A Bringing Of Forces

Epilogue. . . pt 3

Thirty-One Years Later

~

It had been eleven years since the fall of the Empire. And Ahsoka had still not returned.

The first year, Aedion had figured, was to be expected. She would have to help the Rebels regain control over all the systems the Empire had destroyed. The second year, Aedion had also given Ahsoka the benefit of the doubt. But as more and more years passed by, the unrelenting truth of the situations became more and more prominent.

There was a chance Ahsoka had not survived. Had been killed by another Inquisitor or by a turn in luck. The first five years she had refused to succumb to that idea, but when another year had passed, then two, she had finally submitted to the possibility.

And that's what had killed her the most. Her doubt in Ahsoka. Her anger for their last promise not being upheld.

Of course, one day, she might come.

Maybe.

If she did, though, the planet she would return to would not be the same. The younglings were no longer young, nor was Drasf.

Drasf, the young padawan they had first met, had matured far beyond her years. She still distanced herself, but after Ahsoka's departure, had at least moved in with Nadia. Along with that, she had used the knowledge Aedion had gathered on the plants and animals of Xeer I and continued her own research.

She was now the unofficial healer.

The past three years had been especially hard for her after Nadia's untimely death. It had been unexpected and sudden. One day he had been just as active as typical, helping in the fields as much as possible, training the newer recruits in the Force, but by the next day he had passed in his sleep. The one condolence was he had not been in pain. At least he had got to see Drasf grow up.

Now, just passing her fifth decade, she could truly attest to that.

Watching the seven younglings grow into their teens, then young adults, and now fully bloomed Jedi, was truly an amazing thing.

Just like Nadia had said, when first introducing Xeer I, the mountain range -a several days hike from where their small village sat- hid a massive reserve of Kyber crystals within.

Aedion, along with the help of Nadia, had decreed that any child who found Xeer I without a lightsaber would undergo their training until the age of thirteen when they would make the journey to retrieve their own crystals and construct their lightsabers.

Together, the younglings had done as much, and already, with their population slowly growing -one or two reached them every three to five years- as many as eight other padawans could boast their new lightsabers. In the five years Aedion and Ahsoka had been together, that had been the most concentrated amount to find them, but several had given birth on Xeer I, providing a glimpse into what the future may behold.

It was a bitter-sweet thought.

It reminded her of what she had lost when Ahsoka had left.

It was easier to throw herself into the everyday tasks of training and helping farm and collect than dwell on what she had lost. What she had a chance at regaining, she tried to remind herself every night when the empty spot next to her in the bed began to overwhelm her.

There was always someone around, always some form of life. A child's laugh; the cough of someone in sleep; gentle conversation between friends, but she found herself slipping farther and farther away from them all in the passage of years. She knew it would do no good, be no help to any of them, but she couldn't help it.

The plow in her hand felt heavy, and Aedion realized she had been standing in the field long past when she should have headed back. Dusk was approaching and she had only eaten a pitiful excuse for breakfast and then worked on preparing the fields for next year's crops.

It was hard work, even more so with her crutches, but she managed just fine, raging against any who dared suggest she take a break or rest her leg. Soon, though, she wouldn't be able to any more. Already, her knee was beginning to protest the long hours spent standing. She would have to retire to only the training of new immigrants.

Her crutches caught on the loose soil as she made her way back, stumbling her slightly, but it was an easy catch and she quickly righted herself. Walking carefully back, her eyes stayed on the slowly setting sun, casting the world in hues of purple and orange. The one benefit of this particular season: the sunsets.

She crested the small hill to the village, but stopped at the top, suddenly overwashed in a familiar presence. It swept her back slightly, but she swallowed the emotion and continued on. She had to get used to it. Ahsoka wasn't there and wouldn't be. It was no use making things up.

The small huts enlarged as she strolled between them, making her way slowly to her own. She was about twelve down when a gentle hand stopped her. She turned, finding Idor behind her, his galaxy eyes bright and swirling. "Aedion, you have a visitor." He smiled.

Aedion's heart leapt. "Is it. . ." She couldn't finish.

He nodded.

A sob built in her throat. "Where?"

He pointed toward the center of houses where a large fruit tree grew. A creek trickled by it, watering its roots and providing water when the vaporators malfunctioned -which was rare- or to water plants some had taken to growing inside their own homes.

She pulled from his grip, crutching as fast as she could.

The minute it took seemed to last hours. Finally, she could see a lone figure standing, taller than the few huts turned to rubble over the years. She couldn't help the tears that slid down her face.

Ahsoka lifted her face, seeming to stare directly toward Aedion. She took a step forward before running towards her.

"Oh, Aedion," she said when she neared. "I promised I'd come back. And here I am. It took so much longer to reconstruct what the Empire had destroyed; hunting down the escaped admirals and freeing the planets they had taken over again. I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner."

Aedion could only shake her head, crying. Finally, she managed, "I missed you. I missed you so, so much."

Ahsoka enveloped her in a hug, holding her close and planted a gentle kiss against her lips before drawing away slightly, only enough to whisper, "I love you Aedion Fulcrum, and nothing will ever get in the way of that. I promise. And it is a promise I will refuse to break. Even in death I will never stop."

Aedion could only smile. "I love you too, Ahsoka Tano. And I won't ever stop either."