unleashed the force around him repulsing it. Nolan looked back and felt the entire base shake with Ahkilleon unleashing his power sending dozens of the nearest Jabiimi rebels flying into the air bolts of force lighting following him.
Down in the cells the militia heard it, "Time to go."
Lord Asimov stood up and pulled on his shackles, the metal groaned and finally snapped, the giant jedi walked toward the metal cage tearing it off him and throwing it to the ground it sprang out with the Ysalamiri hissing before Sigma stepped on it. "Hmm much better." Lord Asimov used the force to free the others with a wave of his hand .
"Now, let's go get my padawan."
Up above them in the main hall it was one word.
Chaos.
Ahkilleon was surrounded on all sides by the remaining Jabiimi rebels, there had to be nearly a hundred of them to his one, but he kept fighting. He ran through them with his lightsabers cutting down anyone who was brave enough for insane enough to get close. The smell of burning flesh gripped the air in the base and the sounds of screams for fury and fear were everywhere.
But he ignored it to what he felt in the force.
Anger; from the Jabiimi rebels who saw him not as a liberator, but just another invader.
Pain; of the ones he'd already maimed or killed before snuffing out their lives.
Fear of the families cowering behind cover running to deeper parts of the base wondering if they'd be next. The old, the weak, the sick, the young he was no heroic Jedi of old, he was their enemy.
And it was him, or them.
Ahkilleon rushed around the cover of a large cargo tank, "Surround him." one of the rebels shouted, Ahkilleon backed up from the tank and used the force to push it like a giant log, it skidded across the rock and metal ground scrapping and sparking, screams echoed as the rebels tried to get out of the way. Deafened by the sound of bodies crunching under the weight when smashed into a wall, blood splattering the walls. Ahkilleon had a moment to look around; he had to find Nolan had to stop him.
Then he spied him from atop one of the upper stairs running for an exit, wind blew in from the outside storm, the signal probably had to be sent outside, the rock was too thick. Ahkilleon rushed the stairs taking down Rebels as he went, one tried to swing at him with the butt of his rifle but he cut him in half, a woman with a knife tried to jump on his back but he ran her through with his red saber. More and more got in his way when he made it to the stairs he was halfway up when he saw Gregor missing an arm holding a short vibro sword "Stop you-" he shouted.
Ahkilleon met him and ducked low to kick his legs out from under him and use the force to push him off the stairs, he fell down "DAMN YOU JEDI, I'LL KILL YOU- I'LL KILL YO-"
CRACK
He glanced over the side to see Gregor had fallen right on his head his neck twisted around his shoulders snapped from the impact.
Walking on ahead he ran down a long narrow corridor, the smell of rain and the outside not far in the distance, "Nolan, stop!" Ahkilleon screamed.
Suddenly someone new slid out in front of him holding a blaster, Ahkilelon held up his blue lightsaber, deflected it and the light shining down on a little girl with brown hair holding a blaster at him. She shot again and he deflected making sure it would go into the wall and not back at her like he had already done, he used the force to rip the blaster from her hand and she froze thinking she'd be next.
He walked toward her and pushed her aside "Go find your mother."
"I can't- you killed her jedi." Ahkilleon thought back to the woman he'd stabbed in the fight below, was that her, or was it one of the countless others he'd slain, or was her mother in the clone wars, it didn't matter he had to keep going. Running as far away from the child as possible before he made it outside into the rain. They were at the top of the plateau hiding the rebel base in the distance against the storms rainy curtain he could see Chaol and at the edge of the cliff Nolan, his finger on the red button, the countdown had started.
Thirty seconds, or was it twenty?
"You won't stop this- can't you see everything I do- I do for my people." Nolan held the blaster at Ahkilleon, the rain pouring down on them, the hiss of his lightsabers from the drops of rain, blood from the men he killed starting to mix with the water in the air on his face.
Fifteen seconds.
Ahkilleon was panting, strained from the fighting, "Is that what your father said, just before he went insane like you?"
Ten seconds.
"My father… was a hero, was yours?"
Five seconds.
Ahkilleon shut his eyes and shook his head "I never knew him, but know this he was a better man than me." Ahkilleon ran at Nolan who opened fire, "FOR JABIIM!" Nolan shouted as Ahkilleon deflected three shots and ran past Nolan slashing him across the chest in one fell slash, Nolan was dead, his chest smoking from a lightsaber wound running straight down his chest before his upper torso from his right shoulder to his left hip slid off in two pieces. Ahkilleon stood up and picked up the detonator, stopping the countdown, two seconds to spare. He looked down at Nolans remains before his feet grew weak.
Falling knees down into mud, he looked at Nolans face, brown eyes rolling back behind his head, the color draining from half of it in mud, the smell of burnt flesh mixed with rain, Ahkilleon held back his emotions at what he'd done even before this when he was in the base, the disgust of what he was a part of. He looked up at the rain falling from the heavens like the force itself was crying, he felt a hand on his shoulder looking back he saw it was Lord Asimov "We've taken the base, it's over Ahkilleon the remaining rebels have surrendered."
"This…. This wasn't supposed to be like this." Ahkilleon said getting up, "I should have been able to reach him why- why didn't he listen?" Ahkilleon asked Lord Asimov.
"When you fight so long to live, all you do is live to fight." Lord Asimov said looking down at the capital opposite of the mesa, "The people down there won't know what you did for them, the Nationalists will curse us as invaders when the Militia fleet arrives, but one day this world will know peace and you will have played a part in that." He squeezed Ahkilleons shoulder "This is what it means to be a soldier, to fight for a peace we may never see." Lord Asimov looked down at Nolans corpse.
Ahkilleon wiped his eyes before tears could form "And that peace, is it worth all this death and suffering, ones that we cause?"
"I do not know, but we can find out together, my young apprentice." he offered Ahkilleon his hand and the boy took it, helped to his feet Asimov looked over the horizon to see sunlight coming out of the long storm, "The storm is clearing, let us send a signal to the fleet and leave this nightmare behind."