“I thank you for your trust.” I motion Jerus to follow me as I walk out to follow Gavin.



Outside our father’s room, I am arguing with Cosen. “What do you mean no!? Do you not care about the life of our father?”



“Of course I care! But Gavin, I don’t think it’s a good idea to preform another ritual. I haven’t recovered from my injuries. I can barely concentrate for long before I develop migraines. And you haven’t rested since the battle, so I don’t know if your fully prepared...”



“I’m fine, Cosen. I can do this alone if I have to.”



“No, you can’t.” I walk over and put my hands on his arms. “You need to take a break. We all do. Wait until tomorrow to do the ritual. Your dad isn’t going anywhere.”

"Your mom makes a good point. We all could use some rest after today."

“There will be time enough tomorrow. You have to rest. You don’t want to be completely depleted for for tomorrow’s speech, don’t you?”



I look slightly defeated. “Yes... I’m addressing the Revolution tomorrow. It’s partially a memorial for Jude Sucal and partially a sort of ‘state of events’ thing. Now that our struggle against the Republic is over, I want to make it clear to whoever takes over that we will not go back to the shadows. We want to be seen and heard as citizens.” I look at Jerus. “Hopefully the Mandalorians or whoever the new Chancellor is can accept my terms. Otherwise there will be more war to come.”

"To be frank, the Mandalorians and Republic are going to be the least of our worries after we're finally finished killing Sucal. But that's a discussion for tomorrow. Besides, I think getting a new Chancellor will be the least of the people's problems at this point."

“And if all those hints weren’t blatant enough, I’m gonna come out and say it: we are all tired as hell and need to go to sleep now. Both of you get to your rooms right now.” I put on my best motherly voice for that bit.



Cosen and I exchange looks, but decide to obey our mother’s command. “Fine! But as soon as I’m finished with that speech tomorrow, I want to get started on that ritual to bring Dad back. It’s been too long without him already.”



I shake my head as he walks away. “Poor boy.”



“Sal would not want his only son to give up his life just to save him. Hopefully Gavin realizes that before he does something stupid.” I walk off to find my own room.

END OF SCENE

My eyes snap open. I am standing in a white void, no indication of up or down. It was extremely disorienting, and I almost immediately fall to a knee. “What is this? Am I dreaming?”



“Nope.” I say, suddenly standing in front of her. “It’s a Rakata Mind Prison. Neat, isn’t it? It was the only way the Bright Master could keep you contained.”



“Ursa?” I blink. “I should have known Sucal would rope you into all this. You were always the dumb fanatical type.”



“I’m not the only ones whose here. The last of the Bright Master followers are gathering here. Many of them I’m sure you will recognize.”



“Bright Master? Geez, Sucal really loves his titles. You do realize he wants to destroy the Jedi AND the Sith, right? He won’t make you a master of the Dark Side because when he is done, the Force will be gone entirely!”



“What is a Sith Lord to a Goddess? When the universe is deafened to the Force, and all life dies, we will be reborn as something... FAR greater.”



I shake my head, laughing derisively. “You stupid girl... You have no idea what’s coming next. Your Bright Master won’t become a God. He’ll destroy himself, along with everyone else in the Galaxy. He isn’t Vitiate. His body is barely strong enough to contain the power of Darth Traya. If he absorbs a Galaxy’s worth of Force essence...”



“Which is why he won’t be doing that.” I kneel down. “YOU will. You are what Darth Traya has been dreaming of; a natural born Wound in the Force, capable of bleeding the Galaxy dry.”



“I will never let that happen. I don’t care how perfect I am for your stupid plan. I’d rather die that let Sucal win. So... you might as well get to the torturing already, because there is nothing you can say to make me cooperate with this madness.”



I stand. “Torture? I’m not going to torture you. That’s terrible! I just came to talk.” I start to turn away. “But... if you don’t want to see me, I understand. There is someone else here who might want to have a few words with you too.”

