"No more will my green see go turn a deeper blue. I could not foresee this thing happening to you."
It was a welcomed change of environment, being able to breathe fresh air, feeling the warm, humid breeze on her skin, seeing the green scenery of the galaxy. It was...refreshing, almost beautiful enough to lift up her spirit, but not quite.
Aaliyah was sitting outside of the ship, on the open ramp, while somewhere inside of it was Oisin, trying to regain his senses after he was pulled out of carbonite. He woke up distressed, blind, unable to speak. So, she let him rest and slowly reacclimate his body at its own pace. Meanwhile, Aaliyah was, as always, thinking about Anakin and his sudden turn and what it could possibly mean to the bigger cause in the future. Does this mean he would turn in other aspects too?
No, Aaliyah quickly said in her own head, she can't hold onto that hope, not when it was probably very far from the truth. But she had to admit, his actions were even more confusing than ever before. What does it mean? Two days ago, when she left Mustafar, she was far too shocked to ask him anything. And to be honest, he didn't look like he wanted to speak at all, just do what he thought was right at that moment. Maybe, he was already looking for her, cursing himself for giving in to this brief moment of weakness. Who knows?
She didn't feel anything from him, from his force, his walls as high as ever, shielding himself from the whole galaxy. That's what he was always doing and it must be exhausting, she realized. Both physically and mentally. Never showing his true face, always wearing a mask - literally and figuratively.
"How did we got out?" Aaliyah heard a shaky voice behind her and there he was with a sweaty, pale face and curly hair that looked more like a bird's nest.
"He let us leave," she turned back to watch the green forest of Takodana. They won't be here for too long, it was dangerous. But Aaliyah wanted to let Oisin wake up slowly and Takodana was the safest, closest planet to them, far enough from Mustafar. But she was lost now, not really knowing what to do next. The best scenario would be to have contact with someone from the Rebel Alliance, but how? She had no commlink, she didn't know where they were. As far as she was concerned, they were probably already on the other side of the galaxy.
"Just like that?" he asked and slowly came down from the ramp, where she was sitting.
Aaliyah looked up at him. "You should rest."
Oisin didn't appreciate the quick change of topic and he let her know by his facial expression and tone. "I asked you something."
She quickly got up, dusting herself off. "Yes, just like that. Don't ask me why, I don't know."
Not only she didn't know, but she didn't want to talk about it whatsoever. But Oisin decided to be difficult, or perhaps the carbon freeze made him extra annoying and annoyed at the same time. "You have a history with him," it wasn't really a question, more like a statement and Aaliyah decided not to answer. "That's why you kissed me before we went to Dagobah. That's why he was so angry. That's why he put me in the carbonite."
"Yes," Aaliyah nodded. "I shouldn't have done that. It was a mistake and it only put you in danger. I should have known better."
He tilted his head, his eyes slightly narrowed as if he still had a problem seeing properly. "What exactly was the mistake? Kissing me or putting me in danger?"
Aaliyah knew what he wanted to hear, and she knew he would have to break his heart, but the faster she does it the less painful it would be in the future. "Both, I guess."
His eyes never left her, but his eyelids slightly wavered. "You know what I feel for you. You have to know," he spoke in a quiet, hoarse voice.
"I do, and I want you to know that I care about you..." she started but was quickly cut off.
"Please, don't do this. I don't want to hear the "but" and that you care. I know you do, just not the way I want you to. But I'm not a child, you don't have to do this," after his words, Aaliyah had no words to say, just simply nod. He wanted to say more, that was for sure, but there was a noise coming from the forest. A sound of rustling leaves under someone's feet. Aaliyah was so focused on Oisin, she didn't even notice the presence of someone approaching them.
"What is that?" asked Oisin and looked around.
"I don't know," she mumbled and took her lightsabre tightly in her hands. It almost felt foreign after such a long time. "But I'm about to find out."
"Wait," Oisin whispered when she walked away from the ship deeper in the forest. She could still feel the rustling, but also the hurried steps of Oisin behind her, who took a blaster from the ship, ready to use it on whoever was lurking around. "It's just an animal or something."
Aaliyah looked over her shoulder at Oisin, who was far too vigilant to believe it was just a harmless creature living in the forest. "And if it's not? Do you want to be robbed? Or killed in your sleep while they stole our ship and toss our dead bodies into the atmosphere?"
"Okay, I get it," Oisin snapped in a whisper and shook his head at Aaliyah's pessimistic scenarios.
"Someone is here and it's not an animal," she said, while she went a little deeper, feeling around herself, but it was as if the presence was coming from all around her.
