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Star Wars: The Sith Resurrection Part IV: Alliances Divided


Alkonium

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"Yes." Komad replied, getting a very uneasy feeling about Hethra.

Hethra and the General were now at the top of the tower, where he was still being driven back by the General. He stood at the edge of the tower, and the General grabbed him by the neck, forcing him to deactivate his lightsaber and drop it on the floor. "Death is upon you, Master Iazoki." The General told him. "You too." Hethra managed to say before grabbing his lightsaber with the Force and activating it, thus mortally wounding the General. Unfortunately, he was unable to regain his balance, and fell from the tower.

Kalla felt Hethra's fall in the Force and immediately alerted her father. "We have to go the Archive Tower, it's Hethra!" She told him. "Right." Komad replied. "We'll meet you at the rendezvous point." He then told Starlighter.

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She felt Hethra fall. Sheathing her blade, she took a running leap and jumped out the hole she had just climbed to catch up with Hethra. She said, "Nice of you to drop in." Her fingers were fiddling at her belt for the grappling hook.

 

Andros nodded and with a burst of the Force sprinted towards the tower, his son and brother in pursuit. They saw Jun-la falling with Hethra and Andros quickly sat on the ground and concentrated. He hoped to slow their rate of descent.

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Hethra knew Jun-la wouldn't have time to grapple to safety, so he positioned himself to break her fall. The fall shattered his spine, and combined with his now crushed throat, he was dying. Komad and Kalla arrived at the scene. "Bring...Almalexia...here." Hethra told Komad, struggling to breathe. "Right." Komad replied, activating his communicator. "Almalexia, it's Komad. You need to come to the Archive Tower immediately." He said into it.

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Almalexia felt it before Komad contacted her. Her eyes welled with tears and she made her way to the Tower.

 

Andros had slowed the descent but Hethra was a stubborn beast and roke the fall of his daughter. Always risking your neck for others he thought as he slowly made his way to where they landed.

 

Jun-la landed hard on Hethra but not without some injury to herself. She knew that Hethra was dying and she tried hard to bite back the tears. She said, "You old kath hound. Always thinking of others before yourself. Why couldn't you let me help you?"

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"It was either me or you." Hethra replied. He looked as Almalexia arrived. "It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for." He told her, and with that, his body faded away into nothingness as he became one with the Force. Kalla was clearly distressed by this, and hugged her father tightly for comfort. Komad began to wonder how his sister would take the news of her former Master's death.

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Jun-la whispered as he faded, "It didn't have to be."

Almalexia had kneeled beside her husband, tears in her eyes, and watched him fade. She knew he was at peace when he became one with the Force but she didn't want to be alone. Brushing her tears aside she composed herself for the sake of the boys who would want to know and for herself and stood up and said, "Let us finish this."

Andros nodded and deftly handed her a blade he produced from nowhere.

Jun-la looked back up at the tower. The general was dead but the one who started it all was still alive. She numbly followed the others to head back and drive back the reamaining Rashikian forces.

 

Alkéa didn't have to be told. It hit her like a knife through the heart. She knew that Master Hethra was dead. She had never quite believed Andros when he said that some bonds form so tightly that when one dies, it creates a void. Now she understood how he felt when he mentioned how and when his wife died. She also felt another hurt, an anguish that felt deafening. It wasn't her own but someone elses. She thought it to be Lady Almalexia's.

General Heros noticed her and asked, "Everything all right?"

Alkéa cleared her mind and replied a firm no. It hurt but there would be time to grieve later.

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"That won't be a problem," General Philos' voice came through the comm, "They hightailed it out of here before we could even board the ship."

"There is no point in pursuing," Andros replied, "There are bigger fish to fry." He gazed at his daughter who had stood, a little wobbly from the fall, looking at where Hethra disappeared with a strange glint in her eyes. He was worried but there were no dark threads emanating from her. He reached out but she pushed him out. He didn't persist for he knew that she would react worse like when she was ten. He looked at the rest of the group, and Alkéa, who joined them, and said, "We should regroup and figure out our next course of action."

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"I agree. The sooner the Senate knows of what has transpired here, the better. It will shorten the debate greatly, and most likely will sway the Senators into voting for rebuilding the Republic's army. When the Rashikians attack again, they will do so with a much larger force. Planetary Militia and a few Jedi won't be enough next time." Komad added. "We should inform the Chief of State as soon as we return to Coruscant."

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"You forget that the Avalonians offered their services," Alkéa replied. She was rather impressed at the organizational skill of the Avalonians. Besides they would know best how to fight the Rashikians. It is said that the RAshikians were once Avalonians before their banishment.

Before a fight could get out hand, Andros said gently, "Perhaps General Philos would give us all a ride back to Coruscant. The Senate would wish to speak to him as well. Would you agree?"

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"Very well, we should leave immediately." Komad replied.

