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Darkness Rising	By : Jarkota Category: +S through Z > Star Wars Rebels Views: 27029 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own "Star Wars" or any characters or settings appearing within. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and I neither seek or make any profit from its writing.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
Star Wars: Rebels
Darkness Rising

Chapter Three:
Truths and Consequences
by
Jarkota
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It was a long, quiet walk back to the Jedi Enclave.
After downloading the data from the obelisk, they placed the rest of Sabine's explosives throughout the ruins, detonating them once they were outside. There was a small sense of satisfaction as the entire hill collapsed, burying the structure and its darkness forever. But other than Sabine giving instructions on how and where to place the charges, there was no conversation among the quartet.
Ezra was livid. He simply could not believe that a Jedi Master, former member of the Council, General of the Grand Army of the Republic and someone both Kanan and Ahsoka looked up to, could be so duplicitous as to send them off to find something, but instruct her Padawan to keep them from getting there. His thoughts were chaotic, jumping from one potential confrontation with Shaak Ti to another, some of them violent. More than once his thoughts, and hand, drifted to his lightsaber.
Maketh and Maris could both sense his anger. Maketh shared in it, especially since it was her vision and Ti was actively trying to keep her from discovering what it meant, but the Zabrak girl was conflicted. On the one hand, Shaak Ti was her Master, the one who was supposed to teach her the ways of the Force and the disciplines of the Jedi. On the other hand, such treachery and deceit was the hallmark of the Sith, not the Jedi, and went against everything she had ever been taught. And behind it all, simmering in the back of her mind, was her hatred. At Shaak Ti for using her like a tool, and at herself for betraying her Master's intentions.
Sabine just wanted to make Shaak Ti take a long walk out of a short airlock. She trailed the group to keep her eyes on Maris for any sign of treachery. It had the added effect of keeping everyone else from seeing how badly her hands were shaking. Just keep calm, she told herself. Get back to the Enclave, get this sorted out...and then everything will be alright.
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Kanan felt Ezra long before he saw the group coming. The emotional storm radiating off of the boy was downright frightening. He glanced over to Shaak Ti and Ahsoka Tano to see if they noticed it, but if they did he couldn't tell. Ahsoka was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, knees drawn up to her chest. Hera sat next to her, trying to provide comfort to no avail, and Zeb and Chopper had wisely decided to make themselves scarce. She had cried for a very long time after she found out that her old Master was the man responsible for the destruction of the Jedi. But she took it much better than Kanan imagined he would have.
For her part, Shaak Ti remained completely impassive. She sat exactly where she had when she told her story, quietly sipping a cup of tea. Kanan was disturbed by how calm she was. It's like she doesn't even care what she's done to Ahsoka...or what's going to happen when Ezra gets here. Whatever happened out there, he's more angry than I've ever felt him. He paused a moment, reaching out with the Force, and shuddered when he found Maketh and what could only be Maris Brood. Both were just as angry as Ezra. Sabine was there, too, very faintly...she was angry, but her mind was more jumbled than any of the others. Whatever's on her mind, it's going to have to wait. There are going to be a lot of questions asked and I don't think anyone's going to like the answers.
Unfortunately, he was right. Ezra wasted no time in marching past everyone else and going straight for Shaak Ti. By itself that would have been concerning. The fact that he drew his lightsaber was alarming.
Kanan moved to block his path, Ahsoka joining a moment later, obviously unsure of what to do. Maris, Sabine, and Maketh stopped just inside the doorway. They were silent, but their hands fell by their weapons. Kanan barely registered the fact that Sabine's hands were shaking.
“Ezra! Stand down!” he yelled.
“No! She has to answer for what she did!”
“Believe me, Ezra, now is not the time!”
“I think it's the perfect time!” He pointed his lightsaber at Ti. “She lied to us – manipulated us! We weren't supposed to find anything out there. She sent Maris along to keep us running in circles.” he glared at the elder Togrutan. “Oh, but we found it anyway. The ruins. The Star Map. And the concentration of Dark Side energy around the entire place. If you didn't want us to go there, then why not just say so? We would have trusted you that it was something we didn't want to find.” His voice became calmer, but no less menacing. “Because it would have been the truth. That place was twisted. Evil. I never want to go back there again. That's all it would have taken. Especially after the kinrath cave. But now...now we'll never trust you.”
