#something something droid attack on the wookies

[jesus-holding-your-fave]

Ki-Adi-Mundi from Star Wars

Today, Jesus is holding:

Ki-Adi-Mundi from Star Wars

[ashes-2-ashes57cba]

The Bad Batch: Valkyrie

Episode 6: Tribe

dank farrik: general expletive haar'chak: "dammit", Mando'a warnings: graphic descriptions of corpses, panic attack, nausea, (mild) arachnophobia, there's a Bluey reference This has not been edited

“Cid said the Vanguard Axis is notorious for illegal smuggling. So be ready for anything,” Hunter warned as the group stepped off the ship into the quiet port. 

“And Ord Mantell isn’t? I think we’ll be fine,” Specter scoffed.

“We’ll make the delivery. Echo, Specter, Omega: guard the ship,” ordered Hunter before he, Wrecker, and Tech walked off. Specter sighed and sat next to Omega on the gangplank.

“Let’s hope this doesn’t take long,” Echo mumbled, standing guard behind them. He and Specter had initially voted against this mission because of how involved the Batch would have to be, but they’d be receiving a higher payout because of their involvement. The pair were easily outvoted. 

Specter hardly realized she was nervously nibbling on her nails until Omega gently tugged on her arm. 

“What’s wrong?” the girl asked. Specter shook her head.

“I just don’t like this. I can’t read droids like I can people,” she explained, eyeing a droid in the distance that was stacking cargo. “You can’t sense intentions.”

“You killed them easily enough,” Echo commented behind her.

“Sure, but that’s killing them. Here we’re working with them,” she corrected. More quiet minutes passed by but the tension didn’t let up.

“You were right. There’s something off about this place, and I don’t like it,” Omega muttered. 

“Me neither,” Echo added. “But we should be almost done. I’ll prep the ship.” He walked inside, Specter stood up and kept a hand on Omega’s shoulder.

“Are you going to be okay by yourself? I’m going to do an external diagnostic, just to make sure we weren’t tagged,” she said. 

“I’ll be fine,” Omega nodded. Specter smiled and grabbed a datapad from inside before climbing up to the neck of the Marauder and plugging in. While the data loaded, she took a deep breath and looked at their surroundings again; she always denied that the war against the droids had affected her to any significance… but even now she couldn’t shake off her unease and urge to open fire. 

She shook the thought out of her head. The diagnostic resulted in nothing out of the ordinary. Specter unplugged and jumped down, finding Omega no longer sitting on the steps.

“Hey, Echo, is Omega in there with you?” she shouted into the ship?

“No. I thought she was with you,” he replied.

“Dank farrik,” Specter swore. “She must have wandered off. I’ll go find her.” She grabbed her blaster-rifle before dashing off to search for the girl.

“If I were Omega, where would I go? What am I drawn to?” Specter muttered to herself as she navigated through the port. There were too many hidden corners and crawl spaces to take into account, plus she didn’t want to draw the droids’ suspicions any more than she already had. 

Muffled sounds of a roar with metal clashing and two droids breaking from their patrol route: trouble. Omega was drawn to it. Specter sighed and headed toward the commotion in the next room over. The girl was there, along with a young Wookie.

“Omega, come on let’s head back to the ship,” she called, walking towards her. The Wookie growled at her, taking a step forward. 

“It’s okay, she’s a friend,” Omega reassured, stepping between the Wookie and Specter. He huffed and ran off. “Wait!” Omega called after him.

“What’s going on?” Specter asked, now increasingly worried. 

“Those droids are after him. Come on!” the girl explained before running off after him.

“No! Wait- Omega!” Specter quietly hissed. She groaned and followed.

Hunter carefully watched as the droid inspected their forgeries. He didn’t expect for there to be any issue—no foul play was involved, at least on their end—but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. The weight of his pistol kept him grounded and alert.

The droid’s comm beeped; it answered and was met with sounds of blasterfire.

“We have a situation,” a droid on the other end reported. The droid looked back up at him.

“Problem?” he shrugged. Hunter had hoped there wouldn’t be for this mission, but reality was often disappointing. The droid said nothing, only getting up and leaving the room with the rest of its guards.

“The cause of that blasterfire is either Echo or Omega. Most likely Omega,” said Tech. 

“Hey, Specter’s a contender,” Wrecker added.

“My point still stands.”

The comm beeped.

“Hey, uh, it’s no big deal or anything,” Specter came through, sounding nervous, “but we could use some backup. Just when you get the chance. Totally not an emergency, though.” Hunter sighed and shook his head.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Why did you say it wasn’t an emergency?” Omega questioned as the three took cover behind some crates, dodging blasterfire.

“Just trying to lighten the mood so Echo and Hunter aren’t too grumpy,” Specter explained, training her blaster on the droids that began to surround them. 

“What sort of treachery is this?” the Vanguard Axis droid leader questioned, appearing with its guard. 

“Stay back!” Omega shouted, drawing back her energy bow. Specter took aim as it approached with a blaster in hand. A shot from behind them took out the weapon.

“They’re with us,” said Hunter, pistol still smoking. Specter smiled under her helmet, relieved to see him, and immediately started to look for a way to disappear and take out the leader. 

“I would advise you to take your soldiers and extricate yourselves from the situation,” it warned.

“No! They’re going to hurt him,” Omega argued, standing in front of the Wookie.

“On the contrary. The Wookie is worth a great deal to our buyer. Alive.” 

Specter bit her tongue; they were trafficking him. Rage started to cloud her vision before she noticed the Wookie put down his weapon and slowly raised his hands, closing his eyes in concentration. Hunter and the droid’s exchange became mere background noise as she realized what was happening.

There’s no way…

The lightsaber from the droid leader’s belt went flying to the Wookie’s paws. With a roar, he ignited the glowing green blade and blasterfire broke out again. He deflected and redirected shots, allowing for Specter to provide cover fire; Hunter and Tech pushed a nearby cargo-bed in front of Wrecker, who used it as a shield to push down any droids in his path. Hunter leapt over and took down the droid leader with his knife.

“Get to the ship!” he ordered. Specter dashed ahead, clearing the way for the rest of her crew to reach the Marauder. After shooting down two droids, she waited for them in the docking bay, doing a head count as they passed through the doorway, still firing behind them from the oncoming droids. Specter turned and laid down cover fire as soon as the Wookie passed her. Hunter joined her.

“Hurry!” Omega shouted to the Wookie as he hesitated.

“I’m right behind you,” Specter said, offering Hunter to break away to the ship first.

“Uh-uh. Ladies first,” he insisted. She clicked her tongue, but holstered her rifle and ran as fast as she could to the Marauder. Hunter jumped on behind her as they took off on their way to safety.

Specter’s eyes fluttered open as the adrenaline finally wore off and her breathing returned to normal. She took off her helmet and shook out her hair.

“You alright, Spec? You don’t usually get winded like that,” Echo asked, leaning back from the co-pilot’s seat.

“Yeah, I think I was just off on my stride,” she explained. “My focus slipped…” she glanced at the young Wookie who sat on the floor, hugging his knees at the back of the ship. 

“Why is he sitting back there alone?” Omega wondered while Wrecker handed her the ration box.

“Because he’s scared. He’s been through a lot,” Hunter explained.

“Well, he still needs to eat.” With determination, Omega took the ration box and made her approach. “Here. You look hungry,” she said. The Wookie lifted his head as she opened the box to him and set down the water bottle. Tech, Hunter, and Specter followed her into the hold to observe—Echo and Wrecker kept an eye on the cockpit—but the Wookie bared his teeth and growled. “What’s wrong?”

“He doesn’t trust us,” Hunter answered.

“Well, seeing how all clones were given an order to execute the Jedi, he has good reason to be cautious,” Tech added. Specter rolled her eyes at his bluntness. 

“I’m sorry about what happened. But we are not like those other clones,” Hunter apologized.

“We didn’t follow that order. And we don’t work for the Empire either,” said Specter, sitting down.

“They’re telling the truth. You don’t have to be afraid of us” Omega reassured. “It’s okay. Eat.” She pushed the box closer to him. He glanced at the clones behind her before snatching it and starting to eat. Omega smiled and propped herself up on an open bunk.

“I’m Omega. What’s your name?”

With his mouth full, the Wookie answered.

“My Wookie is a little rusty, but I think he says his name is Gungi,” Hunter translated. 

“I don’t remember you taking Shyriiwook,” Specter commented with her arms crossed.

“You and Crosshair were too busy taking sign language,” Hunter retaliated.

“And which one is more useful?”

“At the moment? Shyriiwook.”

Specter rolled her eyes just as Gungi finished eating and spoke some more. She waited for Hunter to translate, but he sighed and turned back to Tech.

“You catch that?”

“He’s been on the run since Order 66 and was attempting to reach the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk before he was captured by those smuggling droids,” Tech explained. Specter’s heart broke; Order 66 was a long while ago now and the young Wookie still hadn’t made it home.

“I’m not sure how you survived this long on your own, but it’s impressive,” Hunter complimented.

“Hunter,” Specter muttered before she even realized what she was about to say. “We should take him to his homeworld.” Omega’s eyes lit up at the idea. Specter wanted to think it was from the compassion of wanting to make sure he’s safe, but she knew deep down that if they harbored a young Jedi, they’d end up as collateral. Specter wanted to secure Gungi’s safety, but her priority was securing Omega’s.

“Been a while since we’ve been to Kashyyyk,” Wrecker added. Hunter took a moment before nodding and standing up to chart a course. Echo stopped him.

“The Empire could have outposts there by now. We don’t know if it’s safe for him there,” he warned in a low voice, careful as to not raise any more caution for the Wookie.

“He’s a Jedi,” Hunter sighed, patting Echo’s shoulder in understanding. “He’s not safe anywhere. 

Hyperspace faded and the lush planet of Kashyyyk came into view. Specter leaned back in the co-pilot’s seat and recalled the last time the Batch had been stationed there.

It was a simple assist; they were tasked with gathering intel from a small Separatist outpost before destroying it. 

“Wrecker watch your six. And hurry!

“Well do you want me to be careful or be fast?!”

“Hunter, I need the twins to close in before I activate the trap.” “You guys copy?”

“We copy. En route.” 

Crosshair and Specter kept running, firing blindly behind them at the small horde of droids on their tail. 

“Almost there.”

“You said that 2 klicks ago, Specter!”

“Well this time I mean it!” An alert trilled in her helmet. “Alright I have the signal, I just need the height. Can we pull off a ‘Stick-bird’?”

“We can if you would stop calling it ‘Stick-bird’,” Crosshair hissed. He picked up his pace while Specter slowed hers, making sure none of the droids decided to come from the side to cut them off. 

Ahead of her, Crosshair slid to a stop and took a knee, facing her with his rifle. As soon as she passed a sensor they had laid down earlier, two targets popped up, one on the ground within Crosshair’s scopes, far behind the droid horde and one high above within the treeline.  

She ran at full speed before jumping onto Crosshair’s rifle, using it as a platform. He hoisted her up into the air, she twisted and simultaneously, they hit their targets. The droids caught in between the targets immediately powered down

“Nice job, you two.”

Specter could admit she missed Crosshair, but she knew that dwelling on it wouldn’t be of any help to them now. 

“We’re heading to a village we know of. The Wookies there should be able to help you,” said Hunter, entering the cabin and putting a hand on Gungi’s shoulder. 

“I’ve locked onto the coordinates. But I’m picking up heavy smoke and deforestation,” Echo reported from one of the control panels. 

“Keep an eye out for Imperial outposts,” instructed Hunter. “Oh, and kid. Keep that laser sword hidden. It, uh, draws attention we don’t want.” Gungi unclipped his lightsaber and stowed it away in his bag. Hunter went to stand by Specter, leaning down.

“What do you think?” he quietly asked her.

“In terms of the Empire? No visual signs or Imperial frequencies came up. Other than that, I think we’ll be okay,” she whispered back. “You know I had a feeling there were still Jedi out there… but I didn’t think we’d actually run into one.”

“You and me both,” he muttered, glancing back at the Wookie. “But the sooner he’s out of our hair, the safer we’ll all be.”

They landed in the dense forest. The towering trees and vegetation gave them enough coverage should any patrols in the air come looking. Specter geared up, readjusting her boots and securing her rifle components, grabbing her axe as well. 

Together they all filed out of the Marauder and began the trek through the forest. It felt familiar and foreign at the same time, Specter kept expecting to find some remnant of a droid left behind. Hunter’s hand gently brushed hers, silently asking if she was alright. She nodded.

“Do you remember anything about this planet?” Omega asked Gungi. He replied softly in Shyriiwook. “What did he say?”

“From his dreams,” Hunter translated. Specter knew with how young the Jedi took away the children that the only way Gungi could have any semblance of familiarity would be from his Force. She wondered if it was anything like her Valkyrie senses.

Deeper into the forest, they came upon what looked like a cluster of webs. Specter shivered and fought back a heave. 

“Here. I’ll take care of it,” Wrecker said, unsheathing his machete and cutting away the webs. 

“I don’t remember any insects or arachnids the last time we were here,” Specter whimpered.

“We were stationed during the cold seasons. But you will be fine,” Tech said, patting her shoulder as he passed by. Specter gulped and shook out her hands, steeling herself before following the group into the nest. 

“Woah!” Wrecker cried out, stopping the group.

“What do you mean ‘woah’- oh that is a big spider,” Specter shivered, looking up and seeing several orange, spider-like creatures descending upon them, shrieking and chattering.

“They’re swarming us!” said Echo. Wrecker drew his blaster; Specter reached for her axe, holding it up, ready to strike. 

“Hold your fire,” Hunter ordered. Gungi placed his hands on their weapons and shook his head, saying something. 

“He says, ‘they will not attack unless we pose a threat’,” Tech translated. Specter watched as the young Wookie closed his eyes and reached out with his hand, calming the creatures enough to let them pass. She breathed a sigh of relief and clipped her axe, following Gungi and the others under and around the webs; she winced as she passed.

Further along, the team came to a ledge, finding brown smoke a short distance away in the valley below. Specter gasped at the sight. 

“According to my telemetry, the village is straight ahead,” Tech pointed out.

“Of course it is,” Specter mumbled.

By the time they reached the village, they already knew they wouldn’t find anyone. All the main structures had been burnt down and there was no one in sight. Gungi fell to his knees, whimpering in sorrow.

“Tanks came through here,” Hunter felt the tracks on the ground, “the Empire incinerated the entire village.” 

Specter felt a buzzing in the back of her neck; it crawled up through her helmet and behind her ear as she turned to find another small column of smoke only a few feet away, the source hidden behind a fallen tree. She jogged over, but the buzzing only increased as a nauseating stench filled the air with each step closer to the mysterious source.  

Climbing over the log, she found, was a mistake. 

What was left of the Wookies were burning. Large patches of fur were missing on the bodies that hadn’t been completely charred yet. 

She blinked and for a split second she saw the bodies of clones, her group among them.

The noise inside Specter’s head was deafening, she could barely hear the sounds of her hyperventilating through the piercing hum. She couldn’t think—she could barely fathom trying to collect herself and remind herself that she was better than this. The sight was too much and was beginning to bore into her mind. She scrambled away, breathing heavily through tears and trying to rid her helmet of the smell that lingered.

It wasn’t enough.

She returned to the group in a panic, trying and failing to get her helmet off.

“Specter, what’s wrong?” Hunter asked, worried about the state she returned in. She couldn’t answer, only shaking her head as the taste of bile coated her tongue. She screamed in frustration as she finally yanked her helmet off and threw it on the ground, gasping for air and falling to her knees, clutching the still-warm dirt. Her heartbeat rattled her bones and the buzzing shattered them. Hunter kneeled beside her, rubbing her back while Wrecker kneeled in front of her. 

“Breathe, Specter, breathe,” he softly said. Behind him, Echo stood with Gungi and Omega. Specter glanced through her tears back towards the smoke stack.

“What was over there, Specter?” Tech asked, gently.

“The-” she cleared her throat and swallowed hard, “the Wookies fro-from the village.” She could see Wrecker and Tech’s stance deflate, she wanted to cry but couldn’t. Hunter nodded towards the both of them, they stepped back and gave the two of them space. He took off his helmet and moved in front of her.

“Specter. Hey, Specter, look at me,” he said, gently tilting up her chin and moving hair out of her face. He could barely stand to look at her red eyes, still lined with distress. “I’m right here. We’re okay,” he reassured, making sure her eyes locked with his. 

The image of the bodies faded as Specter focused solely on the details of Hunter's face; the shape of his nose, the stubble across his chin, her reflection in his kind gray eyes. Her breathing slowed, she could feel herself calming down and returning to normal.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. He leaned forward and hugged her tight. She weakly hugged him back. “I thought I had it under control.”

“You’re okay, Spec,” he muttered. “You’re allowed to lose control sometimes and feel what you need to feel. You just had me worried.” He pulled away, holding the side of her face, wiping away a tear with his thumb. She took another deep breath and nodded, moving to stand up; he helped her up and Tech handed over her helmet. 

“I administered a spray that should help with the smell… and nausea,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice still hoarse. She shoved it on—Tech’s spray had worked—hiding her face. 

A mechanical rumbling disrupted the group, they all looked in the direction the sound came from, running over to take cover in the tall grass. Hunter signaled for Specter to take a position high in the trees, she nodded, her focus on the mission returning. She veered off, climbing one of the tall trees and settling into the hold of its branches.

Through her sniper scope she could see a squad of Imperial tanks with Trandoshans at the helm. An adult Wookie was cuffed as a hostage. 

“Specter, you seeing this?” Hunter asked through the comm.

“Copy. I’m clocking two tanks and maybe a dozen Trandoshans. One hostage,” she reported. The lead tank launched a blaze of fire at a cairn of stones, ruining their carved surface and almost melting them. Her finger itched on the trigger before a blur crossed her scope.

“Damn kid,” she hissed, watching as Gungi ran up to the Trandoshans and bared his teeth, turning on his lightsaber. Blaster shots rang out, Gungi deflected them with ease and the Batch returned fire. Specter took the chance and started sniping away at the Trandoshans, not caring if her shots ended up killing them. 

Some of her shots missed; she knew she was nowhere near her twin’s skill level, with or without the emotional distress. Specter took a breath, pulling away from the scope to let her eyes relax before snapping back into focus.