Another person dissolves into existence; one much less pleasing to the eye. He is a hodgepodge of metal and wires. One of his arms is organic, but the other is a much larger bionic replacement. One leg wears a boot, and the other is a thick mechanical talon. His head is tightly wound with bandages like a mummy. The only part of his face visible are his eyes, which are lidless and full of silent agony.

“I believe you know Gendry. He’ll be keeping you company until the Bright Master decides its time to come and see you herself.” With that, I exit the Mind Prison, leaving Hayden alone with her ex-boyfriend.

END OF SCENE

The next morning, hundreds of people gather before the Senate Tower. Not all of them are Revolution, at least I don’t think so. A lot of them are just normal people who didn’t fight in the battle. People who were inadvertently affected by the fighting; people who lost homes and family members. I imagined not all of them were happy either, but I could tell the general mood was positive.

Whether they were there to hear from a man they consider a savior or to hear their new overlord speak was up to them, I supposed. I myself stood amongst the crowd, looking up towards the podium where Gavin would soon be speaking.

I stand in the crowds as well, my armor proudly adorned as I waited for the Twi'lek boy to speak. Spotting Kamari Ordo as I milled about, making sure no one would try any funny business, I wave him over. "Kamari! I heard it was quite the party back at the HQ during the battle as well."

I moving through the crowd to stand next to him. "Oh yeah. The Pubs thought they were being clever by sending guys to attack our flanks. Luckily, some of our Jettise allies were there to lend a hand. And here I thought I wouldn't be seeing any action, stuck guarding the command center."

"Never underestimate the Republic, that's what my clan's learned over the years we've gone to war with them." I frown though. "Course, at least when we fought for the Sith against them, we gained something. Zarka says we're not staying on Coruscant now that Jorg Sucal's gone."

“That’s the rumor. Mand’alor hasn’t made any official announcement about it yet, though. And don’t worry if we are leaving. We don’t need to occupy Coruscant for us to still rule here. The people will remember what happened; how the Mando’ade brought the Pubs to their knees, but chose to let them limp away with their lives. Think how much more humiliating it will be when we deny the Republic a chance to retake their capital through battle.”

I chuckle. "Well, I suppose that is the better option. I'll get a good laugh out of it anyways. Wonder if our next target is Onderon. If there's any Republic world we have a right to conquer..."

“Ah yes! That would be a fine conquest. Perhaps we ransom Coruscant back to the Republic in exchange for Onderon... but then again, where is the fun in that?” I laugh, knowing full well we can be overheard by normal people.



I stand with a small group of my bodyguards, waiting to see how Gavin’s speech is going to go. I’m aware that he isn’t a big fan of mine, and that his group is actively against politicians and rich people in power. I wished their was a way to assure him that I was not one those corrupt billionaires he hated so much, but that was exactly the type of thing a corrupt billionaire would do. My only option was to prove myself genuine. I just hoped he give me the chance.



“Armond!” I walk up with to him, waving. “So good to see you made it at last.”



I look surprised. “Senator Naberrie? You’re...” I look her up and down. “...walking.”



It takes me a moment to put two and two together. “Oh! Yes, I am. The whole vegetable thing was all psychosomatic, it turns out.”





“Right... Well, I’m glad you finally got over yourself.” I say that in the nicest way possible. I then look out over the Senate District skyline. “So, our old Chancellor has run for the hills, I hear, and the capital is now in the hands of Mandalorians. An interesting state of events, to be sure.”



“A surprise, to be sure. Not quite a welcome one, but better than the alternative.”



“I suppose that’s true, and Zar’kun Je’and says they’ll be leaving soon. Once that’s all settled, we can start the healing process.” I glance at Xan from the corner of my eye. “Now that Sucal is gone, I hope the senate realizes their mistake... and never elect a Sith as Chancellor again.”



I bristle imperceptibly. “Yes, well... nobody knew what Sucal was when they elected him.”