Ezra pressed the emitter of his lightsaber against her forehead. “But maybe, just maybe, we won't have to worry about trusting you.”
Kanan reached out and grabbed the boy's hand. “Ezra! That's enough! You have a right to be angry but don't let it consume you! You're probably feeling residual effects from the ruins!”
“What would you know? You weren't there! You don't know about the lies she told, the secrets she's been keeping!”
“We do, Ezra,” Asoka said. She was looking not at him, but at the dark robe and tunic he wore. “Believe me...we know.” The sadness in her eyes spoke to him more than the fear and panic in Kanan's.
Ezra turned back to Shaak Ti. “Don't you have anything to say for yourself?”
“No,” she replied. “Everything you have said is true. I did not want you to find the ruins and feared you would do so even if I warned you away, so I sent you to find them and sabotaged your efforts. My reasons for this were my own - I had information the others needed but you did not, so I conspired to keep you away.” She spared a glance towards Maris. “Though it would appear that my Padawan needs more lessons in discipline before she can be trusted with another mission.”
“There's not going to be another mission,” Ezra growled. “Maris, gather your gear. We've got a spare berth on the Defiant. If you want to come with us, you're more than welcome.”
The Zabrak was stunned. “But...my Master...”
“She lost the right to be called that when she told you to lie to us. If she doesn't trust us, then we have no reason to trust her.” He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and stormed away. “Maketh, Sabine, start the pre-flight sequence. We're getting out of here.”
Hera touched his shoulder as he passed. “Ezra, think this through.”
“I have. And we can't stay here anyway. Someone or something knew enough to manipulate things so that we'd be split up. Maketh almost got killed. And now we find out that there's been a Dark Side temple on this planet all along. I'm taking my ship and getting out of here. You'd be wise to do the same.” Ezra left the common room with Sabine and Maketh on his heels. Maris lingered for a short time, staring across the room at Shaak Ti.
“Do you have something to say, Padawan?”
“I have many things to say....and I'm not sure which ones need to be said.”
“If they need to be said, then say them.”
The girl took a deep breath. “I can't trust you anymore.”
Ti did not react.
“You lied to them. Betrayed the trust of fellow Jedi. You told me to lie, after all these years of telling me to be honest. 'Treachery is the way of the Sith', you said. So I'm not sure what that makes you now....but I will never again believe a word you say.”
“I anticipated this, though not quite so soon.” Ti stood, placing her now-cold tea upon the stone table and approaching her student. “You will learn, Padawan, whatever path you take, that 'truth' and 'fact' are not always the same thing and that the universe is not as simple as black and white, right and wrong, good and evil. It all depends on your point of view. Yes, I mislead your new friends. And there was a risk that they would still find the ruins despite your interference. Even a risk that you could all be hurt or killed. But that risk was still preferable than you being burdened with the knowledge I needed to impart to your elders.” She pulled Maris into a gentle hug. “And Maketh, I believe, is not to be trusted.”
“Fine words, coming from you,” Maris said as she pulled away. “Just because she used to work for the Empire? They tried to kill her, in case you hadn't heard, because she decided that they were wrong and fought against them.”
“It is more than that, child. She can use the Force, yet somehow the Empire never detected it?All those years, especially working so closely with an Inquisitor, and she was never identified? It raises too many questions and none of them can be answered.”
“I don't care about questions or answers. I trust my feelings. And right now, they're telling me I don't belong here. And that I don't belong with you.”
Ti tried to pull her in again, but Maris sidestepped her. “Maris, you need to focus your thoughts. Right now your emotions are clouding your judgment.”
“What do you know about my emotions? You never noticed...never acknowledged me...” Tears began welling up in her eyes. “....Never once took me to your bed...”
“Maris...”
“I loved you! After the time we spent together, the dangers we faced, everything you taught me...and now I don't even want to be near you!” Maris ran out of the room towards the landing pad, her sobs echoing off of the stone walls.
Ahsoka followed her, glaring daggers at Shaak Ti as she ran past. “You know nothing of being a Master. I'll be back, but I can't say the same for Maris. I'm going to talk to her – to all of them – but I don't want you sitting here and smugly passing judgment on any of us ever again.”
Shaak Ti returned to the dining table. Kanan and Hera sat across from her. “I don't agree with the way they handled it, but they all have a point. If we're to fight the Empire, we can't be at each other's throats and being able to trust each other is important.” Kanan said.