"Well, I would hope I'm not an animal, my dear," said a feminine voice and both Oisin and Aaliyah swiftly turned around to see a short, orange, wrinkly lady with gigantic glasses standing on a stump, her lips formed in an amused but kind smile.
"Who are you?" asked Oisin and aimed his blaster at her, but it didn't faze her, didn't shock her. She was as calm and nonchalant as possible.
"Oh, put down the blaster, son. I'm here to help," she said in a soft voice. Something in her, maybe her demeanour, made Aaliyah trust her, not see her as a possible danger.
"I'll ask again, who are you, lady?" Oisin was clearly running out of patience, so Aaliyah put her hand on his arm, and none verbally told him to put it away. And he did, seeing as she didn't seem like the odd lady was a thread.
"I'm a friend and my name is Maz. I'm the ally of Rebel Alliance and I know you need to be somewhere else, not stranded here," Aaliyah almost fell to her knees in silent prayer. This woman might as well get them to the rebel base.
"Do you know where they are?" asked Aaliyah and the lady nodded.
The smile on Maz' face got bigger and wider. "I will give you the coordinates. Don't worry, dear Aaliyah."
____
"How is it possible? They were building the first Death Star for years. How could they build another in such a short time," said a man, who was looking on the hologram of the second Death Star the Empire will be ready to launch soon. The rebels were standing around the circular table of the War room with the leader of the Alliance, Mon Mothma looking at the hologram with undeniable disbelief in her eyes.
"And it's bigger than before," said another man.
"And we don't have the advantage that we had before. How are we going to destroy it now?" asked yet another man, whose voice was cold as ice and there was irritation evident on his face. He was ready to give up the fight. All of them went through that phase here and there.
"The data brought to us by the Bothan spies pinpoints the location of the new battle station. We also know that the weapon systems of this Death Star are not operational yet. With the Imperial Fleet spread throughout the galaxy in efforts to engage us, it is as of now unprotected. But most important of all, we've learned that the Emperor himself is personally overseeing the final stages of the construction of this Death Star," the voice of Mon Mothma was strong, like a true leader who sees that some of the rebels are slowly losing hope for better tomorrow.
Now, it was time and place for Admiral Akbar to come closer to the holographic model of Death Star that cost so many lives, just to get to the rebels. "You can see here the Death Star orbiting the forest Moon of Endor. Although the weapon systems on this Death Star are not operational, it does have a strong defence mechanism. It's being protected by an energy shield, which is generated from the nearby forest Moon of Endor. The shield must be deactivated before we launch an attack. Once the shield is down, our cruisers will create a perimeter, while the fighters fly into the superstructure and attempt to knock out the main reactor," there was a whisper around the room, people were nodding in agreement, some were ready to jump into the closest X-wing and destroy the gigantic weapon themselves.
The doors to the room opened sooner than anyone could say something else, and a man walked in. "I'm sorry, we have an approaching Empire ship, and there are two rebels on board."
Mon Mothma was more than just shocked. "And who might they be?"
"The Jedi, Aaliyah and the pilot, Oisin," he said and the talk in the room was suddenly far louder than before. Another Jedi in the fight and the man who destroyed the first Death Star. It was like a gift for the Alliance. Obi-Wan, who was in the corner of the room looked at his ex-padawan and slightly smiled. Aaliyah has found them after all.
"They say they're coming from Takodana, from Maz," as soon as he said that Mon Mothma smiled.
"Let them in."
So, once again, Aaliyah was back at a rebel base, this time a mobile one, set on board of the rebel fleet. "I hope this time you'll stick around longer," smiled Ahsoka as soon as she saw Aaliyah walk down the ramp.
"That makes two of us," Aaliyah shrugged her shoulders and saw a medical droid checking up on Oisin, who was getting stronger but still looked like death itself.
"Let me be honest, I thought this time you wouldn't manage to escape," Obi-Wan spoke from behind Ahsoka.
"Oh, I think I wouldn't. But he let me leave," once again, she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Both of us."
"Just like that? What happened? I mean..." Ahsoka was curious about the whole situation, but Obi-Wan stopped her excessive wave of questions before it got out of hand.
"Ahsoka, this is not the time," he said sternly.
Quickly she nodded. "I'm sorry, master," she looked at Aaliyah again. "I think we should let Aaliyah on the plan. Tell her everything."
"Indeed, we should."
None of them could know, at this point, that the war was almost over. That the end of this regime was closer than any of them could imagine. The rebels just had to hold on for a little while longer. But the Empire won't go down without a fight. It won't go down silently.
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Filler chapter before the action.
What are your predictions for the future? For Anakin and Aaliyah? Let me know and have a great summer. :)