Darker the Night (A Star Wars Rebels AU)

Chapter Twenty-four

[Trying out something a little different for this chapter, inspired by Star Wars: The Old Republic, in which you receive messages from various NPCs. Plus, it kind of reminds me of war letters, like people used to exchange during WWII. It's kind of like scrolling through Hera's inbox.]

From: Caleb Dume

To: Hera Syndulla

Hera,

There are nosy roommates around, so I thought I'd just write you a good old-fashioned message. I'm back on Coruscant, but probably not for long. Are you back from Ryloth yet? I hope everything went okay with your family. Just thought you'd like to know that, on the trip back to Coruscant, Master Windu told me I did really well on Ryloth, and that Depa should be proud of me. Couldn't believe it. Ezra was right back to following me around the temple again, almost as soon as I stepped off the shuttle. He's annoying, but I kinda missed him. I miss you, too.

Caleb

From: Hera Syndulla

To: Caleb Dume

Caleb:

I'm in hyperspace right now, on my way back to Coruscant. The ship was miraculously still in one piece, and Chopper even made a few upgrades, so my superiors should be pleased. If they're not, at least the mechanics will be. I didn't exactly ask for permission to stay on Ryloth as long as I did, so I'm going to have to ask for forgiveness. Captain Enneb will back me up, though- she always does. It's nice to have someone like her on my side, that's for sure.

Things with my family are...better. For now, anyway. Val and I patched things up- we could never stay mad at each other for long. I never expected him to become like my father, I always thought he'd be more interested in just having a good time, but...I guess war changes people in unexpected ways. I'm glad that he's interested in making Ryloth a better place. The galaxy needs more people like him.

My mother would like to adopt you as her third child, she hasn't stopped talking about how wonderful you are and how you saved her children and our homeworld.

My father is...pretty much the same. He's been in a good mood about our success ousting Wat Tambor, but there's still a lot to do- there are still droids everywhere, and we need to make sure the Separatists don't try to take Ryloth back. My father and his lieutenants- including Val- are already working closely with clone forces. They're being led by a Captain Howzer, and he and my father are getting along and cooperating already, so that's a positive sign.

He wasn't happy about my leaving again, but he was riding high on our victory and too busy to really focus on what I was doing. I made all of them promise to keep in better contact with me, though, just in case.

Don't be too hard on Ezra. He seems like a good kid.

You probably won't be there when I get back, but...I hope you are.

Hera

To: Hera Syndulla

From: Eleni Syndulla

Dear Hera,

I am sorry we did not get to spend more time alone together before you left Ryloth- I wanted to have a good heart-to-heart before you left, but it was not to be. This message will have to suffice until we are reunited again.

Daughter, when you left for Coruscant, it was a proud day for us. Yes, even your father was proud, though he would not admit it. But it was also a bittersweet day. Our eldest child, our bright star, was leaving us to live on another world. We accepted this, even embraced it. We wanted you to follow your dreams. When the war came, though...everything changed.