“And they're going to find out about Vader, one way or another.” Hera added. “It's better that they learn the truth now, while they have time to process it.”
Shaak Ti sighed. “If they encounter Vader, it may be better that they not know who he was and what he did. If they knew he was once the greatest hero the Republic ever knew, they might not be able to kill him.”
“Do we need to kill him?” Kanan countered. “I wasn't very old when the Jedi were killed, but I knew of old stories of Jedi falling to the Dark Side and finding their way back. Revan, for example.”
“Revan was a unique case. Only pure chance allowed him to redeem himself. And the fact that you brought him up while we are on this planet is not lost on me.”
“Okay, so I don't get any points for subtlety. But you have to agree that keeping secrets and dividing our team is not going to get us anywhere.”
The Togruta stood up. “No, I do not. Your apprentice is showing the influence of the Dark Side. Maris has become uncontrollable. Maketh is an unknown. The Mandalorian girl is chaotic at best, disruptive at worst. Since there is likely no bringing them back in line at this point, it is probably better that they are left to their own devices. Their lack of discipline will be their undoing and the fewer secrets they can divulge about us if they're captured, the better.” She held her hand up to silence the objection she knew Kanan was going to give. “It is the same principle behind pruning a tree. Weak or ill-formed branches are removed so that the entire organism can be healthier.”
“So that's it, then? You're just going to let them run loose?” Hera asked. “What if something bad happens to them, or.....or they do something bad?”
“Then we will deal with that if and when it happens.” Shaak Ti stood up. “For now, we must leave. That is the one thing your Padawan was correct about. This place is not safe. Perhaps it never was.” She placed a hand on top of Kanan's. “If you have trained your Padawan well enough, and I trained mine as well as I hoped, they will not falter. But right now there is little we can do to change their path. We must merely hope that the Force will guide them down the correct one. We cannot always be kind, Kanan. Sometimes, a firm hand is needed and lessons which cannot be taught must be learned the hard way.”
Kanan and Hera watched her leave in silence. Kanan's hand found his lover's and held it, that simple act saying all that his chaotic mind could not find the words to.
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Maris took only a few minutes to pack her few belongings – lightsaber parts and a few extra clothes, mostly – since the bulk of what she owned was already in the rucksack she had taken with her to the ruins. She left the small bedroom just in time to see Ahsoka leave the Enclave.
What am I doing? the girl thought. I'm about to leave my Master, who protected me for years, to follow people I've just met. Is it just because she didn't return my feelings? Not that she was supposed to. 'Passion is forbidden', one of the first things she taught me. But I can't help how I feel. And right now, I feel I need to be with them. She paused. Or...maybe not them....but him?
She banished the thought from her mind. That's just crazy. You barely know him and he's married. You just need to get away from this planet and clear your head. Hefting her bag, she walked out of the Enclave and up the Defiant's boarding ramp.
On board the ship she found preparations for takeoff already underway. “The sooner we're off this planet, the better,” Sabine said. Her silver helmet sat on the dining table and she was making a list of food and water stores while Maketh was up in the cockpit running systems checks. “I'm not even a Jedi and these 'pockets' of the Dark Side we keep finding are giving me the creeps.”
Ezra emerged from the port cargo bay, sealing the door behind him. “Glad you decided to join us, Maris. I know this can't be easy for you, but at least you can have some time to clear your head.”
She smiled a little. “You know, I was thinking that exact thing. Almost word for word.”
“We Jedi think alike, I guess.”
“Or at least the younger ones. I still can't believe Master Ti did all of that. I just can't stop thinking about it. And it makes me wonder what other lies she might have told in the past. To the Jedi. To the Republic.” She paused a moment. “To me.”
Ezra hugged her. “Don't worry. You'll figure it all out, in time. And then you'll know what you have to do.”
“Pre-flight's almost done,” Maketh called back. “We should be ready to leave within the hour.”
Maris pulled away from Ezra. She could feel a blush trying to creep into her cheeks and she willed it away. “I guess I'd better find that berth you were talking about.”
Ezra pointed to the starboard side of the common room. “Go past the cockpit and it'll be the second door on your right. The first cabin is Maketh's and the third one Sabine and I share.”
Maris looked puzzled. “I would have thought all three of you shared the same bed.”
