"A piece of advice?" I lean forwards and rest my hands on my knees. "Be honest with her. And don't let her swing at you, she's not in the shape for it and you don't need anymore bruises to explain away."

“Yeah, I’m done letting her take out her anger on me. That last time really hurt, and after everything that’s happened... well, let’s just say our relationship is going to be different, if it even continues at all.” I say that, but I don’t sound entirely confident in my words.

"Let me put it this way for ya, son." I tap his nose. "The next time she swings, swing back and hit her in her nose. Might not be the kindest thing right now, but it makes a point. And tell her that the way things have been won't be how it continues. It CAN'T continue, or Clan Cadera's gonna have me to answer to and all of Ordo if it comes down to it."

"Oh yeah. Just remembered your technically Clan Ordo, and your 'adoptive mother' is Mand'alor now." I chuckle lightly. "I don't know if it'll come to that, but it's good to know I still have allies in the Mandalorians even without Ava. Temari's a good lady, and from what I've seen, she has the skill and experience to lead. Long may she reign, I guess."

"Aye, Mand'alor the Valkyrie they're already calling her. Fitting continuation of a title she's carried within Clan Ordo for years I doubt there's anyone amongst the clans crazy enough to challenge her, least for a few years." I sigh. "Whatever you do, HJ, trust your instincts and trust the Force. I think when the time comes, you'll know what to do."

"Trust the Force. Yeah, I think I'll do that. After all this crap with Sucal is over, I think I'll take some time to really get in touch with the Force. I mean, I'm not going full Jedi. I'd never do that. But... maybe I'll find a nice quiet place to think and study. Meditate on stuff. I can finally get Huntress away from civilization and let her roam around free. We might even go to Alaris Prime like before. Who knows?" I shrug.

"The only thing I ask of you is to stay in touch. You disappear without a word again and it'll be both our hides with your mother."

"Don't worry. I've learned my lesson." I laugh. "Speaking of Mom, she wanted me to tell you she's doing well on Alderaan. Theron Shan is there watching out for her too, along with whatever guys are left watching the old Sith Hunter base. We spent a bit of time together while Huntress healed up, and I got in a bit of practice taking care of baby Rose. They're both happy, enjoying the vacation, but are looking forward to going back to Dantooine soon."

"That's...going to be something I need to talk with my dad about. The Sith Imperium know where the Island is and who we are. If another war breaks out..."I trail off, leaving the thought unfinished.

"Oh great. So even when we beat Sucal, we're still not going to be safe? I hate to say it, but he does kinda have a point; seems like most of the galaxy's problems stem from Sith and Jedi butting heads. I mean, I don't condone destroying the Force and potentially wiping out all life in the universe, but I do wish there was a way to stop Sith and Dark Jedi from rising up every five minutes."



Vette and I walk into the lobby, each of us carrying knapsacks over our shoulder. I get a few strange looks from people, but now that I am no longer wearing armor and I've cleaned up a bit, I can pass as a dark skinned Zeltron. "The only way to stop a Sith or Jedi is to fight them. Whether you chose to use weapons or words is your choice, but fight you must. Darkness always rises and Light must always meet it."



I roll my eyes. "Ignore him. He likes to wax poetic." I slip a couple credits into the vending machine and pull out two nutrition bars, handing one to Sal.



Wide eyed, I look up at Greshh. "Whoa, wait a minute. Aren't you..."



"Nope." I take a bite of the nutrition bar and chew loudly.

"What our new friend here meant was that even if there were no Jedi and Sith, good and evil, respectively, will still exist and still go head to head. The Jedi and Sith are simply embodiments of those two virtues on a...well, I'd say larger scale. Also, remember that the Republic has now attempted mass genocide on the Sith twice now. Pretty sure that's not the Jedi's doing."

"Occasionally, darkness feeds on itself. The greedy do not like to share power, so when several groups are aligned with the Dark Side, such as Trayus, Imperious, Naberrie, and even myself, you will find each faction would rather rule alone than with friends. That, at least, is one thing I give credit to the Jedi for. The light side draws strength from numbers."



"But... aren't there a lot of Sith too? Imperious is building an entire Empire. You don't consider that numbers?"

"For now, but we'll see how well she can keep her people in line. They're still pretty new, so I don't imagine she'll be waging any kind of war on the Republic for some number of years."

“One can only hope for a few years of peace. I’ve had my fill of war to last a thousand lifetimes.”



“Isn’t peace kinda against the whole code of the Sith?”



“Me allying with you lot instead of cutting you in half is against the code of the Sith. Be grateful I’m willing to bend the rules.” I wink at HJ before walking away.



I shrug at HJ. “I think that’s his way of saying he likes you.”



“Oh, is that what he meant?”

I chuckle and stand up while stretching. "Don't worry too much, HJ. He's not the man he was twenty years ago. You go rest, we're scouting Belsavis, should be back in a couple of days."

“Alright. Good luck with the scouting. Hopefully you find a good lead and we can bring this chapter to a close.” I pull my dad into a quick hug. “I’ll make sure nothing else exciting happens while you’re gone.”

Returning the hug, I ruffle his hair as I pull away. "I'm sure your grandpa will appreciate that at least. Best of luck with Ava."

“Thanks. Knowing that girl, I’ll probably need all the luck I can get.”



Torian and I are I are in the medical facility. I have a hand to my temple, and several radio signals buzz in my ear. “Sounds like things are starting to go back to normal a bit. They’ve started playing music over the holonet again.” I turn towards Torian, but he is staring up at Ava in the kolto tank. “Come on. You’ve barely taken to eyes off her since we got back.”



I don’t reply. I am hyper focused on our daughter as she floats unconscious in the blue liquid.

There is a knock on the door and then, after a couple of seconds, I walk in. However, before either can perform a greeting to me as Mand'alor, I hold up a hand. "I am not here as your leader, Torian. Right now, I am Temari."

“You are always my leader, Mand’alor.” I say without turning around. “You can never be just Temari again until the title is claimed by someone else.”



“Well, I’ll call you Temari, if you want. If this isn’t official business, what’s up?”