“I understand completely. Rest assured, I do not expect your army to leave empty handed. House Organa will provide some sort of reward for Mand’alor’s assistance. I’m sure she won’t be too hard to convince to withdraw now that the fighting is done. She’s known from the beginning this wasn’t truly an invasion.”



“So the rumor goes. This was all just a big distraction, orchestrated by her lover and his family. I can’t say the warriors will be happy, but they will obey if Mand’alor tells them to leave.”



“Glad to hear it. I want this transition of power to go as smoothly as possible.” I look to Gavin. “You and your Revolution will be rewarded as well. I’m sure we can figure something out...”



“Keep your rewards. The Revolution is not on your payroll. We fought for our own freedom, and that includes from whoever the next Republic leader is.” I step away. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to prepare to address my people.” I turn and walk away.

Nodding to my Hunters, two of them go with Gavin while I remain with Lord Organa. "I imagine you had more exciting battles against the last bastions of Empire Loyal Thules than here. I had hoped we'd fight harder."

I chuckle lightly. “Perhaps it’s best we did not fight. Alderaan’s military is strong, but we are nowhere near as strong as the legendary Mandalorians, especially when they are united under a Mand’alor.”



“Yeah, your right. We probably would have massacred you all.” Nor elbows me in the ribs. “Ouch! Well, it’s true. Lydia Vizsla would have blown them out of space before they could even land a shuttle had Mand’alor not called her off.”



“For Mand’alor intervention, I am very thankful.” I look at Temari. “I wonder, is there a protocol for getting in touch with her? I want to respect your people’s traditions as much as possible, and avoid ruffling feathers by breaking the chain of command.”

"Normally, I would offer to take you to her myself, but last I heard, she was en route to our command centre to meet with Jerus Je'and and the rest of his family. I...don't imagine the upcoming exchange will be enjoyable. In the meantime, I think it only fair to bring you up to speed on some of the droid model's the Republic came up with besides the Sith Hunter Mk 1."

“Oh yes. I’ve heard of these advanced droids, though I have only ever seen the MK 1 in a demonstration Chancellor Sucal put on for the Senate. I am interest, and a bit terrified, to see how the model has advanced since my departure.”

"I think you may find yourself more terrified by the time we're finished. Jorg Sucal had quite the mind for slaughter when he put himself to the task."

[END SCENE]

Back at the command center, I sit in the medical bay. Korre and her son have been moved to a proper hotel room to rest. The new star attraction of the med bay is Salazar, who looks even worse in the light. Satele is also being treated, though she requires much less attention (or so she claims). I work my hands over Salazar's body, trying to use the Force to repair his injuries. But... it's slow going. "He should be dead. I don't know how, but he's still breathing despite everything he's been through."



"It's the suit, I think. Sith Alchemy, for sure. I could feel it the moment you brought him in. But how it works? I have no idea. I'll need time to study it."



"Well, you're the expert." I continue to weave the Force into him, but I get the feeling the armor is somehow resisting me. I'd take it off, but I'm afraid that would just kill him faster. I shake my head in exasperation. "Where is Cosen? She wasn't here when we got back. Did anyone see where she wondered off to?"

"She muttered something about calling her brother before she slipped out. She really shouldn't have, but," I shrug, "it's probably better he hear from her than us."

"Somebody should go find her. You said she recognized the armor before. Perhaps she knows what kind of Sith spells are on it."



"I'll go look for her." I say with a yawn. I was about ready to crash for the night, but duty (and Becca) forced me to stay awake a while longer. I rise from my chair and head out into the hall.



"So," I begin quietly. "Sucal got away... again. And Hayden's gone... again. Is there anything positive that came out of this fight?"



"Of course." I say without looking up. "Sucal is officially out of office. I can already feel his influence over the Republic starting to weaken. People are returning to their senses at last. Once the..." I stop myself, then say a little quieter. "Once the Mandalorians have left, the Senate can hold an election and instate a new Chancellor. One, hopefully, less currupt then the last one." I finally look up at Xan. "I assume you'll be throwing your hat in?"



I turn away from Becca's gaze. "I might."

"Might or will, Naberrie? No more of your games, we're all too exhausted."

I glare at Jerus. "So what if I do? Are you going to try and talk me out of it? I know you all think I'm undeserving, but considering who our last Chancellor was, I'm a saint." I look like I want to say more, but I hold back, taking a deep breath. "Look, I don't want to do this again. I know we aren't ever going to be on the same page, but just... don't jump down my throat just yet. I don't even know if I'm still a Senator. For all I know, Queen Myrcella might have fired me when it got out that I was helping you guys. Then there's a bunch of public relations poodoo I have to deal with..." I wave Jerus off. "Just save it for election season. If you really don't like me that much, don't vote for me. That's democracy." With that, I stick my nose up and take my exit.



I rub my temples. "Just when I thought we were all starting to get along too."

"Get along...yeah, I guess that's one thing you could call it. In any case, we'll worry about her later. How are you feeling? You've been at that for awhile now."

"Yeah, your probably right. If I don't stop and rest soon, I'll be the one on the table. I don't know what'll happen if i stop though. Salazar could die... but then again, I'm not even sure if what I'm doing is helping. I said this armor is resisting my healing attempts, so there's got to be some other way to help. And if he does die... maybe that's for the better. Horrible to say, but I mean... look at him. Satele said the armor is what's keeping him alive, but at what cost?"

"I think only the Twins know the answer to that question by now. Salazar isn't in great shape to tell us himself."

I nod. "Well, when Jakito finds Cosen, we'll see if we can get some answers." With some hesitation, I stop channeling my energy into Salazar. I wasn't doing much good anyways. If what Satele said was true, the armor would sustain him for a while yet. "He's changed. I can feel it. Not just physically, but mentally. This whole Stoneheart act. Murdering all those people. Not to mention your little confrontation at Monument Plaza. If it was Salazar the whole time, why would he try to kill Cosen?"

I sigh, leaning back again and taking a drink of water from my cup nearby. "I've been thinking on that. Becca, he didn't recognize me on the balcony before Satele detonated the energy. Asked who I was. That might not be him anymore."

"Which means he isn't Cosen or Gavin's father anymore, or Vette's husband. And not someone we can trust as an ally, that's for sure." I tap my chin. "I wonder if this is could be something similar to Revan during the last war. When he was killed, part of him became one with the Force, but the darkness inside him refused to rest and he became some sort of... spirit of vengeance. Could Salazar have suffered a similar transformation? All that was good in him has passed, and the only thing that remains is his rage and hate. The part of him that was obsessed with destroying Sucal." After a moment, I shake my head. "I really don't want that to be the case. Satele wouldn't have saved him if he was completely gone."

"I mean, I have a great amount of respect for Satele Shan, but...she's still only human. We're all prone to mistakes."

I sigh, knowing he was right. Though I’d left the Jedi Order many years ago, I still found myself venerating many of my old masters. Satele perhaps most of all. But, like any of us, she had made mistakes. Perhaps one of her greatest was abandoning the Jedi when Sucal began his early campaign of slander against them. When the Republic needed her Council most, she vanished... only to reappear now in order to rescue Salazar Greshh. There had to be a reason for that.

“I’ll speak with her in the morning. After we have all had some time to rest and collect our thoughts. Before that, though, we should probably get our post battle meeting out of the way. Update Zar’kun on our side of things and let him update us.”

Grimacing, I nod and join her on the way out. "Not looking forward to that. Between having to give up Coruscant and HJ's disrespect of Ava's rank, this is going to get very loud."