The world was slow. Her next few shots came clear. One to the head. Another, the heart. The last: from the back as he charged at Tech, who was occupied with another Trandoshan.

A bolt flew by her head, pulling her out of her zone and setting the world back into motion. One of the Trandoshans had tracked her shots. 

“Haar’chak!” she hissed, stowing her weapon and climbing down the tree. The blaster fire stopped by the time she reached the ground, but the flames hadn’t.

“We need to stop the flames from spreading,” Hunter said. “Start digging.” He handed out shovels from the fallen tanks, offering one to Specter; she turned it down in favor of her axe. They started hacking away at the ground. 

Specter’s arms were tired from swinging her axe—using her blaster never involved that much arm work—but she pushed on until the fire was contained and died out. Their work was done. The team began to regroup, but she hesitated upon seeing Gungi. Her heart ached for him, more so after seeing the remains of his people, and wasn’t sure how well she’d be able to handle herself. A distant chittering and shrieking caught their attention.

“More Trandoshans?” Echo questioned.

“No. Something bigger,” Hunter theorized, sensing whatever was coming their way. Specter gripped her axe but didn’t raise it, waiting to see what would approach. 

Suddenly, three giant feline creatures jumped down; one was mounted by the Wookie hostage Gungi had freed earlier. The three of them gave celebratory growls and motioned for them to climb up.

“They said they’ll take us to their village,” Hunter translated, holstering his pistol.

“Well, that’s convenient,” Specter said with a smirk. They all grouped up, Hunter reached down and offered his hand to Specter, pulling her up. She wrapped her arms around his waist just as the Wookies began their journey back to the village. 

They arrived at the village, climbing down from the creatures, greeted by an elder and her two guards. She greeted the former hostage while Specter helped Omega down. The elder welcomed the group.

“Her name is Yanna. She appears to be leading them,” Tech translated.

“We are returning him to his homeworld,” Hunter explained to Yanna, Wrecker stepped aside so Gungi could go forward, “but he doesn’t know what village he’s from.” Yanna gingerly caressed the side of Gungi’s face, bowing her head, expecting a greeting. Gungi awkwardly touched his forehead to hers, unsure. 

“Is that their greeting?” Omega whispered.

“It is,” Specter answered. 

“But you and Hunter do the same thing, and it doesn’t look like a greeting.”

“Well it just means something different,” Specter explained, clearing her throat and averting her gaze. Yanna smiled but asked Hunter something else.

“We were soldiers of the Republic. But let’s just say we don’t see eye-to-eye with the Empire,” Hunter explained. Yanna spoke, perhaps finding their intentions suspicious. 

“We came because Gungi was in trouble. Jedi or not, he’s still a child. He needs his people.”

The Wookies had invited the Batch inside to eat while Hunter, Tech, and Omega discussed with Yanna about Gungi’s situation. Specter sharpened her axe blade with a sharpening stone one of the Wookies had offered her. 

She forced herself to be occupied, worried that if she stopped to think, the image of the burning bodies would flicker back to life. 

Specter checked the edge of the blade. A dull spot near the tip and near the bottom. She continued to work at it, even as the Wookie from earlier brought out soup for them. He took a bowl full and sipped before offering to Echo.

“Uh, no thanks,” he declined, making a face. 

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Wrecker said with a laugh, grabbing the bowl and taking big gulps. “You want any, Spec?”

“Hmm? No, it’s all yours. I don’t have much of an appetite,” she shrugged. Wrecker went at it, but Echo spared her a concerned glance. She gave him a small smile.

“Yanna’s agreed to let Gungi stay with them,” Omega announced as she and the others came around the table. 

“What about the Trandoshans?” Echo wondered.

“The Empire’s been using them to strip the planet’s resources,” Hunter explained. Specter stopped grinding, biting her tongue. “Many of the villagers have fled deeper into the jungle.”

“Yanna’s scouts are reporting a large convoy headed in this direction. She says to leave,” Tech said.

“Hunter, the Wookies were our allies for years. We have to do something,” Echo urged. Hunter glanced at Specter; she said nothing, but her eyes conveyed the same longing. She wouldn’t allow them to just leave, not after what she had seen.

“We’ll stay and help you fight them,” Hunter told Yanna. She seemed to argue against it, concerned for their safety. “You don’t have to do this alone.” Gungi roared, adding his point; Yanna growled, calling the other Wookies to follow her outside. The Batch watched as they laid their hands on the tree and bowed their heads, kneeling before it. Gungi copied them, though Specter doubted he knew what he was supposed to do. 

“What are they doing?” Omega asked.

“They’re asking the trees for help,” Hunter answered.

“They’re talking to the trees?”

“They believe this planet belongs to the trees. And they are allies in this fight,” Tech explained. 

“We’ll take all the allies we can get,” said Hunter. “Let’s let them come up with a plan. Wrecker and Echo, you scout the south side of the village.” The pair saluted and went off. “Specter, can I talk to you?”

She huffed, knowing she would be questioned about her state and if she would be able to put up a fight. But she nodded and followed Hunter to a more private corner so they could talk. Specter propped herself up on the railing while he leaned against the wall, facing her with his arms crossed.

“What happened back there?” he asked, gently. She sighed.

“... it was easier when we were fighting droids. They didn’t have the capacity to be so… cruel,” she admitted. “At least they just shot you and moved on. They didn’t raid your entire village and then skin you.” Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the rail, still feeling the heat from that fire. “I saw the pile of those bodies… and I saw us–clones–burning with them. I saw you and I just,” she paused to take a steadying breath, “just feel so much weaker. Everything I’ve been feeling has been affecting me and my performance in the field,” she said. “If you want me out of the fight this time around, just say so. Don’t play the long game with me.”

“No,” Hunter shut the idea down. “I need you to fight, because even though you think you’re weaker, you’re our strongest fighter because you feel so much.” Specter looked up at him then. “When the rest of us think a mission can’t be done, or that we’re not going to make it, there you are willing to push on until your very last breath because of the motivation in your heart.” He went to stand next to her.

“Look, I know you may feel weak and hopeless—seeing those bodies would be upsetting to any one of us—but I know that you aren’t going to just fight. You’re going to give it your all to avenge them. Am I right?”

“Yeah… I-”

“Don’t apologize,” he interrupted her. “Never apologize for feeling too much,” he looked up at her. She nodded, genuinely feeling better. The bodies had burned away and she could now scatter the ashes.

“Thank you, then. You know I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you,” she said with a smile. He placed his hand over hers.

“Anytime, anything, Spec.” Their eyes locked, Specter was certain it had gotten warmer. Her eyes fluttered before Echo and Wrecker came running back. Specter hopped off the rail and put distance between herself and Hunter, walking back towards Tech and Omega.

“The Trandoshan convoy’s closing in,” Echo reported. Gungi approached, speaking in Shyriiwook.

“The trees have a plan?” Hunter questioned. “Alright. Whatever they say,” he shrugged, putting on his helmet.

“This oughta be good,” Specter muttered. 

The convoy slowly approached, keeping an eye out for any targets. Unfortunately for them, the Batch and the Wookies were waiting for them. Tech threw a grenade, the explosion disrupted their path and the battle begun. The Batch and the Wookies laid heavy fire at the Trandoshans, attempting to turn them back the way they came. Specter, using her rifle, unleashed rapid-fire, pelting the Trandoshans and the handful of Imperial troopers that were with them. Wookies mounted on their felines jumped down, crushing a few and trampling on the tanks, drawing their fire. 

“Stick to the plan. Draw them into the nest,” said Hunter. With that, the group moved their position, drawing the Trandoshans and Imperials away from the village and toward the nest of webs. “Specter, do you think you can head deeper inside?”

“I can’t really say no, can I?” she asked, dreading the task.

“We’re really counting on you,” Hunter urged, dodging blaster fire. 

“Fine. I’ll wait for your signal,” she sighed. Specter stowed her rifle and ran into the nest. Wookies were already banging on the trees and webs, disturbing the creatures that resided.

“Ew, ew, ew!” she whimpered, maneuvering around the sticky webs. At the base of a great tree, she shook out her hands and began to climb up, stationing herself just above where the Kinraths scurried about. They hadn’t noticed her yet; she watched from between leaves and webs as what was left of the convoy drew closer.

The Wookies stopped their ruckus. Her signal.

With her sniper rifle, she aimed and fired a single shot at the feet of the lead Trandoshan, startling the Kinraths. With a screech, they descended from the trees and attacked the convoy, finishing them off. She breathed a sigh of relief and began to climb down before her comm chimed.

“Specter, do you have eyes on the kids? We lost track,” Hunter asked. 

“Standby,” she replied, moving from branch to branch, looking for any sign of them. “Hunter?” she called in, “I’m not seeing Gungi or Omega, but I do see smoke. And where there’s smoke, there’s fire. West by north-west of your current position.”

“Copy.”

By the time Specter had made it back to the ground, Tech was already gathering the Wookies to move on Hunter’s position.

“What’s the problem now?” she asked.

“That fire you saw was bigger than we thought and is spreading fast,” Tech explained. 

“Good thing you sharpened your axe, huh?” Wrecker added, jogging past. Specter groaned but unsheathed the weapon.

“Alright, but let’s hope this is the last time today.”

Specter rolled her shoulders as they approached the village, but she was happy their work was done nonetheless. She’d miss Kashyyyk, doubting they would return any time soon, if at all. The Wookies had led them inside for a feast while Gungi took Omega outside, showing her how to speak to the trees; Hunter left the table to watch over them, Specter joined him.

“Do you think he’ll be okay here?” she asked, coming up next to him.

“Yeah. Jedi or not, he’s a strong kid. I think he’ll be just fine,” he assured. They watched as Omega took a knee next to Gungi and placed a hand on the tree, bowing her head. Hunter glanced down at the space between him and Specter, carefully taking her hand in his and interlacing their fingers together. Her breath caught, but she forced herself to keep looking ahead, unable to stop the smile that lifted the corners of her lips.

“And what about you? Are you going to be okay?” Hunter asked. She didn’t know how to answer; it would feel odd to simply leave the planet after everything she had seen. But she saw Omega and Gungi, peacefully kneeling at the base of the tree without any shred of worry. 

“I think I will be,” she finally answered, smiling at Hunter and squeezing his hand. Turning back to the kids, she closed her eyes and felt the sun kiss her cheek and the breeze ruffle her hair.

She knew it would be hard, harder than anything she had ever faced, but Specter knew her journey wasn't over. At least with her team—her tribe—by her side, she'd overcome every challenge thrown her way and become the Valkyrie she was made to be.

[boytickler35]

Jedi Fallen Order: Ticklish Padawan

  Cal groans as he leans against the huge tree trunk. He puts the electro-binoculars up to his face and looks down at the imperial outpost below. Nothing’s happened for hours and despite constantly reminding himself that a Jedi is patient, he’s beginning to get restless and maybe a little bored. One of Saw Gerrera’s people suggested checking out this place, intel apparently said they had a lot of recent wookie warrior captives and it may give a lead to Tarfful’s whereabouts. 

He’s starting to doubt that intel now because so far this outpost seems to exist only to harvest the apparently extremely explosive sap. At the very least that’s the only thing he’s seen them do and it’s mind numbing. Playing with something so explosive should at least be more interesting than it is.

Apparently BD agrees because for the past few hours the little droid has paced the branch. For a while he was challenging some alarmingly large beetles. That at least was kind of funny to watch but then the droid moved on to stepping on as many leaves as it could find, apparently the crunch was satisfying. It was less amusing but only because the droid looked at him after each one with a certain smugness that was vaguely annoying.

He’s been half meditating and half day dreaming for a while now, checking once in a while but he’s been distracted. He’s pulled too by something nudges against the bottom of his foot. He flinches and pulls it away but when the same thing happens to the other, he looks down and sees BD1 nudging his foot and a grin, not related to the tickling breaks out on it.

    "Cut it out Buddy."

    The little droid buzzes, beeps, and whirls at him, concerned at his reaction apparently and he chuckles. "No problems, I'm working as intended, I promise."

    More beeps and he laughs again. "It’s some weird thing we fleshy guys have. It's called being ticklish."

    Another series of beeps and he replies, "No, it's just something silly we do."

    More noises and he says, "It's sort of like...think of it like when you got into Greez's repair kit and got shocked by one of his electro welders. Remember you told me it got your circuits feeling fuzzy? It's like that, we feel all fuzzy on that place."

    BD1's reply leads him to think a moment before saying, "I mean...our feet, sides, underarms, it depends on the person."

    An excited trill from the droid presents him with a choice, he’s bored, extremely, but is he this bored? Maybe, he could very well have grown out of it. "I don't know buddy...it's been a long time, I'm not really suRE! Hey cut it ouHouT."

Apparently not willing to take a wishy-washy answer the droid helped himself, bumping his body up against the Jedi's socked foot, with or without permission.

    Cal pulls his leg back but that just leads to the little droid targeting the other and nuzzling up against it in a surprisingly tickly way.

    "BDhEhEhEHe! STAhAp!" The little droid manages to keep up his persistent attack and the young Jedi finds himself surprised by the tenacity of his partner.

    It isn't until he grabs the droid with both hands and lifts him up that he manages to stop the droid who warbles at him in confusion.

    "Laughter doesn't mean I'm enjoying it." His voice is very dry, like Master Taro's before coffee.

    A few curious beeps from the droid and Cal sighs, “Is it really that fascinating to you?” He can’t understand it but then again, droids are often interested in weird things.

    Another series of warbles and beeps and Cal replies teasingly, “I dunno BD, I might be pretty ticklish, I don’t know if I want you playing around.”

    Apparently not understanding the teasing BD makes a sad trilling sound and hangs its head and Cal sighs, “Relax buddy, I was kidding. Here.” Setting the little droid down and then pulling off his socks. He hesitates for a moment and it occurs to him that he’s seventeen and probably should feel a little more embarrassed about this.

    He balls the socks up and shoves them in his boot. The whole time the little droid watches him in curious silence. When he extends his legs, face as red as his hair he mumbles. "Go on and have your fun."

    The droid looks at his feet and then back at him and then lets out an excited warble and hops over to them, Cal thinks he hears the droid purring, and then nuzzles up against them.

He's not sure when he became so sensitive, if it's a by-product of reconnecting with the Force or if he's always been this bad, and that's so much more embarrassing to think about lie that, but whatever the cause, the smooth, metallic body, cool against his warm feet, is extremely effective.

So much so that he nearly kicks the droid and sends him off the tree...which would be bad, very bad since without BD1 he can't find what Master Cordova is trying to lead him too.

Usually he'd say he'd miss the droid but right ow BD1 seems intent on making him not feel that.

Now he's just worried about damaging the little machine but rather than stop, the droid manages to step it up, finding a way to tickle even more by sticking out his hacky spinny droid part which he uses to poke at Cal's feet, getting more laughter.

    To add insult to injury the droid beeps a few times and when his tickled brain pieces the droid speech together he blushes deeper and laughs out, "TWhehArP!IhEHECAhaheNStheheHEillCrhAhAshYohohU!"

    It's an empty threat but one he makes anyway and the smugness of the droids next chatter makes him not not feel bad for it but he's too busy laughing and also making sure he doesn't move too far from the center of the branch he's perched on.

Apparently though, besides having a surprisingly sassy program built up somewhere, BD is also pretty creative because Cal suddenly feels a very tickly shock shoot though his foot and a glance through his tears confirms the little pest is actually shocking his foot with what he can only assume is a very low voltage and it serves to not only tickle him itself, but also senstizes his feet which they really don't need.

    Of course that just pleases the little droid all the more and he continues his assault. Cal bites his lips but the shocks leave his feet feeling tingly which means that the pokes and prods mess with him even more.

    It's then that the little droid gets a new, and for Cal, terrible idea and bends it's little head to use the antennas sticking off the top of his head. Alone they don't tickle as much but both of them trace over his soles at the same time messes with him.

Worse, BD takes the creativity to a new level and mixes nuzzling with bumping his head, either inadvertently or purposely mixing up the sensations between the antennas dragging across his soles and poking them.

    He very nearly kicks the droid off the branch again and one of the thin antennas accidentally slips between two of his toes. He has to clap a hand over his mouth to keep the laughter in. Once again the little droid proves he's much too clever for his own good, or more importantly Cal's, because after that, the droid abandons using his antennas and switches back to his original tool of Cal's voluntary humiliation.

However rather than just random pokes, the droid seems to have learned and goes right for his toes, or in this case between them and Cal nearly faints from how much is tickles and how much he can't laugh. It borders on agonizing and he ends up pulling his feet back, carefully sheltering them from the adamant little machine which he scoops up, earning him some disappointed trilling.

    "Shh BD, you're going to give us away if you keep up."

    A cheeky trill comes back to him. Cal rolls his eyes and nudges him. "Yea, yea, I'm going to give us away."

    Another warble, more questioning this time and Cal's face flushes dark red. "Haven't you learned enough?"

    The reply makes him even redder. "Fine, we'll, we'll see about it when we get back."

The whistle is definitely smug as he sets the droid down to pull on his socks and boots. He reaches over to give his partner a nudge and replies, "You're lucky your cute ya know that?"

Another smug reply has him rolling his eyes. "Sure, sure. Just hope at the next workbench I don't decide to get some payback."

[dalekofchaos]

Context for choice 1, 3, 4 and 5.

Choice 1 context. As our heroes are escaping the dunes of Tatooine. Boba Fett is waiting for them. “leaving so soon Solo?”

Luke and Leia are ready to defend their friend, but Han puts his hand up. "This is my fight"

Han Solo has a debt to pay to Fett. This isn’t about the bounty anymore. This is personal. Fett would reveal that the famous tale of Han Solo dropping a cargo at the sight of an Imperial Star Destroyer, Boba would say they worked that job together and Han left him for dead. And ever since then, Boba has had it out for Solo. Of course, the Imperials did not survive, hence Vader’s “NO DISINTIGRATIONS!” Command in ESB.