“We do, on occasion,” Sabine chimed in. “Well, usually. Okay, most of the time. But sometimes privacy and personal space can come in handy. Sometimes I want my man all to myself, and other times I decide to give him my girlfriend for a night and I take some quiet time to paint. Just depends on our mood.”
“That...makes sense, I guess. I just thought that all three of you were, well, together.”
“It's complicated,” Ezra said. “I love them both, but I'm in love with Sabine. Maketh and I are good friends who happen to be intimate once in a while. I know Maketh has very strong feelings for Sabine and when this all started I made a decision that I wouldn't come between them.”
Sabine put away the datapad and stepped up to Ezra's side. “It's the same on my end. I love Ezra with all my heart and nothing will ever change that. But Maketh was technically my first lover and I could never, ever hurt her. Especially since the entire chain of events that brought Ezra and I together was kind of her doing. She knows I can't love her the way I love him, but I do love her in a different way. She's become my best friend and I can't picture my life...our lives...without her now.”
“'Complicated' does not seem to do the situation justice. I am sure I will adjust to it in time.”
Sabine hugged the other girl. “You will. Now go get some rest.”
“Thank you.” The Zabrak girl started to walk away, then turned and asked, “By the way, have you decided where we're going?”
“We have,” Maketh said as she walked back from the cockpit. “We're following the map in the ruins. We've got enough fuel and supplies to last us the first leg or two of the trip, and after that we'll find someplace in the Outer Rim to resupply.” She held up a datapad. “I just thought you should know – the first stop is Korriban.”
Maris nodded grimly. “Better to get it over with. And it is the closest to Dantooine of the four. I'm going to go get settled in.”
“Take your time – we'll wake you when we get there,” the older woman said.
“What are we doing?” Ezra said when they were gone, slumping down at the table.
“What you have to do,” said Ahsoka's voice. He looked up and she was standing at the top pf the boarding ramp.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough. Watch yourself out there, kid – Korriban's not a friendly place. For that matter, none of those planets are, really. You've either got the local wildlife, the Empire or both to contend with no matter where you go.”
“We'll be careful. But I get the feeling you didn't come here just to say that.”
“You're right. I'm obviously staying with Kanan. Someone needs to keep an eye on Shaak Ti. She...she has too many secrets. But before we all split up, I have a request to make.”
“What do you want?”
“To put it bluntly.....you.”
Sabine's response was very quick. “Sure.”
“Wait,” Ezra said. “What brought this on?”
“What if I said I just need some companionship right now, to take my mind off of some things, and that Kanan and Hera aren't going to be of any help?”
Maketh frowned. “I don't know – there has to be a catch.”
“No catch. I just need to feel close to someone.....and I've heard Sabine bragging about you so much that...that I have to know.”
“Know what?”
“If you're that good, okay? The last time I heard a woman bragging about her man that much was.....was a long time ago, okay?” Ahsoka sighed. “Forget it - I knew this was a stupid idea.” She turned to leave.
“No,” Sabine blurted out. “I said it's alright.”
“Sabine, do you know what you're saying?” Ezra asked.
“Look, Ahsoka's been a good friend to us. She helped us escape Lothal, she's been training Maketh. If this is how we can repay her.....it's okay.”
“I don't know about this. I mean, Maketh is one thing, but this...”
“That's what I love about you. Loyal to a fault.” She wrapped her arms around Ezra's neck and kissed him softly. “And I'm giving you permission, so it's not cheating or betraying our marriage or anything like that. We've got some time before we lift off. I'll just duck into Maketh's cabin with her and you show Ahsoka why I guard you so jealously, okay?”
“I'm still not sure about this, but alright. It just seems so.....kinky.”
“I think you'll enjoy it. But if it turns out I'm wrong, then you can punish me later, 'Master'.” Sabine said with a wink, then took Maketh by the hand and entered the front cabin.
“Well,” Ahsoka said, fidgeting slightly, “I guess we'll get to it, then?”
Ezra kissed her. Timidly at first, then with more enthusiasm. “Come with me.” Obediently, she followed him into the captain's cabin. As they passed the other cabins, Ezra could already hear his wife's moans of pleasure.
“Not wasting any time, are they?” Ahsoka asked.
“Well, we don't have much. As soon as the ship's ready, we're leaving.” He stopped outside the door. “You could come with us, you know. Maketh and I could both learn from you.”