“They do now though.” I turn to face her fully. “And they will know what you are too. I’ll make sure of that.” Before she has a chance to retort, I walk off with my guards.



I stammer first words as Armond walks away. My fingers crackle momentarily with electricity, but I ball it into a fist to suppress it. Zar’kun must have told Armond my secret, and the honorable man he is, that damn Alderaanian will have no choice but to reveal it to everyone.

"Perhaps we should have more fun than that. What's a world you think Mandalore would want to take? Maybe we could conquer Muunilist."



Not wanting to be amongst the crowds, I had set up a sniper position over looking the plaza and was scoping over the crowd. While the Supreme Commander had told every one to stand down, there had been reports of Republic Troops still fighting in former Supreme Chancellor Jorg Sucal's name. That said, I had paid particular attention to the exchange between Xan and Armond and couldn't help but grin as she seethed. Looked like her dreams of Chancellorship had just been tossed into the fire.

“Plunder the banks of Muunilist? Those long faces wouldn’t know what hit them, and imagine what would happen when all those Republic nobles realize their accounts have been depleted.” As I joke, I look up at the podium again. Wonder what’s taking Gavin so long.



I stand just out of view, making the final preparations to address the people of Coruscant. With me, of course, is Cosen, and I also have Gida Saxon leading a security team of Mandos. “Is it too late to cancel this? Or at least postpone?”



“What’s wrong? I’ve never known you to have stage fright. You’ve always been a better leader than me. You will do great!”



“It’s not that. It’s just... I can’t stop thinking about last night. Father... laying near death, waiting for us to save him. I don’t like that. I want to bright him back already. The longer we take... what if it’s too late?”



“Satele said the armor would keep him alive. We will bring him back soon enough, brother. And he will be proud that you did this; took up leadership in his place and lead the Revolution to victory.” I smile. “You can tell him all about it when we wake him.”



“You’ll do great, sir. I have total faith in you. Everyone seems to be on your side too. Pretty sure nobody is going to throw rotten fruit at you.” I hold up my rapid fire carbine. “And if they do, they’ll get a taste of this.”



I chuckle. “Thanks, Gida. Glad to have you watching my back.” I look out towards the waiting crowd. “Well... I guess it’s now or never. Let’s go.” I step outside, followed closely by my sister and Mando bodyguards.

As I open my mouth to respond, Gavin steps out and I nudge Kamari. "And so the people's hero comes out to speak at last. This should be entertaining."



Even from where I was, it was easy to see Gavin finally come out from within the building, so I finished stretching and laid prone again, the sniper rifle sweeping the crowd once more.

The audience makes a lot of sound as I come out. Some of it is good sounds like cheers and applause. Others are bad, like booing and a few shouts calling me every name from “Terrorist” to “Sith”, and even a few racial slurs like “Tail Head”. Thankfully, I could see Mandalorians in the crowd moving in to have a private word with the more animated haters.

I raise my hands to quiet everyone. “People, please! Settle yourselves! I do not come before you as a conqueror or a savior! I am only one of many who the Republic has tried and failed to suppress! The unsilent majority who refuses to be buried under level upon level of steel, and forgotten about by the upper crust of the Republic! We who, when the time to rise up against our oppressors came, we took it, raising our banners high for all to see!” Everyone slowly begins to quiet down, though whether it is out of respect or because a Mandalorian threatened them into silence is unknown. “Now, I may be a Sith by blood, along with my sister, but we are not Sith by creed. Those of you who fear us for our heritage should know that we are not influenced by darkness. We want nothing more than to be accepted, just as our mother is accepted as a Twi’lek. How many of you are seen as Humans, Zabraks, Ithorians, Bith, and so on. The Great War is over, and the Age of the Sith Empire is over. Now, we want what you all want; peace.”



I watch him speak from a balcony above the crowd. “Talking about peace surrounded by Mando invaders. Hard to sell, but if he words it right...” a Mandalorian flies down and lands on the balcony, starting me. My two guards move to defend, but I wave them down. “Woah! Don’t surprise me like that!”