So Han and Boba must duel to death on Tatooine. Boba basically giving the vibe that Boba will always be there to find Han and his friends. And give Boba’s classic line to Han, “You can run, but you’ll only die tired” So this is something Han has to do himself. This is an old Western styled duel. Since Lucas was a fan of these western movies, I can see this being how Han and Boba settles things. Han and Boba fighting to the bitter death and to an old spaghetti western styled duel. As the fight between Boba reaches his end, as Han gets the drop on him and has Boba at his mercy, Han chooses not to kill Boba. Han and Boba Fett finally bury their rivalry and leave it in the past and shake hands. Boba would declare that Han’s bounty will no longer exists and he won’t chased by him and exits the story. This would work because it would show that Han has grown from the rogue who would shot a man dead without question in ANH to someone who is willing to find an alternate solution to his problems. It’d also give some layers to Boba Fett of being a man of honor. and perhaps this would set Boba Fett up as The Mandalorian instead of DIn Djarin.

Context for Choice 2. Boba Fett gets in the Slave 1 and drops the sonic bomb on them. The end.

Context for choice 3. Boba Fett decides he is in charge. Jabba's empire was stagnant and faltering. He allowed the Rebels to get the drop on him and because of that he died. Now Boba Fett is in charge. Boba's inner circle would be Fennec Shand, Bossk and Black Krrsantan But I'd also take inspiration from George Lucas original plans for Maul in his Sequel Trilogy. Basically Maul was supposed to be a Godfather like figure leading a criminal empire replacing the Galactic Empire. Now Boba Fett is in charge of his Empire and he will burn the New Republic to the ground and his new criminal empire would reign supreme.

Context for choice 4. When the assault happens we think it’s all won and instead of the Imperial officer we get Boba. “leaving so soon Solo?” Boba arrives with Bossk, Boba starts attacking the Rebel forces trying to fight back at first he uses his flamethrower, thermal detonators and launches the missile from his jetpack. and the rebel force are all but annihilated. Save Han, Leia, Chewbacca Wookies and the droids. When the Wookies attack the imperials, Boba and Bossk are distracted. Chewbacca fights Bossk(he liked to hunt Wookies so it is personal for Chewie) it’s a very even fight but Chewbacca is able to shoot him dead with the help of the Wookies. With Han and Boba it is a fight to the death on Endor. Hunter vs prey and the hunted becomes the prey. It ends with Han and Boba fighting to the bitter death and to an old spaghetti western styled duel. As the fight between Boba reaches his end, as Han gets the drop on him and has Boba at his mercy, Han chooses not to kill Boba. Instead, Han decides to bullshit his way out of it and hopes he is right about Boba. Basically he believes he is only loyal to who pays him more and Han tells him “BOBA! THE REBELLION WILL TRIPLE WHAT VADER IS PAYING YOU IF YOU HELP US!” and to everyone’s surprise, Boba starts blasting away the Imperials and goes with Han and Leia to destroy the shield generator. Han and Boba Fett finally bury their rivalry and leave it in the past and shake hands and Boba makes a fortune while peace has been restored. Boba would declare that Han’s bounty will no longer exists and he won’t chased by him and exits the story. This would work because it would show that Han has grown from the rogue who would shot a man dead without question in ANH to someone who is willing to find an alt solution to his problems. It’d also give some layers to Boba’s canon history of only being in it for the money, not personal grudges.

Choice 5 context. Boba Fett continues bounty hunting after the war ends and one target changes his life forever. At first Boba Fett treats Grogu as he is. A bounty and nothing more. Grogu being a Jedi just makes him treating the child coldly. But something changed. The cloner choosing to clone him changes something in him and then Boba cleans house. Killing the Stormtroopers, The Client and the doctor and taking Grogu with him. As the guild closes in on Boba and the child, The Children Of The Watch helps Boba Fett. The Armorer offers Boba to join their ranks and Boba insists he's no Mandalorian. "are you sure about that?" and honestly I would replace Cara Dunne with Fennec. Season 1's arc is about Boba Fett overcoming his hatred of the Jedi and letting Grogu in while Grogu is learning to accept that Boba is not the Clone Troopers that could've killed him. Season 2 would be about Boba rediscovering his and Jango's Mandalorian heritage. Open Seasons is canon. The Mandalorian Civil War was about the True Mandalorians vs Death Watch. Jango Fett is the rightful heir to the Darksaber and because Pre Vizsla stole it, it lead to misfortune for Mandalore. Boba and Bo-Katan are forced to work together. They hate each other because Boba Fett is the child of Jango and Bo-Katan sided with Death Watch, but over time we would see them grow to respect each other and become closer aka if DInbo happens, Boba/Bo becomes a thing. Because it’s poetic that the descendants of The True Mandalorians and Death Watch could rebuild Mandalore. So while Din did not want to rule, Boba does and wants to reshape Mandalore by Bo-Katan's side.

[ramblingsofacrazyyoungman]

I think Yoda has Babyfotos of all of them (probably of every Jedi in the Temple). He keeps them secret from everyone else. But when he wants something *cough* like becoming Grand Master *cough* he uses his collection as blackmailing material. If anyone on the council would tease babywan yoda would probably respond with smth like "Small once you were too Mace. And the power of force invisibility you thought you had. In plain sight hiding I remember..." Mace :"Ok, I think we should return to the topic of the Droid Attack on the Wookies"

Do you ever think about how obi is the youngest on the council? All of his. colleagues remember him as a baby and an angry teenager. I would die if that was my workplace

ONLY ALL THE TIME

Obi-Wan getting jokingly called the "Council baby" in fics brings me so much joy. They recall when he was a feral, traumatised kid who would constantly get into trouble (though not much has changed there.....). Yoda has padawan photos. After Obi-Wan fucked up on a mission and landed himself in medbay, Yoda probably forwarded them to the rest of the council as punishment for getting hurt. Obi-Wan is STILL mad about it.

Anakin flat-out doesn't believe any of this, until Adi shows him a video of Qui-Gon dangling a squirming teenage Obi-Wan by the back of his robes like a mama tooka to stop him from leaping at another padawan and taking a chunk out of him

[phoenixyfriend]

Rey Gives No F*cks About the Grandfather Paradox

Okay so since nobody’s suggested a fic under these terms, I ended up expanding on this post on discord and things snowballed. We kept to the basics of the entire plot revolving around Rey really hating her grandad and leveraging her blood relation to not be unalived about it.

With contributions by @atagotiak​, @dracothulhu​, @thepallaspalace​, and several others. The title comes from @gelpenss​.

The basic thing I absolutely need is this: Rey gets thrown back to the middle of the clone wars, and the subsequent plot leans in really heavily on her being, genetically-via-clone-dad, the daughter of the guy running the entire galaxy.

Nobody knows what to do with her.

The timing is mid-TCW for the past (because I want Ahsoka there) and vaguely between Episodes 8 and 9 because I... never watched E9 and don’t want to worry about the timeline. The only things that matter is that Luke is dead (he can die as he did in canon) and that Rey knows she’s Palp’s granddaughter (not the way she does in canon).

We'll say Luke found out from Anakin's panicked force-ghost and just went "well, fuck, okay, I should tell her this before she ends up in a situation like mine and finds out mid-battle or something."

Luke, prior to time-travel: Okay, so, now that I'm dead I know some things I didn't before. Like who your parents were. In the interest of full disclosure because I was in a very similar situation and I don't want you learning the way I did, I'm just going to come right out and say that your father was a clone was Sheev Palpatine. Rey: ... Luke: Are you okay? Rey: I don't know who that is.

(She grew up on Jakku, the history education was a little subpar.)

Setting The Scene

Imagine Rey showing up during or immediately before the clone wars. There’s this phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater who tells you that if you ran a paternity test, it would probably pop up the Chancellor. She may or may not bring up cloning. She accuses said Chancellor of being a Sith Lord.

Your other phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater, who may not be a teenager anymore but only barely, is very offended by this because Palpatine’s a Very Nice Old Grandfather Figure, but also he’s a little full of side-eye because if the blood test comes back as proof, then Palpatine had a kid and didn’t even know about them, or lied to Anakin, and that’s! Bad! Family’s important!!!

Palpatine hears about this daughter he apparently? Has? And is very confused because the timing doesn’t match up with ANYTHING he was doing, so the kid isn’t natural, and he says as much. (There is an explanation! It’s not a correct explanation, but he does come up with one.)

Finn and Poe and BB-8 all get dragged along because why not have the gang there? Nobody that’s already born, because [handwave] conservation of souls or something, IDK, point is the only person dragged along that’s even remotely close to already existing is Luke’s Force Ghost, who mostly hangs around begging Rey to be less impulsive. Finn is good because he is a nice polite boy, but for actual useful information they need Poe. The unfortunate situation is that the three do not land together. They land at the same time, in completely different corners of the galaxy. This means that nobody is there to curb Rey being her most impulsive self.

Time travel Rey knows two things. Luke’s dad ends up evil. Palpatine has always been evil.

She can solve one of these problems by killing the other, yes?

Rey: Ready to Rumble

See, the initial idea was this: Rey tried to break into the senate to kill Palpatine, got arrested, and then used the "he's biologically my father" card to get out of jail free. (Force Ghost Luke follows her like “please take five seconds to think this through.”)

But.

But.

It would be very, very, very funny if The Force just dumps her in a flash of light in the senate building and she just attacks Gramps on sight. Just a shouted "YOU!" and no-hesitation attempted murder.

Palpatine has no idea what's going on.

Rey took maybe two seconds to get identity confirmation and then started swinging.

[Image Description: An individual in a green metal helmet with an eye slit, holding a pistol. In the upper left, upper right, and lower middle are the phrases “I do not know who I am...” “I don’t know why I’m here” and “All I know is that I must kill.” End description.]

Of course, she gets arrested. There are Master Jedi in the Senate. There are Clone Troopers. Palpatine isn’t the weak old man he pretends to be. Of course she’s stopped.

But she isn’t executed in time for Palpatine to stop her from ruining his entire reputation.

Immediately after Rey fails to kill her Shitty Granddad, Luke's ghost shows up and begs her to not talk about the Sith thing because it will completely undermine everything she's trying to do. Pass off the attempted murder as something else!

Rey, panicking: "that fucker left me on a desert planet for 10 years!" "You owe me 19 years of child support you son of a Hutt!"

The Jedi have to do the investigation, because the girl showed up with a laser sword, and the conversation is, uh... interesting. (“Where did you get that lightsaber?” “I got it from a mysterious old pirate lady I never met before. I don't know, I was being shown around by a smuggler and a Wookie.”)

Interviewer: Why did you try to assassinate the Chancellor? Luke: Say it wasn't assassination. Rey: It wasn't assassination. Int: You weren't trying to kill him? Luke: Assassination has to be politically motivated. Rey: This was, um... not political. Assassination is political, right? Int: You mean this was personally motivated? Rey: Yes. Int: I see. What personal motivation? Luke: Jakku! Rey: He's my grandfather. Int: ... Rey: Possibly father. Nobody was very clear on that. Int: ... Luke: Tell them to run a paternity test. Rey: Oh hey, a blood test would tell us which, right? Int: ............ Rey: I spent ten years as an orphaned scrapdealer on Jakku. He's my father. I'm kind of a little angry. Int: ........... Luke: Good job, kid. You bought yourself some time. Int: I'm going to get a medic to see about that parternity test.

Obviously, it comes back positive. Congratulations, Sheev, you’re the father.

Rey comes with a ready-made built-in excuse for hating Palpatine that nobody can question or fault her for!

Rey, pouring Truth into the Force: I didn't even know I was related to the Chancellor until a few months ago, but it's his fault I grew up the way I did, and he should take some responsibility!

The entire thing is mostly kept hush hush but someone leaks it to the press and Palpatine's ratings tank.

"Chancellor, I think we'll need to waive family visitation until she wants you a little less dead." "I would like to find out why she wants me dead, and indeed, where she came from." "...sir, for your own safety--"

Who would win? A master plan years in the making spanning decades of manipulating and work? or One (1) paternity test

"Okay, so, Rey Palpat--" "Ew, no, I don't want his name." "You--okay. Sure, we can understand that. Is there a name you would prefer to put on the paperwork?" Rey, who would have gone by Skywalker in honor of Luke but can't do that when Anakin is right there and all: "Can I think about it?"

Rey: I don't know what I want my last name to be but I know I don't want his, and most of the people I’d want a name from have famous families like you... Luke's ghost, pointing out the Literal Nobody that she cares about a lot: How about Solo? Rey: ...Solo, then.

(A few months later she runs into Poe again and he offers for Finn and Rey to both take his name because honestly they need SOMETHING but at that point she’s already decided on Smuggler Dad.)

Backtrack a bit. We’ve got a bigger cast.

They all arrive separately. Poe, for one, does better than Rey, who is aiming for a murder, but not quite as well as Finn, who is currently being adopted and hidden like a secret cat by a bunch of Alpha Clones on Kamino. He vibes with the names-or-numbers thing. He doesn’t necessarily tell them where and when he’s from, but he’s very sweet and a great liar and they adopt him wholesale anyway.

The Finn situation is just... "Buir Ti, we need you to hide this man, we've decided he's our little brother but if Nala Se finds out she'll make him leave."

Of course, this leads into Shaak Ti teaching Finn how to Jedi.

Maybe consider Finn needing to almost be tricked into learning Jedi things because he willfully forgets it could apply to him. Finn does not like to think of himself as special, which is super valid, but frustrating for Shaak Ti when it comes to, you know, getting him to acquire knowledge. Finn's training at some point is "here, levitate objects with the Force to entertain the tubies." It’s a lot easier to convince him to practice when it involves the babies.

(Everyone on Kamino looked at Finn and went “oh I love him I’m keeping him and teaching him things.”)

(He’s just very lovable.)

Poe, meanwhile, buys the trust of Anakin Skywalker via R2D2 declaring BB-8 the absolute most baby of droids. R2D2 met BB-8 three hours ago but.

"Hey Obi-Wan this is Poe I met him like five days ago but R2D2 says he checks out because his droid is a baby." "That's nice, Anakin, did you know the Chancellor has a daughter who tried to assassinate him in broad daylight yesterday? Because guess who had to stop the Chancellor from getting assassinated by his daughter in broad daylight yesterday."

A summary so far:

Finn, on Kamino: Hey, um, I don't know where this is, but it's not where I was a few minutes ago. Do you think you could get me a comm? What's your name? Poe, on [dice roll] Denon: Oh, hey, you're General Skywalker? Nice to meet you, I'm so sorry about my droid, she's a little excitable and thought your R2 unit looked like a friend of hers-- Rey, on Coruscant: DIE, GRANDFATHER

Finn: [Peacefully vibing on Kamino, unaware of the chaos and bonding with the clones] Poe: [Trying to explain how he knows someone who tried to kill the chancellor and defend Rey] Rey: [Arrested for trying to kill the chancellor]

Just... just...

Anakin: Some guy ended up lost on base yesterday with his droid, how’s your day going? Obi-Wan: I had to stop someone who claims to be the chancellors daughter from murdering the chancellor after she seemingly blinked into existence in the Senate building. Poe: 😐

(Poe: Oh, so that's where Chaos^2 went.)

Poe: In her defense, she is his... well we don't know if she's his daughter or granddaughter, but she's definitely related to him, and she definitely grew up in a shitty situation that was his fault, so...

(Poe is trying very hard to explain this and not get arrested on the military base.)

As you’ve probably guessed, what's especially funny about all of this for me is the fact that Palpatine is fully aware that this girl shouldn't exist, but can't find a single piece of evidence about where she came from. He didn't start any experiments that could result in a female child, and he didn't have sex in that period of time, so where the hell--

Rey spends so much time in jail... BUT they do eventually assign her a Jedi Master. Possibly before she actually proves her evil grandfather is in fact evil. Most votes went to either Plo Koon or Obi-Wan. Plo, because he’s dad-shaped, and Obi...

"Obi-Wan, you already raised one feral desert child with implausible amounts of power, you handle this." Rey in return is very "Sweet, you vaguely remind me of Master Luke," and nobody knows who the hell she's talking about. Obi-Wan is NOT on board with this plan, she'd really be better off with Plo or like........ Mace.

Reunion Tour

What I need out of this is the eventual Finn and Rey reunion scene that is just excited screaming while someone in the background explains to Shaak Ti that yes this is apparently Palpatine's terrifyingly force-sensitive daughter who hates him.

(Finn senses Rey’s approach and just. Gathers the everyone to wait. He’s just :D REY MY FRIEND REY GUYS MY FRIEND REY IS COMING.)

Anakin shows up with Poe--just a guy who signed on to the military, no big deal--and then Poe and Rey are EXCITED and everyone's just like "Cool, how do you know this literal terrorist child?" And Poe has to scramble and "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh she saved my droid from a scrapheap once and BB-8 is basically my child so I owe her one."

Rey knows that Anakin ends up evil so she’s maybe not actively hostile but definitely very “I’m watching you.” That said, she vibes with him on a lot of things that he maybe doesn’t actively notice.

Rey picks up a snake, snaps off the head for venom avoidance, and starts biting off chunks. Obi-Wan's reaction: [undisguised horror] Anakin and Ahsoka: Ooh, where'd you find that? (Obi-Wan: And now I’m up to three feral children.)

What Does Palpatine Even Do?

OBVIOUSLY at a certain point, Palpatine is just phoning up every ally he has to figure out who broke protocol to synthesize a daughter for him.

So of course, Palpatine blame Plagueis.

She'd have been born five or so years before Naboo, just a few years younger than Anakin. It's such an EASY theory to build a conspiracy around. It is ENTIRELY WRONG, but it’s plausible! And anyone who might have been involved to say otherwise is probably dead!

A random bio-kid shows up you can’t possibly have contributed genes to? Maybe it’s the evil bio spark that did it.

Palpatine tries to placate her with the ‘my genes were stolen for an experiment and I didn’t know’ thing. It doesn’t work because her actual main complaint is he’s evil in her future but he tries.

It'd be a struggle to even get access to her, because of the aforementioned “maybe don’t try to talk to the daughter(?) that hates you” thing, but you know who Palpatine does have access to? The Chosen One.

Rey kind of decides on her favorites early on (she gravitates to Dad Energy and Sad Old Men so Plo and Obi-Wan are on her list, and that means decent time around Anakin and Ahsoka). It's really easy to talk Anakin into helping to some degree because "he'd like to connect to a daughter he never knew" and "a child of her power on a planet like that, you'd know her struggle, my dear boy" and so on. Anakin tries to connect! He tries to play up Sheev’s kind political work and how it can’t have really been his fault! It doesn’t work. Rey does not believe a word of it. Mostly she doesn’t even seem to hear him.