On the ship, Komad opened a channel with Kol Skywalker back on Coruscant, informing him of the attack on Tython and of Hethra's death. "I'm sorry to hear about Master Iazoki, but I will need to speak with your sister about this. There is an old tradition we must adhere to." Skywalker replied. "Very well." Komad then went over to his sister. "Master Skywalker wishes to speak with you." He told her.

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Alkéa acknowledged her brother, "Very well." She then looked at Jun-la who was staring out at the hyperspace streaks.

Andros looked at his daughter while speaking to his brothers. He was worried about her. She was always one who was the more steady of the twins. It was puzzling for he sensed no anger, just...nothing. He said nothing but listened to his brothers as the ship entered the skies above Coruscant. When the ship landed, he left to head to his quarters. He had thought of something and needed to go find it. He passed Alkea who was talking to Master Skywalker.

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"Hethra's death must have been very hard for you, as you were his apprentice, but there is something I must ask of you. Traditionally, when a Grand Master, current or otherwise, dies, their body, or if they become one with the Force as they die, their robes are burned at a funeral pyre by one of their past apprentices, and I would like you to give Hethra that honour." Master Skywalker told Alkéa.

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"Very well, let's see it." Master Skywalker replied.

As Komad stepped out of the shuttle, he turned towards his wife. "We should inform the Chief of State and the Senate as soon as we can." He told her. "We cannot carelessly risk another planet like Tython."

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"I agree. Let us go now," Greea replied. She gave a slight nod to Andros who nodded back and headed towards the bay where the speeders where kept.

 

"Master Skywalker, Jun-la was there when Msater Hethra passed. She hasn't mentioned it but she has a faraway look and something is off," Alkéa voiced her concern.

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"From what your brother told me about Hethra's death, this wouldn't surprise me. Not only was she there when he died, but she also tried and failed to save his life. There's nothing I can do." Master Skywalker told her.

The speeder carrying Komad, Greea and Andros arrived at the Executive Office Building, and immediately an eerie feeling came over Komad, as he not been inside the building since the assassination of Chief of State Tabula Rasa sixteen years ago. As the three of them entered the Chief of State's office, they noticed the heavy Cathar influence in how it was decorated. "Chief of State Hame, we must speak with you immediately." Komad told the Chief of State. "Ah, Master Jedi, what might this be about?" The Chief of State asked. "Perhaps you were unaware, but while you and the Senate were discussing this crisis in a committee, the planet of Tython was attacked by the people who were attacking our scout ships near the Unknown Regions, and we barely managed to hold them off. Jedi Master Hethra Iazoki, former Grand Master and close friend of my family, died in the attack." Komad told her. "I am sorry to hear that, but do not assume I am as much a fool as Tabula Rasa. If I had known, I would have done what I could." Hame replied. "Rest assured, I will allow you to speak to the Senate personally at the next session of Congress."

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"But Master Skywalker," Alkéa replied, "What if it were possible that nothing emanates from her through the Force because of it. Master Starlighter wouldn't say anything but I know he must sense it, the emptiness." Alkéa then paused to give the master respect and wait to see what he said.

 

Andros listened quietly to the murmurings of Heme while his thoughts dwelt on his daughter. Miklos, before he died long ago, revealed that his mother would retreat into that world of nothingness when overwhelming grief came upon her. He wondered if it were possible. The Force can run strongly in families. He was aware enough to hear Heme announce that they could speak at the next session of Congress. He asked, "When will that be Chief of State?"

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"Even so, this is something she must deal with on her own. I can do nothing." Master Skywalker restated.

"In a few days time." Hame replied. "The Rashikians could attack another planet in that time!" Komad replied. "Not likely. Given what I've been told about the attack on Tython, it will be some time before they can stage another large-scale assault." Hame responded.

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"Only if they have someone to lead them. In the past they have been used as pawns and therefore have scattered when the leadership is compromised," Andros replied quietly. "They are very much like the Sith, fighting each other for the right to lead. Perhaps they are among the original Sith?"

 

"I understand you can do nothing master," Alkéa replied, "but surely there is something I can do?" She liked Jun-la and the free will and independent spirit she showed. It would be tragedy to let it die.

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Alkéa nodded. She then asked, "Would it be possible that she stand with me for Master Hethra?"

 

"I am not sure. The old loremaster Petronious kneew such things but he died when...when my mother was young." Andros withdrew to think. He wasn't sure who was the current loremaster now of his mother's tribe but perhaps his sister would know.

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"The Rashikians were thrown out long before the Mandalorian wars. Remember it is said that Avalon is where the Force began. Perhaps they are. Like all those with power, those that gain are afraid to lose. A split within the Rashikian divisions I am suggesting," Andros offered helpfully. "Tython was the first planet the first explorers came to."

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"That would make sense, given how familiar they were with the landscape. Which gives me worries about what their next target might be, when they manage to reorganise themselves.

"Master, I know how Aunt Alkéa was close to Master Hethra when she was younger, so I'm wondering how she could have acted so indifferently when he died." Kalla asked Reyvan during a routine training exercise.

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