The horrific, gruesome display that Aria put on through the vengeful Tuk'ata would have normally been a bit excessive for the young Knight's tastes, but after everything that Bracknell had done to them, after he had robbed the galaxy of hope and tried to stamp it under his heel, the punishment seemed fitting. Her steely gaze met his and a moment of understanding passed between them, wordless and undefined. Within seconds, Bracknell was cut down by the duo, his already mutilated body splitting further into viscera and gore. He stood there next to her, attempting to absorb the gravity of what they had just accomplished. They didn't speak for a while, nor did they hear Abbeth's hurried footsteps towards them. It was only until he called out that Yerbol tilted his head upward:
"We need to head back! Just got a message from planetside." The Kel-Dor's face was obscured by their trademark breathing apparatus, but the smile in his next comment was visible all the same:
"They've surrendered. All of them! Neta said something about Saresh, but didn't catch very much of it...still! Surrendered!" Wiping sweat from his brow, he examined the remains of Bracknell for a brief second.
"He deserved no less." The stillness of the ship prompted Yerbol's eyes to widen.
"Cheriss! Where is she?!"
"Back at the shuttle." Abbeth chuckled.
"She looks almost as bad as Bracknell, but she's alive and just as...Cheriss as ever. She moaned something about you two owing her a great deal before passing out on the seats." A small half-smile formed on Yerbol's face.
"Sounds like she'll be fine." He sheathed his saber as he walked to the still corpse of Roan, kneeling before the father of his best friend and whispering:
"I promise you I'll keep her safe. No matter the price I have to pay."
______
"YES! YES YES YES YES!!!!" Shirt in tatters, blaster shot to pieces, blood weeping from a gaping hole in her shoulder and other assorted wounds didn't stop Neta from jumping enthusiastically in central command, those around her celebrating with cheers and roars of approval as the galaxy map, which once heralded their doom, began to display a slow retreat from the fleet, shuttles rocketing up through the now clear atmosphere that Jungze and the youngsters allowed, the group of Force users nearly collapsed in the same room they occupied for the battle from sheer exhaustion. It had happened so quickly that Neta found it hard to believe, but after Voldon secured the front of the base by defeating Soto, Alliance forces beat a hasty retreat back towards the transports they came in on. She had been at the rear of the base, helping the scant forces and one remaining turret fend off the endless invasion of troopers when the firing just...stopped. As fast as they had appeared to close in on the base, they disappeared back into the forest, the reeking scent of engine fuel seeping even more into the atmosphere as the Alliance beat a hasty retreat. She had sprinted back into the command center when a communications aide put Saresh's strained and somewhat mortified face on the holocom unit in the center of the room where the galaxy map once stood.
"Chancellor! Nice of you to finally get in touch with us."
"We need to talk."
"Wish you could've mentioned that earlier." Saresh glared at the pilot, answering:
"We were misled. I was misled. This latest campaign by Bracknell only confirms what I've suspected."
"Oh, what? That Bracknell was using you people to-"
"Like I said, we need to talk. I've ordered Alliance forces back to Coruscant and I'll be on the first shuttle out there along with a delegation...well, some of the delegation. You have the others." Neta couldn't help but smirk.
"We'll see you soon, Chancellor. By the way...don't mind the mess. Cleaning up after a needless battle can take time."
Their shuttle landed in the hangar, although the scorched walls, dead bodies and fractured weapons were all new touches to the decor.
"I'll get Cheriss to the med bay. I'm sure Neta and Elara are going to want to see you both." Once both were off the ship, Yerbol leaned forward in his seat, eyes boring into the ship's interior. What was there to say? Congratulations, we stopped the galaxy from falling apart? I'm so sorry about your father? Man, you sure know how to rip someone apart with Tuk'ata! Remind me not to get on your bad side!
What came out felt like the right thing to say:
"He loved you, Ari. I know he did." He took one of her hands into his, squeezing it gently.
"And I will-" He cut himself off, fully aware that what was ABOUT to roll off his tongue was something that he was in no position to say at the moment nor would it be the right time even if he WERE prepared to. Instead, he added:
"I'll do all I can to help you through this." He did crack a smile as he withdrew his hand and placed the same arm around her shoulders, rocking her gently as he added:
"I think I proved that I'm pretty good at helping you over the past six months, right?"
_____
The conflict might have been over, but the clean up was just beginning. Bodies were buried, tears were shed in copious amounts, walls rebuilt as much as they could be, weapon parts smelted and reformed into tools and preparations made for the incoming Chancellor of the Galactic Alliance, which made the diplomats on base very excited. Being able, as some of them put it, to "negotiate from a position of strength like this is unparalleled!" Their negotiations would begin upon Saresh's arrival, which was to be in three days time. During that seventy two hour stretch, most of those on base slept little, ate as much as possible to gain strength and worked tirelessly to mend whatever they could. He tried to check in with Aria as much as he could, but he was tugged in many different directions by those in assistance, so any time they would have had together was swallowed up by others. Finally, though, most of the base had been cobbled back together and with Saresh inbound in an hour, the chair tucked up against the lower right corner of the base became a very nice place to rest. Plopping down in his work attire of shorts and a sleeveless shirt stained with sweat, he placed his head against the wall, shutting his eyes for a quick second...
He heard sniffing. Then a nudge at his hand.
"Whaaaaat?" He groaned, looking down to find one of the Tuk'ata blankly staring at him.
"Just...stay out of trouble and let me rest, ok?"
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El Taco Taco
The Elvenqueen