Rey's just like "...oh right, you're the melted mask that Kylo Ren was always ranting about," which means absolutely NOTHING to Anakin, but he mentions it to Palps, who loses his goddamn mind trying to figure out what she's talking about, because it also means absolutely nothing to him.

Here’s the thing: Rey’s already decided that Obi-Wan is cool, because Luke said so, and Plo Koon is dad-shaped, and she also gravitates towards earnest kindness in general, like she made friends with Finn real quick, so Ahsoka? Already getting along great.

She doesn’t dislike Anakin, really, he isn’t evil yet, he’s just... meh. She’s a little suspicious and she likes him less than the others but... Anakin.

Rey, to Anakin: You are my least favorite. Anakin, to Palpatine: YOUR DAUGHTER HATES ME???

And he goes from “she’s a lil standoffish” to “she doesn’t like me” to “she hates me” as is normal for Anakin.

It’s just an escalation of this one time Palpatine wants Anakin to not have rifts and trust issues with a person, at least not until later, because he needs information.

Meanwhile, that very moment, Rey is just like "huh, nobody here is listening to me about how make a sixth-hand carburetor work, where's Luke's dad?"

Anakin is venting to Palpatine about how hard it is to talk to Rey, and she's over in the Temple just like "Hey, that guy was useful last time, I should ask him," but also she only ever thinks of him as Luke's Dad.

(At one point, Obi-Wan is having a bit of a break down, and then Anakin starts having a breakdown about that, meanwhile the clones are (badly) trying to hide Finn behind their backs, Rey is watching Ahsoka practice and being like "I want two lightsabers," and Poe is trying to keep R2 from stealing BB-8 and Force Ghost Luke is just face palming in the background.)

(Rey deserved a saber staff, maybe one that can detach and turn into a jar’kai set. Possibly a pike. Mostly I just wish she got more chances to whack things with a big stick.)

[willow-lark]

my take on the anakin doesn’t fall au

Ok so in this AU Anakin does get the dreams about Padmé dying but she reassures him that he doesn’t know she actually died and childbirth is PAINFUL so it makes sense 

Basically everything in this AU is altered because everyone has just a little more common sense while at the same time being exponentially more ridiculous

He doesn’t end up seeing Palpatine at the light show thing, and also declines the position as his personal representative because the senate and the council are separate things

Obi-Wan and Yoda and whoever do their normal thing in ROTS. Yoda goes to the wookies or whatever and Obi-Wan goes to kill Grievous

Padmé checks into a hospital early that day because her water broke so she’s nice and comfy there

Anakin is still tempted by Palpatine to the dark side but reports him just as Obi-Wan gets back from killing grievous, so the Council chooses to get reinforcements and they all go to arrest him

But just then Anakin’s comlink beeps and it’s padme telling him her water just broke so he’s like “uhhhh i gotta dip” and confesses to Obi Wan his fear that Palpatine is manipulating him and that he’s “I had a vision the other night of Senator Amidala dying. Uhh idk obviously because we’re NOT married WHATSOEVER but isn’t she pregnant? I’m worried about her.” and Obi-Wan is like “ok first off calm down attachments aren’t a good thing and this is obviously something hindering you but we don’t want the Sith to manipulate you further so why don’t you go check up on her or something and calm down and process this fear HEALTHILY” because at this point he’s just exhausted

Anakin goes to Padmé’s hospital and gets in and they’re all super formal around the staff/droids but it’s like. “Yes. I am Jedi Knight Skywalker on behalf of the Jedi Council to ensure that Senator Amidala can safely have her children” and “Yes. This is my Good Friend™  Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and I Thank Him for coming on behalf of the Council to protect me” or some other bullshit and everyone’s like “mmhmm okay”

It’s nice and comfortable and the nurses are so nice and Anakin’s freaking out worse than Padmé who’s just like “calm DOWN I swear to god the last thing I need is STRESS” and he’s like “okay I love you”

They’re there for a while and meanwhile everybody else is dueling Sidious

Droid: You are aware that you’re having twins, Senator?

Anakin and Padme: wHAT

So the twins are born and they’re named Luke and Leia and Padme’s FINE and it was a relatively normal delivery and the twins weren’t even premature!! Everything is SO good. Suspiciously so. Har har har…

Anyways so Anakin’s gotta leave but Padmé and her handmaidens are gonna head back to Naboo with the newborns bc she’s taking maternity leave or whatever

Anakin goes back and Sidious is still busy fighting all the Jedi. He immediately preys on Anakin with the same bs as in canon saying he can save his loved ones from dying if he only helps this POOR OLD MAN who is being ATTACKED by the traitorous JEDI

Anakin goes in for the kill but in the end it’s pretty unclear which Jedi actually dealt the fatal blow

Obi-Wan was pretty pissed off as well

Once it’s over the Clone Wars end pretty quickly and Bail Organa (?) is instituted as Chancellor and everything seems to be ok

The Jedi resign from being military leaders

Obi-Wan sits Anakin down to have a Chat about his secret wife and ultimately after they talk it out he encourages Anakin to leave the Order and pursue what he feels is his duty now that the Clone Wars are over

Anakin does so and leaves to become Padmé’s trophy husband/stay-at-home dad

The twins grow up as Luke and Leia Skywalker-Amidala and get up to their own shenanigans in space suburbia where they are frequently visited by their many aunts, uncles, and relatives including but not limited to Padmé’s family, Padmé’s handmaidens, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, several (dozen) clones, the Organas, the Larses, and more

The end

[letsunity]

The Lucky Batch

Relocated

Foxy had many ideas, most of them could be perceived as terrible.

This wasn’t one of those moments. This was worse.

“We’re going to die!” Mozzarella screeched, clinging to the tank cannon for dear life. “Why do I always listen to you!?”

“Because I’m lucky!” Foxy grinned, swinging onto the head of the tank. He pushed up the hatch, smiling down at the droid inside. “Begone, Bot!” he yelled, pulling the head off.

He dropped inside, looking at all of the blinking lights. Mozzarella fell in after him, landing upside down as usual.

“What do we do?”

“Dunno, didn’t think I’d make it things far,” he shrugged, starting to press buttons.

--------------

With blaster fire raining from all around them, the clones did whatever they could to hold their ground.

“You’ve got another one, CT-2002!” yelled his brother, dragging in an injured shiny. 

Pepper wiped the sweat from his brow, the heat and stress gnawing at his jugular. With supplies dwindling by the minute, he was resorting to primeval methods of saving his patients.

As he looked down at the latest patient, he found the body of the Commander. The Padawan was a child, having only served Master Laverna for only a few weeks. 

The wounds were to her leg, burning and festering, blood leaking through cracked skin. A blaster shot from the looks of it, a direct hit. 

He investigated the wound, the heat bearing down on them without mercy. He felt the leg, trying to ignore the girl’s cries of agony. The bolt cut through her clothing and through the bone and out the other side.

She needed a bacta tank in order to save the leg. As it wasn’t possible, he had to do what he could to keep her alive.

He doesn’t have a saw, but Springer has a knife. 

Biting his lip, he gave the girl some cloth to bite on. She looked at him teary eyed, knowing what he was going to do. 

Pepper held her hand as he prepared to cut through, Springer holding the leg still, shaking in fear. 

The cloth did little to muffle her cries as Pepper cut through her flesh, removing the sickly part from her body. It’d infect her bloodstream, something even the jedi can’t heal. 

As the bone was already separated, Pepper managed to cut through without hacking. He ripped a piece of metal from outside the tent and pressed it against the wound, burning and cauterizing it. 

“Next,” Pepper panted, not wiping the blood from his hands. 

“You need a break,” Springer said, worried for his brother. 

“I’m the only one here with a modicum of medical training. I break when we’re off this pit of a planet,” CT-2002 answered, feeling sorry for the young padawan. 

The General entered the tent, looking for their injured student. Dolos pounced to the girl’s side, looking over her injuries and Pepper’s improvisation.

“You cut her leg off,” Laverna scowled, disgusted by Pepper.

“Unless you’ve gone blind, General, I worked with what I have, which is nothing. I have more patients,” the medic sighed, walking away from the Cathar. 

--------------

As the night started to fall, Foxy looked for his twin, excited to tell him about his big day. When he entered the barracks, however, Peppy wasn’t there. Mozzarella and Springer were, however, which was still cool.

“The moron is gonna kill himself at this rate,” Springer sighed, unaware that Foxy was standing there. “I don’t think he’s even eating.”

“It’s that hyperfocusing thing. When he’s in the zone, there’s no coming out of it,” Mozzarella added, rubbing his eyes. “General Laverna has been pissy all evening. Know what that’s about?”

“Aye. Commander Teles lost her leg in combat. The General has been upset over it. I mean, I can get why. I overheard from the Captain that he lost his last Padawan to something similar.”

Foxy made his way to the medic tent, looking for his twin. He walked through the narrow path in the middle, bodies packed next to each other. He could smell the gangrene, the infections and death.

He saw some fellow ARCs lift a clone, taking them outside to a pit with fire. A way to keep the bodies from infecting other people as they didn’t have time to bury.

They didn’t have the recourses for a lot of things. 

In a corner, he saw the shape of his twin, able to recognise him from a mile away. Guessing that this was a bad day, Foxy carefully sat next to his twin, looking over a body covered with a sheet.

The body of a kid missing a leg.

“The cut was too low,” Pepper stated coldly, staring at the sheets. “It was too low.”

Foxy rested his head on Pepper’s shoulder, providing some support. He didn’t know a lot about medical things, but he knew when Pepper was sad. He hated his brother being sad. 

The girl was nice to the clones, a sweet thing who didn’t deserve this. She wasn’t trained like the clones were. 

“Where’s Teles?” the General yelled, disturbing the patients still alive. 

The cathar stepped to the twins’ location, pausing and staring at the covered body. He shook with emotion, something that Jedi aren’t supposed to show. 

When Foxy turned to face the Jedi, he’d already grabbed Pepper, dragging him outside by the braid. 

“What the fuck is your problem?” Foxy yelled, grabbing the Jedi’s wrist. “Let him go!”

“He killed her!” the Jedi hissed, using the force to shove Foxy away. He threw the medic outside, seething. “You killed her!”

“I did what I could. That’s more than what you did,” CT-2002 yelled back, looking behind the cathar to see Foxy, relieved that his twin was alright. “She wasn’t even a teenager and you pulled her into the front lines. She died from your actions - all of us have suffered from your orders!”

Mozzarella and Springer exited the barracks with a few others, listening to the argument. The clones focused on the fight, failing to pay attention to their surroundings.

“I’ve done everything I could!”

“And we both failed. A whole lot more of us are going to be dead if we don’t leave this damned jungle!”

“We won’t abandon our post!”

“Then Teles died for nothing!”

Foxy started to panic, unsure of what to do. The Kaminoans never prepared them for this scenario, this wasn’t part of their training. Geonosia didn’t have this much tension.

He wasn’t this panicked since Padme Amidala fell from that cruiser. He wasn’t this scared since Locke died a week ago. 

His heart pounded against his chest when his twin was in the air, clutching at his throat. His twin is in danger, his best friend was being hurt by their own General.

Foxy never was one for self control. 

Without even realising he’d been holding his breath, Foxy had jumped the Cathar, causing them to drop Pepper. He held on, furious that the Jedi turned on not only his twin but their only remaining medic. 

The Cathar threw him off, Foxy’s back colliding with the muddy ground. Of course, it was only right for the rest of Clover Squad to attack.

Springer and Mozzarella pounced, jumping the Jedi to the ground. 

Master Laverna activated his lightsaber, cutting into Mozz’s chest. 

“Mozz!” Foxy shouted, horrified to see another batchmate die. 

Springer picked the knife from its holster and stuck it into the cathar’s shoulder, furious over his brother’s demise. 

Foxy tacked the Jedi while they were too distracted with Springer. With a snarl, Laverna lifted Foxy into the air, their first like a phantom hand over Foxy’s neck. With Springer alarmed, Laverna twisted the lightsaber into the abdomen. 

Pepper ripped the knife from the cathar’s back, aiming to stab their shoulder, freeing Foxy. Instead, the mud gave way. 

Laverna’s concentration fell when the knife was torn away, causing him to drop Foxy. As they fell, Foxy instinctively kicked, hitting Pepper’s arm.

The knife cut right through the cathar’s neck. 

In a moment, Foxy was on the ground. Shaking his head, he ran to his twin, hoping that he was ok.

The lightsaber had caught his lip, it’ll definitely scar over. 

Finally, with the fight over, the other clones started to come over to them.

His twin is still alive, that’s what mattered. Foxy assumed that the exhaustion finally kicked in, including the stress and heat. 

They killed a Jedi. They didn’t mean to, he was just trying to protect his brother. 

His dark eyes met the Captain’s, horrified.

“He was going to kill him,” Foxy mumbled, holding his twin to his chest. “We would’ve all died...”

“It was the heat,” Captain Impact stated, looking away from the trooper. “Prolonged heat exposure and dehydration can cause hallucinations. You did what was necessary for the whole platoon’s safety.”

It wasn’t the truth, though it wasn’t exactly a lie, either. 

---------------------

“You’ll be stripped of your position of ARC Trooper,” Mace Windu stated, looking down on the traumatised twins. “You’re being transferred to Clone Force 37. Hopefully, your new General will last longer than the others.”

They didn’t look at him, thinking over Mozzarella and Springer’s demise. 

A Besalisk and little Wookiee met with the Jedi, likely their new commanding officer. 

With his one job done, Mace Windu left, abandoning them to their new squad.

“Can I see your faces?” Master Bastet asked, kneeling to their level gently. 

Foxy and Pepper removed their helmets, Pepper with a new hairstyle and scar on his lip. 

“Aye, you’ve been through much. I promise you now, young ones, you’re safe now. Clone Force 37 is a family, one you’re very welcome to.”

The Wookie padawan handed something to Pepper, a little star that stuck to his fingers. His eyes was wide and amazed by the small thing, his mind blow. 

“It’s a sticker,” Freyja gurgled, only able to speak her native tongue. “Do you like it? I heard what happened and got one to make you feel better.”

“He loves it,” Foxy nodded, feeling a little better. “We’re not good soldiers, but we’re loyal. Aren’t we, Peps?”

“Not to mention stupid.”

“You’ll fit right in with the others. Jackal has been bouncing off the walls since he heard that we were getting new members,” Bastet smiled, already motherly to the pair. 

Maybe this’ll work out? So long as Foxy is with his twin, he’ll survive.

Not only what happened to their last Jedi and what happened to the other batchmates, but Pepper’s scar, too!

inspired by my awesome twin’s brilliant work :D

@monako-jinn-stories​ @just-another-dreamerr​ @foxlock​ @radbatch​ @generaltano​ @lusiawonder​ @catboy-tech​ @lavenderstaars​ @maygalodon​ @cosmicghostie​ @lynnpaper​ @oo-hazel-oo​ @namesmox​ @mango-peachjuice​ 

[val-aquenta]

Alright sorry if it’s a tiny bit late, but here for the final prompt for Jedi June: Intergalactin therapists.

Here on ao3

On Ryloth, many many years after the Clone Wars had finished, years after the Empire had been brought down, years after even the First Order had fallen and Palpatine had been killed, there was a legend of two warriors. The twi’lek would whisper of their shared strength and intelligence and, most of all, their compassion. One, always with the symbol of gold and dark purple, was an elegant storm. It was said that he had been able to push through an entire battalion of enemy droids without his weapon. The other, always drawn in cream and a light blue was kindness and intelligence. They spoke of how he had saved so many lives by winning battles before spilling a single drop of blood. 

More than that, the twi’lek spoke of them together, fitting together and moving in harmony. Their fighting, elegant and effective, matched the other. Where one defended the other would reach out and attack. Two storms, the twi’lek called them, one of righteousness and justice, and the other of shrewd intelligence and compassion. Together they were unstoppable, managing to vanquish the threat against Ryloth and bring peace to a world ravaged by much bloodshed and war.

With the flow of time, it was clear that the story had been twisted this way and that way, the original tale forgotten and turned to myth, but it stemmed from a truth. Mace Windu, compassionate and just, a righteous flame burning in his eyes, had used the Force and his fists to move through an entire battalion of droids. Obi-Wan Kenobi, intelligent and kind, had valued the lives of the twi’lek and the lives of his men more than the supposed glory of a battlefield. The two Jedi turned into legendary beings, living on long after they met their respective demises, one falling from the Senate building with the knowledge that the Order was about to die, the other at the hands of his closest friend, a dying star finally burning out. 

****

Felucia, even after the rise and fall of both the empire and the First Order, remained somewhat isolated from the galaxy and galactic politics. The felucians who inhabited the planet remained largely as farmers, living this relatively isolated lifestyle. As such, it allowed stories to spread like the wildfires that sometimes raced across the surface of the planet. One of these stories involved that of a young blue twi’lek, donning traditional twi’lek garments with pride. Her name, long lost and forgotten by almost everyone, had become Alema, the Ryl word for protector as that is what best described her.

She was brave, fearless, strong, and most of all kind. The felucians whispered of her to their children, hoping that the values that the young twi’lek had been raised and had died with would be imparted on them too. They spoke of her battles, a sword of justice at her side as it fought those who sought to destroy and exploit Felucia. They spoke of how she had looked at the felucians and not seen the peaceful farmers as weak and worthless, instead, she had seen their value and their worth. 

Indeed, Alema had become something of a cornerstone in felucian life, becoming a spiritual protector of the farmers. They said that if one stopped in the middle of the jungle and focused for long enough, calling for her, she might appear and offer sage advice with a smile. As years continued passing, she became more and more important in their lives and soon it was almost unheard of for a felucian to not hold something that symbolised the young twi’lek. Whether it was a small blue pendant on a necklace or a bracelet, or it was an intricately carved figurine of her, every family held something that honoured their protector. Aayla Secura, long dead and one with the Force, still managed to listen to the worries and woes of the small felucians who had been so kind to her. 

