maybe this will get us to talk about Force kids

[for_everyone]

When the girl returned, it was with a newly constructed lightsaber.It took the place of the shattered one she had carried before, that rumor had it had once belonged to Anakin Skywalker. Those pieces she had presented to Leia Organa – and what had been done with them, the General had kept to herself. Many had nudged Hera to share what she knew of it, as close as she was to Leia, but Hera could truthfully say she had no idea. Though of course, she also hadn't asked.

Rey's return had been greeted with great excitement from those on base – the curious troops had poured out into the landing fields, only giving way for her friends to greet her. She had been quiet at first, but after a few hours, with enough coaxing, she did share her new lightsaber - one thing from her secret travels to learn more about the old secrets of the Force, and the Jedi Order. That new saber turned out to be two bright blue blades that glided smoothly through the air as she swung it, as she had once her old staff, that was now perhaps just a relic of her old life as a scavenger.

What else she learned while she was gone, Rey kept to herself, or at least didn't share with many. Maybe with the General. Maybe with her close friends.

And when others asked Hera about this – that's when she had to lie. To an extent.

Her presence lifts the spirits of everyone on base. Though the Resistance has rebuilt, their numbers spreading across the Galaxy, the First Order has responded with the viciousness of a cornered sleeth, forcing the Resistance into battle by brutalizing civilians, repaying any strike against them by slaughtering whomever was unlucky enough to fall within their reach. What they needed wasn't just a fighting force, even with the progress they'd made to build one.

They had to face the heart of the First Order, the infamous Kylo Ren. Rey gave them hope, or so it was said.

Hope is for the dead. That's what her father had said. For the living, there's work.

Hera can see her in the far distance – Rey has retreated to a deep, rocky valley a few kliks away from the base. The wind is whipping harshly, the sky set with the rust red clouds that on this world preceded a lightning storm. Maybe she still has a few hours, maybe she doesn't mind. What Hera can really see, what she knows she can see, is the flash of her sabers as they spin, so fast, nothing but a tiny circle of spinning blue light.

And even so far, in her head, Hera can hear the slices of the blades through the air, the practiced rhythm of Rey's breath, the quick yet steady, soft steps, as though the ground were lifting up to meet her feet.

Comments

[grandadmiralartcritic]

"Spread throughout the Ascendancy? No doubt. And yet nothing has yet come of it. I wonder . . . "

How to express this?

"I wonder, at times, how it might be done. And yet that is a fight for another time. Perhaps even for other people."

[for_everyone]

"Not for you?" she asks.

[grandadmiralartcritic]

He chuckles, still with that dry twist to it.

"And here we were only just discussing our own lack of control over who might survive."

[for_everyone]

Hera shakes her head.

"Think of it as a hypothetical."

[grandadmiralartcritic]

"Ah," Thrawn says, as if only now just understanding. "In that case . . . "

He clasps his hands loosely behind his back, pondering potential strategies.

"In that case I should think a base camp, of sorts, at the very edges of the Unknown Regions -- or rather, just outside, to start -- might be a solid opening. Draw the rebels out, obtain materials and supplies where navigation is a good deal simpler . . . while also building the resources to move such items around inside the Unknown Regions with relative impunity."

[for_everyone]

Hera listens, tilting her head again slightly as she does.

"Plenty of decent worlds for it," she murmurs. "Batuu, Thune..."

[grandadmiralartcritic]

And there it is again, appearing right in the opening he left for it, all unthinking.

"Ah, yes. Batuu. It does seem to be ripe for such actions, and certainly the Black Spire is a useful place for making contacts. Troublesome, too, but, that is how it goes."

[for_everyone]

Hera simply nods.

"But it's hard to fight two wars at once."

[grandadmiralartcritic]

"And I think, at this time, it might also be considered unnecessary. We have no assurance of winning, and thus nothing to lure any Chiss elements to our banners."

Though perhaps that is not anything like what Hera is thinking. Thrawn has often mistaken her intent before.

[for_everyone]

"We don't," she agrees.

And before she can speak again, there's a bright flash, white light that fills her vision for an instant, and is just as quickly gone.

She doesn't flinch. "We should get inside."

[grandadmiralartcritic]

"Yes," Thrawn agrees, turning back toward the base within a few moments.

"We should. Though ought we to fetch the girl?"

Rey, that is.

[for_everyone]

She shakes her head, also turning back.

"I'm sure she can take care of herself."

[grandadmiralartcritic]

"I do not doubt it," Thrawn says, still hesitating a fraction.

"Though I thought one of the larger points of this Resistance -- and the Rebellion before it -- is that she shouldn't entirely have to."

[for_everyone]

Her steps slow, and she takes a breath.

Then, she reaches to her belt, unclipping her comm. "I'll call Commander Dameron."

[grandadmiralartcritic]

"Thank you," he says.

And if his voice is a fraction softer than it usually is, perhaps that is only another side-effect of the oncoming storm.