“Sorry, sir. Mand’alor sent me to give you extra protection. Sort of an offering of peace between our two factions.”



“Oh, right. Tell her I said thank you, and I look forward to speaking with her soon.” I can’t make out the Mando’s reaction under his helmet, and he doesn’t say anything more. “Okay then.”

A larger Cathar pushes the Mandalorian who'd just spoken with him aside, clearly unintimidated, and speaks up. "And what about the Mandalorians you invited in to help you do it?! Did you ever stop to think you've just destroyed the lives of millions or were you too busy getting caught up in the vocal minority?!" Several other Cather speak out with him and several others nearby. The plaza now fills with whispers as even Gavin's supporters realize this. Statistically, Gavin's support came from a vocal group that likely didn't even make up a third of the city planet's population. The Revolution had sought to improve things for everyone, but Kham had known several members who'd thought they'd get kicks from supporting the eventual new regime and so they'd gone pro-Revolution. The Cathar had spotted a couple of their names on a memorial wall and had seen others hung by the Stoneheart Killer as traitors to the cause, so he didn't have any faith in Gavin, Cosen, Vette, Salazar, or the Mandalorians. "You just had to stir up the hornets nest! What happens after the smoke settles?!"


"Crap." I couldn't do anything about the turn of events, because the large catman was right. Billions, if not trillions, of lives had been uprooted and heavily, if not irreparably damaged by the war. And Gavin was the face of the primary cause and would have to bear the brunt of the public's aggression. Unless he had Dad or Manda'lor herself waiting to try and talk them down.

Forced to go off script, I rack my brain for a good response. “The alternative was Galactic Annihilation! Do you not understand that your Chancellor, I’d left unchecked, would have caused death on such a scale that it made this war look like a minor street brawl? I regret those deaths, but all wars have casualties, and I believe the Republic has far more to answer for! Genocide for one...”



While Gavin is arguing with the angry crowd, I get a ping of danger sense. Something nag very bad was about to happen. As I turn to Gavin to warn him, my danger sense flairs, and the spot on my head where I’d been concussed explodes with pain and nausea.



I see Cosen gripping her head in pain out of the corner of my eye, and I turn away from the podium. “Sister? What is wrong?” For some reason, my own danger sense does not detect the movement behind me until it is too late.



I raise the barrel of my blaster carbine and squeeze the trigger. Before Gavin can react, I perforate his back with a rapid fire barrage, sending him crumbling into the podium. Immediately after, my squad of Saxon warriors rush to the foot of the stage and open fire on the crowd, targeting the Kham Rho and his associates, but also hitting bystanders unfortunate enough to be too close. “For Clan Saxon!!”



My eyes widen, and I grip the railing tightly. “By the Force, what’s happening!?” I hear a blaster cock behind me, and I look over my shoulder to see Nor Saxon with his pistol to my head.



“Sorry, sir. Orders are orders.” Before I can pull the trigger, one of Organa’s guards throws themselves at me, causing me to miss my shot. Now in close combat, I extend a hidden blade from my gauntlet and repeatedly jab it into the guard’s side.

"Why those no good-!" Scoping in on the Mandalorian attacking Armond I line up my shot between his stabs and squeeze the trigger, the bolt striking a gap between his armor plates and knocking him into the wall behind him with the force. At the same time, I open a channel to Dad and Manda'lor. "Saxon's turned on us, they just gunned down Gavin!"



"Saxon dogs!" Whipping out my blaster pistols, I open fire on the members of Clan Saxon I can see. "All civilians near me, get to safety! Clan Wren, bring down these traitors in the name of Manda'lor!" Several of the Mandalorians in the crowd with me answer with cries of 'For Manda'lor' before joining the fray.



The Cathar and his associates dive to the ground, though several of the other Cathar still get gunned down. When the return fire from other Mandalorians draws some of the fire away from them, they get up and head for the buildings.