****

Shyriiwook, due to the long-lived nature of its speakers hardly ever changed at a rapid rate. Sometimes certain pronunciations were altered and spread over the galaxy, but it often remained unchanged. As such, it was a surprise when an entirely new word was added to the language. The word itself in basic would have looked something like Yoda, but the nature of the Shyriiwook language meant that it sounded a lot more like a roar vaguely resembling the original word. Nevertheless, the new addition had not surprised many wookies but had startled the galaxy at large.

Yoda, the small green being, was well remembered by the old wookies. The wisdom that the creature had brought along with the compassion and even stare remained something that they would whisper to one another when they had little else to talk of during the Empire’s reign. As such, they had eventually begun to substitute the word wisdom with a Shyriiwook version of Yoda. There had been little pushback. The young were already used to the name often when speaking of the small warrior, and they knew of its connotations. The old were happy to honour the small green being who had such a large heart, willing to open it to just about anyone. 

Yoda, removed from society and in his self-imposed exile, heard nothing of the tales. He only heard them after his death when Chewbacca, the large wookie still alive from the time of the Clone Wars, used his name when referring to Luke. Leia, who had not had the chance to truly explore her skill as a Jedi, turned in surprise when a quiet joy and thankfulness sprung up around her. Luke turned and zeroed on a point of blank space to Leia’s left. Yoda’s face, wrinkled and old as it might be, still twisted into the softest look Luke had ever seen. The little troll’s ears shifted upwards with delight, and his eyes seemed to twinkle. They remained looking at one another for just a moment before Yoda began to disappear, fading into the background once more. 

****

Tatooine had a history with the Jedi that was largely unknown. It was a backwater planet, just clinging onto outer rim territory. Indeed due to the large diversity within the groups of people on Tatooine, many had their own stories to tell. The slaves would whisper tales of Amavikka, the Hutts of their own ancestor’s ruthlessness and drive for power, and the populace would whisper of sarlaccs and the pits that ate and ate and never stopped going. However, one group of people, in particular, one that was largely hated by all three and thus removed from standard society, developed their tales. 

The Tuskens spoke of a demon, a slaughterer and a child killer who stopped at nothing to kill an entire tribe. There was a fear that jerked the movements of their speech as they told the tale of what appeared to be a dreadful storm brought to life, one who had swept through a village and massacred all those who inhabited it. A demon with a sword of pure light made to destroy those it feels have wronged it, they said. Golden eyes like the shifting sands, ready to eat up those who are unworthy.

However, they also spoke of another hooded figure, one who seemed to oppose the other entirely. He could speak to Krayt dragons, and make them turn away from a path of destruction. With his hands, water could rise from the sands like it was drawn to his very figure. He too had a sword of light, used once to deflect the bolts of a blaster. The newer tale however was not just a protector of the Tuskens, but also a defender against them. He was never on one side fully, instead doing what he seemed to think was right.

The Tuskens remembered the Anakin Skywalker who had been hurt and then had lashed out terribly. They remembered the burning village that was left, the clean burn wounds slashing across the torso of a young child, another whose head had been relieved. They also remembered Obi-Wan, the strange eccentric man who had seemed so very vulnerable, yet also very strong. The strange wizard removed from society and living his own solitary life at the edges of civilization. They built stories around them, a demon lashing out in anger at them. Another repenting for his sins in a dessert, alone and sad. Imaginary backstories constructed, entirely far from the truth, yet still speaking of a betrayal so large and painful that it ripped them to bits. Not so false, yet not entirely true. Obi-Wan and Anakin, once more reunited in the Force, had time enough to visit the Tuskens every now and then, observing the new life and trying to not hear the stories spoken of them.

****

All across the galaxy, stories of the Jedi turned to legend. On Geonosis, there were tales of a quiet and powerful woman who had stood up to the queen and won. Both a hero and a villain, she was admired for her strength and prowess when taking down the queen, yet the fact that she had gone against the queen, still a symbol of power within their community, was disliked by many. On Florrum the various species of people still spoke of a group of mischievous young spirits who would cause both harm and good. In the front, constantly trying to keep them from causing too much of a ruckus was an older spirit.

All across the galaxy, the Jedi had saved lives, showing the abilities and philosophy that made them Jedi. In doing so, they cemented themselves into stories and myths that showed their skills in battle as well as negotiation, their calm, and oftentimes most of all, their compassion and kindness. Jedi long gone and in the Force, still heard the whispers of them on the lips of others. It was nice, they thought quite often, to be remembered in this way. The Jedi had become these legends, and even with the merging of fact and fiction, the Jedi remained Jedi in these tales. Perhaps not explicitly, but in all the ways that mattered, they did.

[paper-n-ashes]

sparks and embers - chapter 7

Characters: Poe Dameron x Original Female Character, Kylo Ren x Original Female Character

Story Tags: Explicit (18+), Canon Compliant/Divergent (Set after TLJ), First Person POV, Love Triangle, Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Porn with Plot, Hurt/Comfort, Kylo Ren hates Poe Dameron

Chapter 7 - The Transmission

Words: 5.6k

Chapter Tags/Warnings: Mentions of medical procedures, ANGST, description of severe anxiety/panic attack

Read on AO3 or Start from the beginning

~

Poe didn’t exit the study for a long while, finally hearing the creak of my office door as it opened for the first time in hours. Within that time I'd farewelled the last of my patients for the day and begun to prepare dinner in my quarters, feeling significantly more balanced as the evening wore on.

Mind over matter. That’s all I needed to remember.

It was BB-8 who rolled in to demand my attention first, knocking his body into my ankle as I stood chopping vegetables at the kitchen counter.

“Hello again,” I greeted, still marvelling at how sweet this droid’s disposition was. Placing my knife down, I turned to face Poe as he slinked into the space, taking a place at the dining table. He seemed tired, almost despondent, possibly even more solemn than he appeared when I saw his face last.

“How did the transmission go?” I asked, breaking the silence. From the energy drifting out of his shape, it was clear he hadn’t completely moved on from the sadness we’d shared during our last interaction.

“As well as it could have. They’re still safe, for now. Think I gave them all heart attacks when my transmission came through,” he responded, exhaling hard. “And you were right. There was a search initiated. But my last reported co-ordinates were over Hutt Space, so they never would have found me.” He looked puzzled then, and I mirrored his expression.

“What do you mean? That’s at least a day’s trip from here.”

“That’s exactly what I can’t seem to figure out.” He huffed then, exasperated. “I don’t remember getting any further than that. I hadn’t even nearly reached my destination.”

“Were you traveling Galactic North or South?” I screwed my face up immediately after asking the question, already assuming he wouldn’t give me an answer.

“Yeah, I can’t tell you that.” He looked down to his hands, wringing them restlessly. “I know I can trust you, but I just can’t risk it, for both your own sake and the Resistance. All I can say is that I wasn’t flying to anywhere near Raxus.”

I nodded, understanding. “Well, no matter which way you were headed, Hutt Space is way too far from here for a ship to be unpiloted.”

“Right. Something, or someone, must have changed my course while I was there. And whether it was the crash or some other reason, I’ve lost any memory from after I was flying over the region that might have explained the cause.”

A sparkle of thought flickered, looking down at BB-8 still stationed at my feet. Poe appeared to read my mind.

“I thought the same too,” he remarked. “But he has no data logs indicating any unauthorised navigation. I’m still concerned about how his internal circuits looked when I was repairing him - I don’t think that kind of damage was caused by the crash. If BB had something to do with this, if he’s been tampered with, I won’t be able to be sure until I can conduct some deep diagnostics back at the Resistance base.”

BB-8’s head fell in his own form of remorse, emitting a few low beeps I could only gauge as an apology. I leant down and patted him softly, feeling sorry for the droid. It felt a little unnatural for me to have any sort of emotion towards a machine. All the medical droids I’d worked alongside in the past had the personality of a decaying tree.

BB beeped back happily at me, appreciating my sympathy, when I realised abruptly what Poe had been implying. “Wait, do you think someone did this on purpose? Sabotaged your flight?”

He seemed hesitant to answer again, most likely debating internally how confidential this information was. But eventually he nodded. “It’s what Leia seems to think, and I’m tending to agree. It seems too orchestrated. But the more worrying concern is that only a select group of Resistance personnel knew about my mission, even less knew exactly where I was headed.”

Both the casual mention of Leia Organa, famed princess of an obliterated planet, daughter of one of the most powerful Sith to have lived, now Leader of the Resistance, and the notion Poe seemed to be hinting at, tilted me slightly off balance.

“You think a spy might have infiltrated the Resistance?”

“That’s the theory we’re running with for now. Whoever did this assumed a crash landing on an Outer Rim planet would have meant my certain death, and any evidence would have most likely never been found, especially with them looking in the completely wrong place,” Poe explained. He looked up from his hands, his eyes finally gentle again, the creases in his forehead relaxing. “They obviously never planned on me landing right on your doorstep.”

“The universe clearly wanted to keep you around for a little longer.”

“Lucky me,” he laughed gently. “Hopefully I don’t mess up whatever it has planned.”

“You’ll figure it out,” I said encouragingly, glad he had relaxed a little. But it was short lived.

His face became sombre again, gaze moving to his fingers once more. “Leia is keeping my reappearance quiet for now - her and our most trusted Resistance members, my friends, are the only ones who know.” I saw his jaw tighten, face tense, a controlled breath seeping past his lips. “They’ll be arriving sometime in the night to take me back to base.”

I knew it was coming. I was more prepared now, my resolve holding strong against the gloom I’d pulled into a locked box inside my mind, easily keeping it restrained.

“I bet you’re excited to see them,” I said kindly, hoping to pick up his mood.

Poe smiled softly to himself. “I’ve missed them,” he agreed, glancing up at me. “They’re pretty eager to meet you actually.”

I furrowed my brows, dubious. “Really? You told them about me?”

Poe looked at me incredulously, like that fact should have been obvious. “Of course. How else was I going to explain how I managed to survive that crash? Leia seemed particularly impressed. She's disappointed she can't give her thank you in person, being too valuable to send away from the base.”

My cheeks threatened to flush with crimson, wanting to shy away from the compliment. Relief was the more overwhelming emotion, glad I wouldn’t have to navigate my way through a conversation with Leia Organa, having no doubt I would make a fool of myself. “So, who is coming?” I wondered, interested in learning more about the people Poe considered his trusted friends.

“Well there’s Chewie-”

“As in Chewbacca the Wookie?” I interrupted. “The Chewie?”

Poe rolled his eyes playfully at my marvelling. “So I don’t need to tell you anymore about him then,” he continued, smirking. “There will be Finn, an ex-stormtrooper who defected to the Resistance, royally saved my ass when I was captured by the First Order. And then there’s Rey, who has been training as a Jedi, and technically pilots the Millennium Falcon now, although if you ask me, I’ve flown that rustbucket way more often…”

Poe kept talking, but my mind was barely able to focus on his words.

A Jedi. A Force user. Coming here.

This is bad.

I forced my face into a veil of interest about what Poe was chattering about as he remained oblivious to the panic that had erupted inside my chest. Eventually his words ran out, thankfully without ending on a cue for me to reply. It took all of my focus to keep my voice steady as I spoke. “I thought all the Jedi were gone?”

It was a question anyone would ask. Not too suspicious.

He appeared slightly confused at the point I’d decided to back track on, yet quickly seemed to realise I’d not had the same encounters with force users that he’d had. “We thought that too,” he remarked. Poe then relayed what was evidently an extremely condensed story of the re-emergence of Luke Skywalker, who had then begrudgingly taught Rey how to wield the Force.

It was an unbelievable tale, something any other being would be enthralled to hear. And honestly, I couldn’t believe Poe had made it so far as to have landed on my doorstep. But there was one thing my mind centred on amongst the rush of information.

She’d been trained by a Jedi Master.

I’d learned an essence of control over my power, whatever kind it was that I utilised, both before and after I’d run to Raxus. After realising the target it put above my head at a young age, I’d taught myself to restrain it, hide it away in the absolute pit of my consciousness, only summoning that which helped heal people in the most dire of circumstances.

When the wrong person caught me, when I’d let my power become unconstrained for only a few moments, I knew I had to deepen my command over it, in case I ever found myself in that situation again. And now, I was completely unsure if four more years’ worth of preparation was going to be enough to hide it from a trained Force user.

“Why is a Jedi coming to get you off this planet? Wouldn’t she have more important things to do?” I pointed out. Only when the words escaped my lips did I realise how rude it might have seemed to Poe.

Come on Alex. Simmer down.

He actually laughed, taking my perception with good humour. “You’re not wrong. But as I said, she pilots the Millennium Falcon now, which is the fastest ship we have available at the moment. And she insisted on coming herself. Said she owed me.” Poe appeared warmed by the sentiment, and I would have enjoyed his happier demeanour if not for my own internal fretting.

There was no avoiding it. Rey was already on her way here, and there wasn't an appropriate way I could prevent myself from meeting both her and the other crew members without arousing heavy suspicion. I was truly trapped, heart thumping along fast with anxiety, fearing I could be hours away from facing all I thought I had escaped from.

*

I made dinner for us both, Poe continuing to make idle conversation in our last hours together as we ignored the looming farewell.

Yet now I was more concerned with what I needed to confront before that moment. My mind was a mess of warring emotions behind the indifferent façade I held in Poe’s presence, wanting his departure to be both as quick as possible and dragged out as long as I could make it.

I knew he sensed some of the unrest behind my eyes, but he didn’t probe, probably hoping to maintain the easy-going nature of our last meal together, however fake it might have been.

It was long after we finished eating that I recalled the need to do one last assessment of Poe’s injuries, remembering something I’d promised to do before he left.

“Your cast!” I gasped, thinking out loud, startling Poe as he dried the last of our dishes. After turning around, smirking at himself for the way I’d made him jump, he rose the casted arm into his view.

“Oh yeah,” he realised, flexing the fingers. “I’d actually kind of forgot about it.”

“Well come on, one last assessment and you’re officially free of my care.”

I said the words with such pure intentions, yet it was starkly clear both of us were jarred by the reality hidden behind them - a cold, unbroken hush settling in the space. I noticed BB-8’s head movement from my periphery, once again calling into question our sudden stillness. He raced to my feet, squealing little beeps in an inflection I couldn’t understand. Poe’s expression swiftly turned aggravated at the droid, and didn’t immediately translate like I assumed he would.

“Is he okay?” I asked. “Did he say something important?”

Poe’s face forcefully relaxed in an attempt to seem unbothered by BB’s insistent beeps. “He’s just appreciative of how well you’ve treated me.”

I knew he was lying, but I could only assume it was better I didn’t discover what was really said. 

* 

Poe had perched himself back onto his hospital bed, and I could feel his gaze follow me as I placed the monitoring over his figure for the last time. The moment for conversation had obviously passed as we maintained a heavy silence during my final tests. He barely winced when I took blood, the results revealing all of his inflammatory markers had receded. The bruises had disappeared, the scars had begun to fade, even over his badly burned arm and torso.

I glanced to his face while taking some X-rays of his femur, pulling up the initial post-crash shots and scribbling down my final progress notes on the healing of the fracture. He seemed awed once again at the damage I’d managed to repair, and he turned thoughtful as he looked down at his perfectly functional leg. I could tell without words he was grateful, knowing we’d both experienced the outcome of those who might not have been so lucky as to keep their limb after such an injury.

I’d kept the casted arm until last, wishing to drag out these final moments, most likely the only thing he’d truly remember of our time together. A comforting thought simmered into my awareness, realising his deeper scars wouldn’t fade for years yet, somewhat of a memento etched onto his skin.

The X-rays were textbook. The fracture line had fused nicely, with almost no irregularity in the shape of the bone shaft. The cast had done its job, and now, there was no need for it to be connected to him anymore.

Just like me.

I pulled my thermal scissors from within my medical trolley, used specifically to melt through the hardened plastic I’d moulded closely to his forearm. It was over in seconds, slicing through the cast and peeling it from his limb, the skin underneath looking slightly clammy but otherwise acceptable. As soon as he was free from the plastic he begun to flex and twist his wrist, a small exhale of relief slipping out of his throat.

“Well that just about does it,” I stated flatly. “You’re all healed up.”

Poe looked away from his newly freed arm and locked his eyes with mine. “I know I’ve said this a million times, and it will never be enough, but thank you.”

I looked down from his gaze. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help you.”

He lifted his left hand to my chin, tilting my head back up to meet his stare again, holding it there while he spoke. “You’re really good at your job Alex, I hope you realise that. You saved my life. And I won’t be the last one you save, I’m sure of it."

His eyes were so penetrating, so impassioned, that it made me want to turn away. I didn’t like being praised like this. It made the flesh under my skin feel itchy. Somehow, through no power of my own will, I kept my stare locked to him, confined into place with his thumb softly resting on my skin.

He began to breathe slower, more cautiously. “If we…” he started, voice barely above a whisper. “If we never see each other again…” The words trailed off as he seemed to grapple with the future bearing down on us. My heart was pounding painfully in my chest, instigated merely by the sensation of his fingertips pressed to my skin.

Please. Please stop making this so hard.  

“I won’t forget what you did for me… I won’t forget you.”

Without conscious thought I felt my hand begin to rise, instinct pulsing within to pull him into another fervent kiss. Before he noticed the movement, I wrenched it down, closing it into a fist. It was my own voice that echoed in my head, louder and louder.

I will not let this ruin me.

It felt cruel, the way I abruptly stepped away from his touch, but it needed to be. I glared back at him, hoping my words, particularly the meaning behind them, would suffocate the flames of yearning I kept seeing in his irises. “You’ve been a cooperative patient Poe, and I’m glad you survived. But I wouldn’t wish on seeing you in the future. It would only be because you’re in need of my medical care again.”

Poe’s head snapped back, stunned at my reply and the harsh recoil from his hand. Clearly, he'd predicted a different reaction. “You don’t know that,” he urged. “I could come ba-”

I flew my hand up, palm forward, immediately indicating him to cease talking. “Don’t. Just don’t.”

He ruminated on my request for a few eerily silent moments before his stare turned fiery, irritated. “Why are you fighting this?” he shot, rattling me. “We both know there’s something here, something more than you’re willing to admit.”

His maddened tone made it harder to keep my stoic demeanour. “I told you why.”

“Wouldn’t it be more painful to leave each other like this?” he retorted, the muscles in his arms tightening. “Not acknowledging what I know you feel? Pretending it’s not eating you alive, like it’s doing to me?”

A beat of silence passed before I turned and walked away.

I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t keep my restraint if he continued interrogating me this way, revealing emotions a strangled part of me hoped he had. I wasn’t strong enough for that. I needed distance.

“Alex!” he boomed, hearing him leap off the bed behind me. “Tell me you haven’t felt it! Tell me you don’t want to give in to it!”

“I barely know you!” I shouted, swirling to face him again. “You are- were my patient! And you’re about to leave! You shouldn’t come back here, and I shouldn’t go with you!”

“You know more about me than nearly all of the galaxy! And that’s within five days!” he growled, offended. Poe took a tentative step towards me, letting some of the anger recede before speaking again. “I would come back for you. I would come back, if I survived, if you wanted me to. If you admitted what you’re keeping hidden, the feelings that made you kiss me.”

“Please stop doing this,” I begged, a hopeless attempt to keep him at bay, my resilience starting to fizzle away. “You seemed to understand yesterday. That it would be too difficult if we crossed that line.”

He shook his head in frustration. “I've already crossed it Alex." His eyes turned pleading, an intensity within them I was sure I hadn't witnessed before. "I don't want to ignore it anymore, what I feel for you. I can't keep holding back."

I pulled my hands into fists, resisting every temptation to throw away resolve and allow myself to experience the warm glow of happiness his revelation brought. There was no denying the way in which my walls started to weaken, mercilessly barraged by the raw emotion he was exposing.

Don’t give in Alexys. His life, and yours, depend on it.

The voice toughened my determination, enough to keep my willpower solid against the craving to surge into his arms. “I guess I’m just stronger than you are,” I muttered, turning again to prevent catching any type of reaction in Poe’s face. Even one glimpse would make me crumble.

I stormed down the hallway, desperate for the isolation of my quarters, closing the entry and setting the lock. Falling back into the door, my teeth felt like they were going to shatter if I clenched my jaw any tighter.

My brain focused solely on the rhythm of my breathing, centring on the quickened rate, trying to force it into a more calmed pace. Soon I began to concentrate on expanding my lungs, inhaling until the space was full of air, letting it sit there as long as I could hold, before allowing it to whistle out of my nostrils.

That’s all I permitted myself to think of, the slow inhale and exhale, imagining the oxygen particles seeping into my bloodstream, travelling to every cell in my body, keeping me functioning amongst the turmoil thrashing through my soul.      

*

Time passed. I wasn’t really keeping track on how quickly. Imprisoned in my own mind, pacing my quarters, continuing the attention on my breathing. It was the only thing that kept me stable, that pushed away the memories of Poe’s voice ringing in my thoughts.

Eventually my legs grew fatigued from the movement, and I placed myself on the sofa, dropping my head into my hands, grasping my fingers through my hair in frustration.

He couldn’t have just left it alone. He couldn’t have just ignored it, departed this planet and forgot all that happened here.

A memory slipped through the cracks, pushing its way out into the forefront of my awareness. One that refused to be smothered.

'I would come back for you.'  

I shook my head within my clenched hands, trying to physically rid myself of it. I wanted to claw my fingers into my brain, pluck the memory from my inside my head and banish it forever, never to torture me again.

Breathe. Focus on your breathing Alexys.

The voice caused a realisation to strike, how hard it had become, my ribs stuck in place, intercostal muscles rigid, refusing to let my lungs inflate. It felt as if gravity had increased its pressure over my body, making me crumple underneath its increased weight. The load was too much, my head screaming for oxygen. I knew what was happening, I knew I was in the throes of a crushing panic, helpless to stop the cascade of anxiety from taking over.

Instinct was quick to surface, telling me exactly what to do. What I’d done only once before.

I withdrew my fingers from their entanglement within my hair, placing the tips on each side of my temple, and within my depths, I set it free. The energy swiftly begun to course through my blood, bringing with it an incredible radiance that lit up my veins. It crawled its way through every capillary, every vessel, as if it was replacing my own blood with its glow.

Soon, it weaved itself through my chest cavity, relaxing the muscles clamping down on my lungs, the relief of an easier breath making me feel lighter. It's journey didn’t cease, surging through my neck to my brain, twirling in between the individual neurons, clouding me with a feeling of peace, serenity, the rest of the world blocked off from my senses.

I wanted to stay in this place forever. Every fear, every sadness, every frustration, all of it melting away into nothing. I felt whole, a brilliant euphoria shimmering from every part of my being.

Let go. You cannott linger here for too long.

My fingernails were suddenly pierced into the pillows of the sofa, panting, grateful I had something to remind me not to surrender myself to the dangerous void any longer. The energy recoiled instantly, my own invisible hands pushing it within the confinement I'd kept it behind for much of my life. I took a moment to push it even deeper down my consciousness, praying it would be too far for Rey to sense when she arrived.

The panic was gone, my chest moving in even time, an aura of composure enduring even with the healing energy locked away. But it also left me exhausted, my brain feeling slightly fuzzy with fatigue. Although for this, I was glad. Even a short time in the peace of sleep would stop me from thinking about Poe.

I had just risen from my seat, about to walk to the comfort of my bed for however long time would allow, when there was a solid bang at my door. I tilted my head in confusion at the noise, knowing Poe would have simply knocked if he wanted entry. Although right now, that seemed extremely unlikely.

When I heard an artificial squealing piercing the air behind the wood, it was obvious what had made the sound.

BB-8 was still beeping urgently when I allowed him entry into my quarters, whizzing past my legs before I even had time to greet him. I noticed the sound of the ‘fresher running as he rolled quickly to the space before my sofa, his head movements darting from me to the pillow where I had just been seated. He wanted me to sit down, that was clear, but I couldn’t determine why.

I did what was requested, settling back down, BB-8 at my feet, his eye appearing to whir and focus in on my face. He was quiet for a moment, doing what I could only imagine was a droid’s version of thinking, before his head darted away. Suddenly a burst of blue light flickered into the air, floating the outline of an image on top of the metal table that sat in front of us.

He was showing me a hologram.

It was fuzzy at first, slowly becoming clearer, displaying a scene I hadn’t been privy to this afternoon. The simulated image of Poe was sitting at my office desk, his own hologram transmission only just visible in the blue beam.

It appeared BB was showing me a long way into their discussion, Poe’s face stressed as he listened to the multiple figures in the holo, their lips forming words that only came out muffled.

“I don’t think you should be showing me this BB-8,” I fretted quietly, acknowledging how private Poe had been with Resistance information.

BB-8 beeped insistently, sounding like he disagreed, and continued playing the holo. The voices became more defined, eventually loud enough for me to make them out.

“We’ll have another X-wing ready for you as soon as you make planet fall,” an older woman’s voice explained. I could only assume it was Leia’s, holding a gentle yet authoritative tone. "Do you think you’ll be ready to attempt the mission again as soon as you return?”

Poe didn’t immediately answer, and I could almost make out the pain in his holo image.

“What is it?” another woman, a lot younger sounding, questioned. Her voice was more on edge than Leia’s, speech displaying an accent I wasn’t familiar with. This was most likely Rey. “Are you still too injured?”

“I’m fine,” Poe reassured. “Better than fine really. Alex… uh, Dr. Jago had me walking within the first few days. And everything else has healed well enough.”

Yet another voice, this time a man's, piped in. "You broke your leg and she got you walking that quickly? There’s no way.”

Poe rolled his eyes, the small movement still obvious in the flickering image. “Finn, you nearly died and you can still doubt the effect of bacta? That stuff fixed your shattered spine for maker's sake.”

“Still took more than a few days though,” Finn mumbled.

“It’s irrelevant,” Leia interjected, seemingly annoyed for a moment, before softening. “Is something wrong Poe?”

His eyes looked down from the hologram in front of him, hesitant to answer. “Is there…” he started, breathing in as if to gain courage. “Is there anyone else who could make that flight?”

All three of the figures recoiled in disbelief at the question.

“You’re the best pilot we have,” Leia said definitively. “There’s no one else who could navigate that route except you.”

“What about Rey?” he retorted, looking to her figure insistently. “She’s got the Force to help her.”

Rey sighed, troubled. “I... already tried. I thought maybe your navigation system may have malfunctioned, preventing any tracking, but that you’d still made it to-” BB-8’s hologram suddenly became engulfed in static for a few moments, leaving me unable to hear the destination of Poe’s mission. Eventually the picture cleared into the same scene, only a few seconds later. "-but I couldn’t make it through. It was too dangerous to traverse, even with the Force to guide me.”

“Why are you even asking us to find someone else?” Finn challenged. “You were more than ready to do it yourself a week ago.”

Poe gritted his teeth, looking somewhat ashamed. “I know.”

There was silence in the holo, and for a moment I thought this was all BB-8 wanted to show me. But Leia’s voice struck up again. "Finn, Rey, could you let me talk to Poe privately?”

From their small faces I could still see them look quizzically at each other, Finn appearing more puzzled by the request. But they left under the General’s orders, slinking past the frame of the holo.

“Poe… Tell me. Tell me what’s changed,” Leia urged softly. “You and I both know you’re the only one who can do this. And if there’s something worrying you, or making you doubt yourself, you need to tell me.”

He looked despairingly at her, uncomfortable with the prospect of hiding anything from his General. “I don’t want to admit it.”

Leia breathed out heavily. She began to pace inside the holo, arms folded in thought, before turning back to speak to Poe again, her face gentle. “It’s the doctor, isn’t it?”

It took an excruciatingly long time before Poe responded, finally nodding his head.

I felt every muscle in my body tense at his reply, heart thrumming to a faster beat.

“I thought so,” Leia whispered. “I... wasn’t expecting this.”

“Neither was I, General. I’m sorry.” The expression he wore, filled with such unyielding turmoil, shot a pang of cold ice through me.

Leia looked kindly to him, her face melting into understanding. “Oh Poe, you don’t have to apologise. You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last, to question everything for the sake of their emotions.”

“I want to do what we planned. I do. I’m ready,” he asserted, voice rising into confidence, only for his face to fall again. “But every time I think of leaving her…” His face became buried in his hands, frustrated, unable to finish his sentence.

“Does she feel the same way?”

“I don’t know,” Poe muffled under his palms. “I... think so. She’s holding back. Her loyalty to this clinic is annoyingly similar to mine with the Resistance.”

“So she wouldn’t consider coming with you, joining us? We desperately need doctors of her calibre.”

He pulled his face back up. “I asked. And she refused. She would never want to leave, fearing for the health of her patients without her here. Not to mention she’s staunchly against the war we’re fighting in.”

“She sounds like someone I would like to meet,” Leia smiled to herself. “So... That’s why you don’t want to return yet. Why you need someone else to complete the mission. You want more time with her.”

Poe nodded slowly. “I know we don’t have much time to get-” Another fuzz intercepted Poe’s speech, an additional piece of information too confidential for my ears. “-but I just… I just don’t want to go yet. If someone was able to go in my stead, then I wouldn’t be completely dooming us. I know it’s selfish… Irrational… But the thought of leaving her behind right now, on a mission I might not make it back from… It’s too much.”

“Oh,” Leia mouthed, her voice muted. “Do you… Do you think that you…”

She didn’t have to finish her question. Poe knew what she was implying.

“I… think I could. If I had more time, a chance to figure it out.”

His revelation made me stop breathing, a tear wriggling from the duct, crawling down my face.

Leia sighed loudly, her stress evident. “I wish I could Poe. I would want nothing more than to give you this, after all you’ve given for the Resistance. But you’re the only one who has a chance of completing this mission, and we are desperately running out of time and options.”

Poe clenched his eyes shut as she finished, his jaw tightening, lips fighting back a frown. He took a few moments held in this position before relaxing himself back into composure, his face serious and professional. “I understand,” he replied flatly. “I’ll get this mission accomplished General. See you back at the base.”

“I’m truly sorry Poe-” Leia began to apologise, only to be interrupted by his sharp tone.

“It’s fine. Tell the engineers to make sure the new X-wing is prepped before my return. I want to leave as soon as possible.”

Leia nodded, her expression remorseful.

Suddenly the blue, illuminated image was ripped from my view, the rest of my quarters coming back into focus around me.

My body was stuck, motionless in the now painful silence filling the air. Inside my mind there was chaos, memories of the hologram darting around randomly. I tried to capture at least one rational thought, to analyse the emotions bubbling up from within my chest.

He wanted to stay. For me. Everything he wanted to accomplish, for the Resistance, for his friends, for his parents, for the galaxy. He wanted to put it all on hold.

Just for me.

He’d been right. I was holding it back, the same thing he felt, and it was clawing at my insides, desperately wanting to be set free.

Purely out of my selfishness, my own excuses, the voice in my head threatening our lives. All of it keeping me from what I really wanted.

Him. I wanted him. To be close to him. Even if it was just for a little while.

You’re giving in? So easily?

Damn right I am.  

~

Next Chapter

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[asterian]

Moon beast (Captain Rex x reader) (Werewolf au)

Summary: Rex got bitten by a strange creature during a mission, leaving him wounded and unexpectedly transforming him into a beast.

Words: 2.3k

A/n: Hi, this was a request but Tumblr has been messing with my post and deleted some asks. Well, anyways, this was really fun to write and I hope you like it as much as I do. As always thanks for reading.

It was almost midnight when it all started.

The boys had returned from the battlefield a couple of hours ago, defeated and wounded.

The mission to liberate the planet from separatist occupation turned out to be a trap, leaving as its consequences the loss of at least half a battalion of troopers and a whole squadron of starfighters.

Rex was among the wounded, bitten by some sort of beast. And now, as he rested in the medbay, he felt … strange.

Something was off.

He could feel it in his bones, he could feel them moving, growing. He felt how every inch of his body burned hotter than mustafar lava. This was no good. He felt dizzy and soon allusions started to fill his mind giving him glims of images of the woods, the moon and a beast with sharp teeth and killer eyes. 

Rex shook his head in a desperate attempt to get rid of the images that haunted his mind, grabbing the sheets trying to hold all the pain he was feeling and regain some of the control of his body but instead felt his own nails digging on the flesh of his palms. The world around him started to get blurry and all Rex could feel was pain, it was like something was destroying him from within.  

A new and more powerful wave of pain ran through his body, enough to make him finally lose all the control as a scream left his throat. Then everything turned black.

At the other side of the ship, you were working on a very damaged y-wing, doing your best to repair the poor piece of metal that used to fly, but your mind was in another place, you were worried about Rex. He was wounded and alone in the infirmary, exhausted after the mission. You wished you could be there with him.

Suddenly the sirens of the hangar went on, getting you out of your thoughts.

Everyone on the hangar started to question if the ship was under attack since no one gave the "Battle stations" order, then the voice of Admiral Yularen came through the speakers:

"Attention to all stations. There has been a security break at the medical bay, the intruder is armed and dangerous. If you spot it, shoot to kill! I repeat, there has been a security break…."

"Rex" was all you could say before rushing to the medbay. 

Your  head was plagued with horrible scenarios about what could have happened as you ran through the maze that was the Resolute. Wishing nothing had happened to him, hoping he was safe.

When you arrived at the medbay you were greeted by destruction. Everything was broken and there were sharp claws marked on the walls. What kind of thing could leave such marks?  Well it certainly wasn't a battle droid. 

You desperately searched for any remaining troopers in hopes to find your beloved Captain, without luck.

You were about to keep looking for Rex when the lights went off.

The darkness only lasted a few seconds before the emergency lights came in, followed by the sound of blaster fire and clones screaming, not far from where you were. 

Something was killing the soldiers, something dangerous, something wild.

Fear spread through your body and unconsciously ran in the opposite direction, turning in every corner that came your way, trying to put as much distance  as possible between you and whoever was on board. But it was useless.

The monster was chasing after you, just like a hunter after its prey.

Your feet tripped over something, making you hit the hard durasteel of the floor. As you tried to get up you heard steps approaching along with a growl that send panic to your whole self. Gathering all your courage, you turned around as slowly as you could and then you saw it.

Big sharp teeth sticking out of its mouth, if that could be called a mouth; claws as sharp as a vibroblade that matched with the marks you saw on the medbay; the monster was covered from head to toe in a soft white fur and had bright golden eyes that seemed threatening yet familiar. At first glance it looked like a loth-wolf but then it stood on two legs, like a human would. It was as tall as a Wookie, maybe a bit taller but twice as menacing.

You were frozen in your place, incapable of moving and afraid to do so.

The beats took a couple of steps towards you, hunger and murder on its eyes. "This is it" you thought.

But then when it was mere inches from you it stopped, looking at you instead with kindness and compassion almost in a tender way. 

The killer eyes you saw seconds ago were replaced with a pair of loving ones.

Something was in front of you, it was a beast, a monster, yet in his eyes all you could see was a human, a lover. 

Rex.

Your eyes widened open at the realization. It was him, but how? Your hand unconsciously reached to touch his face but before your hand could get close to him a blaster shot came out of nowhere almost hitting Rex's shoulder, causing him to let out a roar that sent shivers down your spine.

"No!" You screamed. "Wait!"

Soon more troopers came storming the hallway, blasting your lover who desperately ran away.

You tried to go after him but were stopped by an arm around your waist. 

"Hey, easy there, (y/n)." you heard Jesse say as you struggled to get out of his grasp. 

"Let me go!" 

"That thing is dangerous" he said pointing in the direction Rex was seconds ago.  

"He's not!" you barked at him, "Jesse, please, let me go!" you cried out.

"The kriff is wrong with you?" 

"You don't understand." you told him finally break free, "It's Rex"

Jesse looked at you confused and surprised for a moment, not really knowing how to process the information you gave him. 

"What?" He asked.

"It's Rex, Jesse, I know it"

"No. That's impossible, it can't be him."

"You have to trust me." You begged

"How…" he was interrupted by another trooper that came running from the hall.

"Sir, we just received a report from the other sectors, there are no signs of the animal" informed the trooper. 

Jesse's gaze traveled from the trooper to you.

"Go to an escape pod" he told you."And leave as soon as possible."

"But-"

"Go!" he ordered you before turning back to his brothers, ready to command. "Alright, that thing is somewhere in the ship, there are a lot of places where it could be hiding" he told them "our priority is find it and execute it before it kills someone else." 

You paralyzed in your place. They were going to kill Rex, his own brother and they didn't even know it was him. The idea of losing him made you realize you had to find him before they did. 

A thousand questions started running through your head, questions such as Where in the world could he be? Where he could be hiding? Where to start looking? 

The answer was clear as kyber crystal. 

The place where you and your beloved Captain found each day, a place without cameras, away from curious eyes, a place where you could share your love without worrying about being caught.

"He must be there." you thought and hurried to that place that saw your love bloom.

When you arrived you found him curled into a ball, leaning against the wall, protected by the shadows. He seemed conflicted, as if he was battling with himself and the wolf, fighting over control.

It was heartbreaking seeing him like this but it was a relief knowing he was fine.

"Rex?" 

He looked at you, growling a bit and baring his teeth, a warning to stay away. 

"It's okay" you said softly "I'm not gonna hurt you" you raised your hands to prove you were unarmed "See? It's me, (y/n)."

He seemed to recognize you, and slowly, Rex started to calm down a bit.

You took one, maybe two steps towards him. He backed off.

"It's fine, you can come out now" you encouraged him, extending a hand for him to take. Nothing.

The more you tried to touch him or get near him, the more he retreated. 

"Love, please, I need to get you out of here before someone else find you"

Rex shook his head in response, getting further away from you. Was he afraid of you? 

He had killed his own brothers, murdered them without hesitation. Even though he was unconscious most of the time, he knew what he was doing, he knew what this new form could do and how dangerous it was.

Rex wasn't afraid of you, oh no, he was afraid of himself, of the monster he became. 

"It's okay, you are not going to hurt me" you told him as if you knew what was going on in his head. "I trust you"

The captain looked at you for a moment, and then he let you get closer to him.

Your hand carefully traveled all along his arm, feeling the soft texture of his fur, all the way to his large new face. Recognising and memorizing every detail of this new version of him, it felt familiar. His hazel eyes focused on you until they started to slowly close as he began to relax under your touch.

You kept gently stroking his head, the beating of your hearts softly echoing on the room. And for a moment the world outside seemed to fade away, the chaos of the Resolute, the clones screaming and running around, all of that disappeared. It was just you and him, human or wolf, you loved him.

You looked at him for a moment before pulling him into a tight hug. His fur trickling on your face made you smile but then you felt yourself melting under his warmth, closing your eyes and enjoying the moment.

"I love you, Rex" you mumbled against his chest, "I love you with all my soul and I want to be with you in this form or any other, it doesn't matter." you assured him, feeling the way his heart beated against yours. "I'll love you just the same, I promise"

The captain felt his heart full of love and hope. He was worried that you might have been scared of him, or that you might never want to see him because, who could love a monster like him? Now that he was one. Just the fact that you were there with him  made him feel loved and for that  he couldn't be more thankful, but he also couldn't help but wonder, what did he do to deserve someone as caring and loving as you. 

The fears and insecurities left his body and were replaced with peace, love. And as those negative thoughts left he felt the beast leaving too. He felt his body slowly changing, not painfully as the other time but more natural. Human again.

"I love you, cyare" 

His voice took you by surprise.

You were so immersed in your thoughts and his warmth that you didn't notice that he had changed, shifted back to his normal form.

"Rex." you breathed, looking at him, tears starting to form in your eyes as you placed a hand on his cheek. 

"Hello, love." he said simply, earning a little giggle from you. He pulled you close and rested his forehead on yours, and finally you felt the tears rolling down your face.

He looked exhausted and sick, like he could faint in any second.

Your beloved Captain began to shiver with the absence of the fur that a few minutes ago covered his body, leaving him now naked and exposed to the coldness of the ship. You noticed the fresh little scratches and bruises that decorated his tanned skin. You couldn't even imagine what kind of hell he went through.

You stayed like this a few minutes, before he spoke again, blame and sorrow dancing on his tone.

"It was my fault" His voice cracked. "I knew what I was doing while I was that beast, I just couldn't stop. And now my brothers are gone." His gaze traveled to the floor and you saw a tear rolling down his cheek. "I could have hurt you too."

"(Y/n), how many brothers did I-"

"No, Rex, don't do that" you stopped him, "it wasn't your fault"

"Rex-" you murmured, placing a hand on the side of his face.

"I would never forget myself if anything happens to you because of me." He told you, his hazel eyes looking right into yours.

"Hey, it's okay" you assured him, "I know you would never hurt me, don't worry about that"

"But what if that thing comes back? What if I can't control it? What if I'm not able to snap out of it again?"

"Hey, hey, easy" you said "Look, I don't have the answers for that, I have no idea what caused this or how to get rid of it, I don't even know what to do." It was true, you had more questions than real answers yet you wanted to be there for him no matter what.

"We'll figure a way to control this, okay?" You murmured gently stroking his face, meaning every single word. "Whatever this is, we're going to face it, together."

[the-and-sign-anon]

Rebel of Mandalore: Part Five

Pairing: eventual Poe Dameron x Mandalorian! Reader

Word count: 1,414

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

“I can promise you, Jedi, that if your friend was sold, I had nothing to do with it. I know my business is… unsavory, but I don’t allow anything to do with slavery.”

“Of course. We would never mean to accuse you of such a thing. We just think our friend was somewhere around here before we lost contact with her, so we were hoping you or your men might have seen or heard from her.” Rey glanced to Poe with a warning look to keep his mouth shut.

Chewie knelt down and kept R4 quiet as well. The last thing the group needed right now was for Poe and R4 to start a fight and get them all kicked out. Oland had led them to a private room with the door closed behind them. She seemed passive enough so far, but Rey and Finn didn’t want to take any chances of ending her decorum.

“Why do you think my men have anything to do with her?”

“I saw a short vision of a few men somewhere here talking about the money they’d just made catching and selling a Mandalorian. They said something about splitting the credits without you because they didn’t want to bother lying about what they’d sold.”

The Weequay thought for a moment.

“Do you remember which planet your friend disappeared from?”

R4 beeped a response. Oland hummed and stroked her chin in thought. Then she stood, moved to the door, and called for one of her men. Once she whispered to him for a moment, he left and she turned back to the Resistance members.

“I had a small crew around that system a few weeks ago. They didn’t report any problems or unusual business, but a few of them were clearly injured when they returned. They’ll be here in a moment and we’ll talk to them together. If they have lied to me, their punishment will be my responsibility while you go find this friend of yours.”

A dozen men were led into the room. They looked guilty already and seeing the droid that had escaped them before sealed their fate. The leader tried to turn back, but Oland’s guards kept them in place. R4 tried to attack the men immediately, but Chewie held him back and gently stroked the droid to keep him calm.

“Do you boys have something you want to tell me?”

“Nothing comes to mind. Why?” The leader kept glancing over to R4 and shifting.

“Fess up, Rinkol. You kidnapped a Mandalorian?”

“Uh… Would you call it kidnapping?”

“What were you thinking?! All of you! I’ve been very clear about what I tolerate and I’ve been forgiving with you before.”

“It wasn’t my idea boss!”

“Korvak you ninny! We all agreed!”

The men started arguing and fighting. Oland let it go on for a minute as she gave Rey a look that said ‘you see what I have to deal with?’ before shouting for quiet. The room fell silent as the men settled and looked to their boss.

“I’ll deal with you insolent morons later. For now you’re going to tell our friends here exactly who you sold the Mandalorian to and where.”

“We stopped on Serenno and sold her to a couple of Stormtroopers, alright? We didn’t think anything of it. It was easy money. Sort of.”

Finn glanced to Oland, and she nodded for him to speak up. “She give you trouble?”

“Wouldn’t shut up the whole time. If everyone is like that rambling bucket head, you don’t have to worry about us getting into the slaving business.” The complaint came out of Rinkol’s mouth before he could have the thought to feel sheepish or sound remorseful.

Poe nearly lunged at him. Finn and Rey jumped forward to hold R4 so Chewie could grab the pilot and keep him back. Oland waved her hand and the men were seized by the guards and led out of the room. The only one she kept there was Korvak. The nervous Twi’lek was fidgeting with his hands and watching Poe try to escape the grip of the Wookie to kill him.

“Korvak. I’m going to ask you this one time and if you do nothing, your punishment will be as harsh as the one I give your crewmates.” He looked up to Oland and tried to still his hands. “Do you have any idea where the Stromtroopers who bought the Mandalorian took her?”

“No, boss. We made the exchange at night in a back alley. If I saw the troopers again, maybe I could pick them out.”

“Did you hear them call each other anything? A number? Or did they mention a ship they would be on?” Finn stepped forward when Rey nodded to assure him she had a strong hand on R4.

“Maybe. It’s a little fuzzy I guess.”

Oland gave him a glare, as if she didn’t believe him.

“I have an idea.” Rey looked to Oland for permission, then approached Korvak. “I can look into your mind and find the memory. If we can get a ship name or even a call number for the troopers, we might be able to find her.”

“Will it hurt?” Korvak started fidgeting again.

“Not if you let it happen. The pain comes in resisting.”

At Rey’s request, Oland and the Rebels left the room and Korvak sat across from her on the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. Then Rey did the same and started reaching into his mind. It was a mess at first, everything all jumbled up. But she persisted, sorting through everything and finally coming across a night lit by torches and full of quietly arguing vendors. A figure stood between him and another member of the crew. Her teal painted armor was unmistakable.

“So, you come here often?”

“Will you just shut up already?” Korvak looked over to Rinkol. “How long is this gonna take?”

“They’ll be here. If you want her to shut up, you should have gagged her already.”

“Careful. I bite.” Your modulated voice sounded so different from what Rey had heard from you before.

In the firelight, your helmet swiveled to point at Korvak. Even without any glimpse of your face, it was obvious you were glaring at him, nearly daring him to try messing with your helmet to gag you.

“Why didn’t we just strip the armor and sell that to someone else?”

“Because she was hard enough to catch as it was. If you want to try getting it off of her, be my guest.”

None of the men looked willing to attempt that. Rey had the feeling that you’d been threatening the men all day and had managed to garner a decent amount of fear. A few moments later, six stormtroopers approached with a case full of credits.

“This her?”

“Yep. We ought to charge more for all the trouble she’s caused us.”

“You’ll take what we give you and nothing more. GN-3419, GN-3421 take her. Let’s move out.” The two troopers took hold of your arms as commanded.

Korvak seemed to feel the slightest bit guilty for selling you to the First Order. Then you opened your mouth again.

“Well boys, I’d like to say it was a pleasure, but…”

And with that last snarky remark, you disappeared into the shadows with your new captors. The men around Korvak opened the case of credits and ogled over them before closing it again and moving out.

Rey sat back for a moment to focus on her surroundings again. Korvak was still kneeling in front of her, now holding his head tightly. His breathing slowly evened out and he looked up at her slowly.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No. I’ve just never felt anything like that before. I tried to fight it for a moment, but it hurt, so I stopped.”

“Thank you for letting me see, Korvak. I’ll make sure Oland knows you helped.”

Within ten minutes, the whole group was back on the Millenium Falcon heading for base. Finn recognized the numbers of the stormtroopers and had a decent guess of where they’d taken you, but it would require more planning and preparation than could be done on board. Poe had to take a seat with BB-8 while Rey helped Chewie fly. He was practically shaking with rage at the knowledge of what had happened to you and fear at what could still happen before he could reach you.

Tag list: @gooddaykate-reads @ghostcorazon @nopesies @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist

Next Chapter

[starwarsimagines1105]

Proposal HS

Requested by Anon: Can you write a Han Solo x Reader oneshot, where he tries to propose to Reader but he always gets interrupted or one of them gets called away... when he finally decides to propose to the Reader during their shootout with the Droids?

A/N: Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. Here’s my gift to you. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, well, here’s a late Hanukkah gift/an early Kwanzaa gift. 

Warning: Cursing

~~

You walked down the hallways of the new Rebel base on Hoth. You were freezing all the time and just miserable. Fortunately for you, your boyfriend was usually there to keep you warm, but he had been acting weird around you. Whenever you got close, he’d immediately end conversations with Chewie or Luke. You also noticed that Luke and Chewie were giving you weird looks that you couldn’t decipher. And on top of that weirdness, you were living on a rebel base, so there wasn’t exactly much time to cuddle. 

As you turned a corner, your boyfriend appeared. “Hey, Y/N!” he said brightly. He was never this happy. ‘What’s wrong with him?’ you asked yourself. “Can you come with me?” he asked, placing a hand on your back while leading you away from your intended destination. 

“If it’s quick. I have to check on Luke,” you said. 

“Oh trust me, after this, you’re not going to want to do any work,” Han said cheekily. 

You gave him a quizzical look. “What does tha-” you were interrupted by another medic. 

“Y/N! Leia is requesting an update on Luke,” he shouted urgently. 

“I’ll be right there!” you called. “I have to…” you said, trailing off. 

“I know, it’s okay. Go, I’ll tell you later,” Han gave in. 

“Thank you,” you smiled, standing on your toes to peck his cheek. 

Han sighed, watching you go. Stuffing his hand in his pocket, he felt the ring he had managed to get for you. For once in his life he didn’t steal it or win it in a gamble. He actually bought a ring for you. Dejected, he made his way to the hangars where Chewie was working on the Falcon. “Did you chicken out?” Chewie asked. 

“No,” Han said, irritated, “she got called in to help Luke.” 

“You’re never going to propose to her,” Chewie teased. 

“Shut up, yes I am. I just need the right timing.” 

-

The next time you were actually with Han was when you were desperately trying to escape the Imperial Fleet, which was on your tail after they found your base. You escaped through an asteroid field; you clutching onto the seat the entire time, willing Han not to crash. Now you were at Lightspeed and all was calm. You were in your and Han’s quarters when he entered. “Can I come in?” he asked, standing at the door. 

“Well, obviously,” you joked. He sat down next to you on the bed. You turned to kiss him sweetly. When you did pull away you said, “I’m really glad you didn’t crash us into a rock.” 

Han laughed, “Well, I am the best,” he reasoned, pulling you into yet another kiss. “Look, I wanted to tell you something, er-” he stuttered, “I guess ask you something.” You turned your body to fully look at him, a little concerned. “Will,” he began, but he was cut off by the shudder of the ship. 

“What the hell was that?” you asked when there was a lull in the shaking, but it soon picked up again. 

“That damn hyperdrive,” Han cursed. “Wait here, I’ll fix it,” he kissed your forehead once again before making his way out of the room. You waited for forever, holding onto the bed bolted to the wall for dear life. 

-

After finally fixing the hyperdrive with the help of an old friend, Han was exhausted. The stress of the ship’s condition was big enough, but on top of that he was trying to propose to the love of his life and he was deathly afraid that he’d be rejected. He threw off his vest to the chair next to him and flopped down at the new rebel base. When the wookie made its way in, he picked up the vest to throw off the chair until he felt the ring inside. “You still haven’t proposed?” Chewie growled at his friend. 

“There hasn’t exactly been a good time!” Han defended. “First she had to go help Luke and Leia, and then the ship started losing its mind because of you!” Han accused. 

“Why is it my fault? You’re the one who wanted me to work on the ship!” Chewie rebutted. 

This went on for a while, only to be interrupted by you, bursting through the, thankfully for Han, sealed door. “I don’t care what the hell you’re arguing about, but we’re being attacked by stormtroopers!” you yelled before tossing a blaster to your boyfriend. 

Before you could run back out of the room, Han got a hold of your waist. He wrapped his arm around you and then leaned in for a passionate kiss. He pulled away slightly, his nose brushing yours. “God, you’re so hot like this,” he smirked. 

You blushed slightly until Han pushed his lips back onto yours. Chewie’s noise of disgust soon interrupted your kiss. He hadn’t been able to leave the room as you and Han were blocking the doorway. You regained your senses, pulling away with a blush before turning to run out of the base to where the fighting was happening. Han made his way outside with you, each of you covering and protecting one another. 

All was going well until you and Han got pinned down by a group of Stormtroopers firing. “Damnit, we’re trapped,” you cursed, pressing your back to the fallen log that was protecting you and Han. 

“Fuck it,” Han cursed under his breath. “Y/N, we might not get out of this alive, so I’ll ask right now. You know how I’ve been acting weird lately and keep saying that I have something to ask you?” You nodded before he continued. “Well, it’s kind of big, so I’ll just say it. Y/N, I love you so much and I want to know that you’ll always be with me. So, Y/N M/N L/N, will you marry me?” 

You were shocked and astounded. With all the awkwardness you had assumed he was trying to break up with you but couldn’t figure out how to. “Yes. I love you Han, yes!” you said excitedly. 

Han’s face broke out into a smile and from his sitting position, he wrapped his arms around you, tugging you into his lap. His lips pressed themselves against yours. You allowed yourself to enjoy the kiss, thinking it would be your final moment alive when you heard Luke’s voice. “Get down!” 

You didn’t know exactly what was happening, but fortunately Han knew because he tugged you to the ground. He rolled the both of you over so his body was shielding you from the hail of lasers firing at each side. Finally, the firing stopped coming from the Stormtrooper side, all of them either lying dead or fleeing. 

Once it was safe to get up, you pushed Han off of you, jumping over the log to join the rebels who were chasing the soldiers. Chewie approached Han. “Unbelievable, we get engaged and then she runs off,” Han whines. 

“Maybe she’s running away from you,” Chewie joked. 

“Shut up,” Han hit his friend’s arm. 

-

When you did finally return to base, Han all too eagerly swept you in his arms. “I was beginning to think you just didn’t want to marry me, so you left,” he half-joked. 

“Never,” you promised. 

“I have something for you,” he said, pulling away. He reached into the pocket of his vest, pulling out a silver ring, a delicate diamond placed on it. “It’s not much but-” 

“I love it,” you cut him off. He placed it on your finger, once again wrapping both arms around your waist and kissing you. As you kissed your fiancé, a thought occurred. Pulling your lips away, you asked, “You didn’t steal this from some poor woman, did you?”

“No, I bought it. You’re worth much more than some stolen piece of jewelry,” he assured you. You smiled, once again returning your lips to his. You both smiled into the kiss, enjoying the bliss of your love. 

~~

Taglist

@algentforthewin @fanartcollectorwriter @randomfangirl7 @amberash05 @elizzysnow13 @vikingqueen28 @rhiannon-russo @mackycat11

[soccialcreature]

Funniest fucking lines in all of Star Wars

“I saw a... security hologram of him... killing younglings” (ik this doesnt seem funny at first but just the fact that he just STRAIGHT UP is like “he been murdering children” like george lucas u cudve just had him kill like.... adult jedi. but no. he went straight for killing kids)

“What about the droid attack on the wookies?” (do i need to explain? i love how ridiculous this line is. its so dumb. it has nothing to do w the convo that the council is having and ki adi mundi just brings it up out of fucking no where)

“How many other LIES have I been TOLD BY THE COUNCIL?” (lmao like hes so angy. and for what?)

“Hold on. This whole operation was your idea” (just spawned like. the funniest fucking memes)

“I was cast aside. I was forgotten.” (rly cool in the ep but the memes r too funny. like “me to the grocery store cashier when he asks me to pay but my mom had to go grab something” or “me when i stop to tie my shoes and my friends keep walking”. like. comedy gold)

“You fool! I was trained in your Jedi Arts by Count Dooku!” (anything grevious says is so good)

Literally any lego star wars line

“I don’t want your help; i want my lamp back” (so a lot of ppl dont kno this one but its luke to yoda in empire and i just think thats. thats great. ykno? so good. great response to seeing yoda)

“I’m trash. Just not approved trash” (literally cannot believe this is a real like. cal kestis u king)

“Study the bottem of my boot!” (i talk about this one a lot but it HAD to b on this list)

“That sounds like terrorism, Anakin” (FAV)

“So what I told you is true, from a certain point of view” (god fuck what a fucking loser obi-wan is)

thank u for reading

[rainydaydream-gal18]

Cal Kestis x Reader: Continued

(Author's Note: Oh wow, so I finally have a fic to publish! It's been a while since I've posted any Cal Kestis content. I hope my Star Wars crew enjoys it! I am currently working on a Hobbit fanfic as well, so stay tuned. Again, thank you for your patience and support. I've had some serious writer's block, and I'm glad to finally have something for you guys. Apologies, I need to fix the spacing and indentation since I am publishing on my phone right now. But for now, enjoy!)

    The forests of Kashyyk were dense, and the air was humid.  It was a great space for training, which is why you and your mentor-slash-boyfriend Cal Kestis were there.  Plus, he had made friends with the Wookies on his journey and liked to check up on them every now and then.  

   Focusing your energy, you launched yourself off a boulder towards the platform above.  You made the landing with ease, shooting your companion a pointed look.  Your skills were certainly improving.  Training more with Cal was paying off.

    Your victory was short-lived, though.  Moments after your feet met the platform, they slipped on the wet surface and caused you to stumble backwards.  You didn’t fall very far before a strong hand grasped yours, pulling you the rest of the way up until you were face-to-broad-chest with Cal.

    “Hey,” you said.

    He chuckled.  “Hey.”  

    BD-1, who had previously been resting on his shoulder, jumped off and gave a few amused beeps.

    You smiled at the droid before meeting Cal’s gaze again.“Thank you for that.  I wasn’t really looking to fall on my butt today.”

    He shook his head and took a step back.  “If you were focusing more instead of bragging  with your eyes….”

    “Oh, please.”  He was right, of course, but you waved his comment off.  Finally, you sighed and conceded, “alright, I’ll try and be more focused and less braggy.”

    At that, he chuckled again and kissed you on the forehead.  It was the strangest thing.  One moment, he was pulling away, and in the next moment you were locking lips.  It was gentle with passionate undertones.  His arms wrapped around you, and your hands rested on his shoulders.

    The sound of Wookie speech interrupted your moment.  You and Cal broke away abruptly and put a little distance between you.  The small patrol of Wookies weren’t fooled, though, and they eyed you both slyly.  One let out a smug phrase in their language, and you felt your cheeks grow warm.

    BD-1 let out beeps of laughter and jumped back up onto Cal’s shoulder.  He seemed to be blushing too, which was a rare but cute sight.

    “Hello there,” Cal greeted the patrol with the wave of his hand, recovering from the moment.

    The Wookies greeted him in response, and as they conversed, you took in the world around you.  It was very beautiful there.  Such a shame that the Imps were trying to take over and enslave the brave people who lived there.  You were careful not to allow bitterness and hate take hold, but it definitely created some unsettling feelings in you.  It is difficult to feel compassion and care for something and not get upset when it’s threatened.  However,  is it possible that your compassion could extend to all?  Of course you were opposed to what the Empire was doing, but perhaps there was room for compassion towards the individuals brought up in the regime, those who were sucked in out of fear or lack of purpose. How dark it must be for them.  There may be a way to reach them...

    Your train of thought was interrupted by Cal’s beckoning gesture.  You had been so deep in thought, not even realizing that you were beginning to wander.  You strided back towards the platform and leaped up to join the others, making sure to focus and not slip off this time.

    “The Wookies say they’re very happy to be working with us.  They’ve invited us back for a meal.”

    “Oh, that’s great,” you replied, smiling.  As exciting as it would be to dine with another culture, a part of you was nervous.  You weren’t exactly fluent in Wookie, nor were you familiar with their customs.

    As if sensing your feelings, which he probably did, Cal offered a soft smile.  “I’ve been catching up on my language skills, so don’t worry.  I can translate, and it’ll be a learning experience for us both.”

    You nodded, feeling more at ease.  Cal explained to the Wookies that he and you needed to check in with the rest of the Mantis crew because apparently they were invited as well.  You’d return to that spot in the forest shortly.

    As you parted ways with your allies for a short while, you sensed something was off.  There was a particularly dark feeling that was nagging you under the surface.

    “You feel that?” Cal asked, suddenly growing tense.

    “Yes,” you nodded.

    Suddenly a blast came out from nowhere, and you quickly activated your lightsaber to deflect it.  Cal activated his as well and got into a defensive stance, holding the blade close.

    A small squad of Imperial Troopers were nearby, you could feel it.  They were hidden away as they fired at you and your companion.

   Despite your ability to deflect these blasts, you were getting tired of them remaining safe while you and Cal were sitting ducks. You wanted this fight to end quickly.  So you paused your deflecting, drawing in a calm breath. You focused and pulled the opponents from their hiding places in the brush. They all came flying into the clearing at once, shouting. You held them in place for a moment. 

    When you opened your eyes, Cal was gazing at you with lips parted in amazement. You glanced around and realized the troopers had been knocked off their feet and were still recovering.

    You were just as surprised by your move as he was. With lightsaber in hand, you approached the closest trooper. The glowing blade hummed as you gave it a spin in your hand and aimed it at him.

   "Please, no!" The trooper begged. 

   "You are endangering these people. They've been through enough, don't you think?" You questioned, tone sharp.

   Cal grew uneasy beside you, but didn't intervene. He must have sensed that you meant this individual no harm.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the trooper continued.

  "We are all capable of darkness. So I want you to remember this moment the next time you are faced with a decision; the next time the Empire demands that you take a life or try to enslave it." Your tone grew softer as you knelt down. "I will keep fighting you if you choose to keep attacking, but I'm giving you the chance to walk away. Remember this moment, and think about what you'd want if you were in their place." 

   At that, you rose to your feet. Other troopers had gotten back on their feet as well and begun aiming blasters at you. The trooper in front of you held up his gloved hand as a sign for them to halt. 

  "We will say that the jedi were too strong and that we had to retreat," he informed them.

   One tried to protest. "But, sir-" 

   "Let's go," he insisted. "We don't belong here."

   And they left. They hurried away into the forest, and you turned to Cal. "We're fighters," you said, "but we're also supposed to value mercy and peace."

   "A very important lesson," he agreed. "I struggled with it for some time after order 66. But moving on doesn't mean I have to be okay with what happened. Perhaps, I can bring about more change with meaningful words and action rather than just a lightsaber, like what you just did."

    "Maybe it changed something for the better, maybe not." You shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."

    "Let's get back to the Mantis. We need to fill them in on everything and make it to dinner with the Wookies on time."

    "I really worked up an appetite there," you agreed. "Let's go."  He leaned in and planted a kiss on your lips.  "What was that for?"

   "Oh, no reason. You're just beautiful, is all."

   You rolled your eyes, smiling. 

[mightydragoon]

Prince Luke fanfic Recs

@silvereddaye you know the drill

For all your Prince Luke Skywalker/ Amidala/Organa etc needs.  Also ft a lot of Leia Skywalker along with that. 

1. The Prince and the Bodyguard  Toomanyfandoms99

Bail is unsure why he’s being told this, but he is intrigued. “Where is the boy now?”

“Here,” Mon smiles, “on this base, being cared for by Shara Bey and Kes Dameron.”

Bail nods upon recognizing the names. Shara is their best pilot, and Kes is their best combat leader.

“However,” Mon states, “they cannot care for the boy full-time. There is something...unique about him. Something you are more equipped to handle.”

Bail narrows his eyes. “What?”

“Ezra Bridger is Force-sensitive,” Mon reveals.

Bail leans back in his chair and blinks once. “I see…”

“If your son is anything like his true parents,” Mon says, “he will soon require guidance. This boy also requires that guidance.”

“So,” Bail says, “you want me to shield them both from the Empire. Get them a...teacher.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22633573/chapters/54092221

2.First Impressions   Idhren15

Mara Jade attended the rich party on Coruscant for one purpose: to kidnap the Alderaan heir, Prince Luke Organa.

She didn't expect any of these complications.

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/22740592

3. Crowned Usurper  planningconquest

Princess Leia managed to capture the elusive rebel Jedi. She finds someone she never expected.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663147/chapters/41657678

4.  The kidnappings of a Sith Lord  maedre13

How a certain Sith Lord may or may not kidnap his rebel son. One-shots. Strongly inspired by sparklight´s “Where Our Intrepid Hero Doesn´t Get Away”.

Current chapter: In which the prince of the Sith gets a new bodyguard (3/3)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606992/chapters/23453241

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606992/chapters/52681459 (Part 1)

(Note* Fic is episodic often not connecting, sometimes is, so there is a good variety of stories, some involving Prince Luke others not) 

5. Sparks  SpellCleaver

Vader had every intention of ignoring that petty—if notorious—burglar on Coruscant, until evidence suggested that this "Angel" had Rebel ties.

Meanwhile, Luke never expected his father to actively hunt him down, and he doesn't like it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20031373/chapters/47433331

6. No Distance Far Enough   KaelinaLovesLomaris

Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker is kidnapped by the Rebellion. His father is not happy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17549516

7. Hostage  Slx99

AU in which Luke grows up as the Prince of Alderaan and Bail and Breha Organa’s son. When Luke is sixteen Bail becomes too outspoken against the Emperor, who sends Lord Vader to take the young prince as a hostage and cow his father into submission. Held captive aboard Vader’s ship, Luke is faced with the unpleasant reality of being the pawn in this power play under his captor’s watchful eyes; until they both realize a thing or two…

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9707774/chapters/21902741

8. Hostage Interludes  Slx99

Interlude pieces of the ‘Hostage’ universe from my ongoing long-fic that don't fit into the main story, but which I still wanted to share. Some will be more fun, others more serious. They have no influence on the main story.

Basic premise of the main story: Luke grew up with Bail and Breha Organa as the Prince of Alderaan. When Bail becomes too outspoken against Palpatine he orders Vader to take the young prince as a Hostage. Luke now lives aboard the Executor. He finds out rather soon that Vader is his father and the story goes from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15148811/chapters/35129507

9.  Hostage

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1063433

10. Runaway   SilverDaye

Imperial Prince Luke runs away from home to escape his overprotective father Emperor Vader. Jumping from planet to planet he finds himself creditless on Tatooine. While working for more money to leave the planet, Luke meets an old man named Ben Kenobi. But Luke knows he can't stay in one place for long for surely his father is hunting him down.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630196/chapters/33813027

11.A Song of Dragon's Fire & Slaves Blood   Fan0fFIM17

A Slave is finally truly made Free.

Lost in a strange primitive Land, he takes advantage of his circumstances to rise to the position of King. A Slave, a Jedi Knight, a Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Father, Son, all this and more. Read as he Fights for the Iron-Throne!

Winter Is Coming!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15400920/chapters/35743227

12. My sister has it    jedileia (cptnwintersoldier)

"You want me to fight my dad? Kill him? How could you think I would be capable on any of that, after what I just heard? Have I been training just so I could kill my father? Is that what this Jedi training was about? If so then i deeply regret the evening I went to look for parts for my speeder and ended up at Obi-Wan's yard."

Leia, a farm girl from Tatoiine, learns that she is force sensitive and the daughter of the evil Darth Vader, once known as Anakin Skywalker. She begins her Jedi training, meets her twin brother Luke Organa and confronts his father.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6537682/chapters/14957098

13. what is lost in the darkness.....hanorganaas

Starkiller is destroyed, the great Jedi Hero who saved the Galaxy Leia Skywalker Solo and her husband Han are presumed dead, and Luke mourns. But he isn't alone in his grief

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7668604

14. our eyes; they were pointed at the sky (looking for answers) pieandsouffle

The last few weeks have been a nightmare: Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are dead and gone, the farm is skeletal and dead, she found out her father was a Jedi, brutally murdered by a traitorous friend, and now she's going to die because Han Solo is an incompetent nerf-herder who is apparently completely incapable of opening a krething door.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11159772/chapters/24904917

15.  Possibilities of If May Be - Valerie_Vancollie

Co-authored by Selinthia Avenchesca.

What if two different Star Wars realities started to merge?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12946578

16.  Skywalker Swap -  stitchy

https://archiveofourown.org/series/930435

(Note Series is a mixture of a fancomic and a fanfic and it is glorious) 

17. There Is Another  stitchy

A comicbook retelling of Episode IV in the spirit of the old Star Wars Infinities!

Luke and Leia are placed in opposite homes after the fall of the Republic. Young Leia Skywalker is called to adventure when she meets two droids that belong to the strange witch, Old Kah.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10597686/chapters/23428284

(Note* Seriously this comic retelling is fantastic ) 

18 Here Among The Clouds   stitchy

In a universe where Leia Skywalker joins the Rebel Alliance of her long lost brother Prince Luke Organa, the Millenium Falcon and her crew arrive to Cloud City with a fully functioning hyperdrive. In the weeks following the Battle of Hoth, Lando Calrissian becomes entangled in their their quest to defeat the evil Empire. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13507038

19. A Farm girl, a Twink, and an Uber driver-  Daniellecluck

This is literally just a collection of drabbles of a New Hope rescue scene various original trilogy scenes but gayer and Luke and Leia swapped places.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13345347/chapters/30553272

20. The Adventures of Leia Skywalker, Episode One: The New Hope   MaraWinchester

Nineteen-year-old Leia Skywalker lives with her Aunt and Uncle on the remote desert planet Tatooine, where there’s something ready to kill you behind every corner. Three moons make the nights bitterly cold, and the two suns makes the days unbearably hot. When a droid bought by her uncle contains a message by a prince, asking for help from a legendary Jedi Knight, Leia senses her ticket off world. Little does she know that her journey will take her right and center to a galaxy torn apart by war, involve smugglers of ill repute, and possibly shed more information on her father that she could possibly imagine...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122483/chapters/18619693

21.  Another Kind of Hope  Skyrissian (ErinacchiLove)

In a period of a galactic civil war, the brave Rebel Alliance has won their first victory against the Galactic Empire and stolen the plans of the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star.

When the starship of Prince Luke Organa, who is transporting the plans, falls under the Empire's attack, the future of the galaxy depends on two droids carrying the secret plans and their new owner, a farm girl named Leia Skywalker.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705637

22 The Princess, the Smuggler and the Sith Lord's Son  Sassaphrass

Han Solo was trying to rescue her Royal Annoyingness from the Death Star when he runs smack into Vader's kid. Naturally he does the logical thing and takes him hostage. This is where the story starts. OR

Luke just wanted to get some snacks when he ran into a Wookie, a Princess and a Space Pirate. The day's pretty much downhill from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5751661/chapters/13252696

23. At Least the War is Over  Sassaphrass

The only thing Luke and Leia have in common are those nine months they spent in the womb and that time they brought down the Empire.

It's hard to build a new family when the last one got blown to smithereens with the entire planet, but Leia's never thought anything worthwhile would be easy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663834

24. His Imperial Highness Luke Amidala -  Sassaphrass 

https://archiveofourown.org/series/744999

25.  Chiaroscuro  SpellCleaver

A series of oneshots focusing on Luke and Vader's relationship, with other characters occasionally thrown into the mix. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16363772/chapters/38293637

26. Prince Luke Organa: A New Hope   -lightningbisexual

An AU where Leia was sent to Tatooine with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru and Luke was sent to Alderaan as the prince. It begins from where Luke is captured by the Empire in A New Hope. I follow more his story than Leia's because we all know she's going to be a badass on her own and I really want to see Luke grow up and learn to face his fears.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19024390/chapters/45181531

(Note* see sequel below Leia centric) 

27.  Leia Skywalker: The Empire Strikes Back  lightningbisexual

A continuation of my twin swap fic. Leia Skywalker is being sought by the Dark Side and the Light, who both hope to use her power for their own agendas. However, her ferocity and anger make it difficult for her to train as a Jedi. Han Solo is also developing feelings for Prince Luke Organa and has no goddamn clue how to deal with it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533487/chapters/48737117

28. Between the Light and Shadows: Luke & Vader One-Shots  SilverDaye

One-shot collection focused on Luke and Vader. All AU.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15128117/chapters/48583628

29. How the Other Half Lives -aradian_nights

(Note* How can I talk about Prince Luke fics without mentioning them cause WOW. 10/10.  I  highly recommend even if you aren’t a fan of the Prince Luke trope cause wow. It is something.  Warning: Angst . )

https://archiveofourown.org/series/609151. 

Trial and Error - https://archiveofourown.org/works/8417668

Layers of Dust  -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/8900971

For Love of a Queen - https://archiveofourown.org/works/9342596/chapters/21167591

Deep Doubt-  https://archiveofourown.org/works/10361913

Vision Void-  https://archiveofourown.org/works/10628475/chapters/23511120

Fate Defied- https://archiveofourown.org/works/10947714

When Destinies Split -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/11017986/chapters/24552093

Risk and Chance - https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506092/chapters/25817655

A Shout in the  Dark -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/11699232/chapters/26341971

Walking the Line Between - https://archiveofourown.org/works/13172817/chapters/30129249

AO3 Tag

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Prince%20Luke/works