Ahsoka shook her head. “It's best if I stay with Kanan and Hera. We're starting to come together the way you have with Sabine and Maketh. It's not to that level yet, but I think it could be, given enough time. And after today, someone needs to keep an eye on Shaak Ti.” They stepped through the door and sat down on the bed. “You and Maketh already know everything you need to to take care of yourselves. And there's more you can learn out there, experiencing the galaxy firsthand, than sitting around listening to me or Kanan reciting dusty old manuals.” She reached down and unbuckled her boots, sliding them off before removing her belt dropping it to the floor.
“Now,” she said, “let's see what you've learned already.”
It didn't take Ezra long to finish stripping her. Once she was nude, she lay back on the bed, allowing him to take in her trim, athletic figure. As matured as Maketh but with the toned muscles and combat scars of Sabine, all mixed in with her alien features; each scar blazed pure white against her orange skin, her dusky brown nipples somehow both blending and contrasting with the rest of her body and her naturally hairless mound already glistening with arousal. He could see why both Kanan and Hera were taken with her. He was unaware of how long he had been staring by the time he spoke up.
“I'm glad you're enjoying the view, but we're on a time schedule and you're still overdressed.” Ahsoka smiled a little as he hurriedly divested himself of his clothing – clothing, she reminded herself, that had once belonged to her Master, before she had known him, before he had become a monster and a murderer. But Ezra won't be that way. He's too good. Too pure. He has anger, but we all do. He has friends he can trust, people to confide in. Being forced to keep secrets is what drove Anakin to the Dark Side. Ezra doesn't have to do that. He'll be better.
Dropping his pants and crawling into bed, Ezra slide beside her. He was already erect and Ahsoka quietly appreciated his size. She pulled him in for a kiss, both moaning slightly as their bare flesh made contact. “We'd best get started,” she said. “There are a few things I want to try before we run out the clock.”
Ezra wasn't used to someone else taking charge in bed, but he found he didn't care too much. It wasn't better or worse, he decided. Just...different. Ahsoka rolled him onto his back and slide down, giving little kisses and licks as she went, until she reached his manhood. She gently wrapped her hand around it, pumping slowly as if to gauge how sensitive the boy was. Every now and then, she would plant a kiss on the shaft or lap at the head a few times with her tongue – just enough to tease him. She glanced up at him, his eyes closed and simply enjoying the sensation, though she knew how to make it better for him. She took him into her mouth completely, heard him gasped as her experienced lips, tongue and throat worked him over using techniques his other two lovers had yet to master.
For her part, the sensation of her mouth being filled brought back memories of that first night Anakin Skywalker had taken her to bed. He had been gentle with her, aware of her virginity, and showing her what to do – things he had learned from Padmé on their wedding night and many other nights besides. On those nights she had taught him what she liked, which in turn were used on Ahsoka. Oh, but she was so much better at it, she thought. She was so much softer, gentler, more passionate. He was more like a beast. Not that that wasn't fun...but the first time I found them together and they decided they had to 'bribe' me to stay quiet....
She shook herself out of her reverie when she could sense Ezra about to reach his limit. She pulled off of him, sliding his member out of her with an audible 'pop'. “Not just yet, you don't,” she said, crawling back up his body. “I'm not taking the chance you won't be good for round two.” Ahsoka pulled her legs up under her and placed her mound over his face. “It's your turn now, big boy.”
Ezra took to his task with gusto. Gripping her waist he pulled her to him, kissing, nibbling and licking as Sabine and Maketh had taught him, hitting the most sensitive places exactly as he had been taught. His efforts had a clear effect on the older woman, as evidenced by her gasping. In his peripheral vision, Ezra saw her cup her breasts, which were more generous than her restrictive clothing would indicate, and begin massaging them, playing with her nipples until they were hard and pebbly.
She's really into this, he thought. Her old master must have had a lot of fun with her. Time to have some fun of my own. Taking a firm grip on her buttocks, he spread the cheeks apart and slid one finger into her back door. Instantly he felt her thighs tighten around his head. She started rocking back and forth, aiding him in his ministrations. It didn't take long before she was gasping for breath and Ezra could feel her inner walls trying to clamp down on his tongue as she rode out her orgasm.
When her body relaxed, Ahsoka rolled off of him and lay limp on the bed. Her eyes were unfocused and her breathing heavy. Ezra could not keep from placing a hand on one of her firm breasts and gently massaging it until she regained her breath..
“You've learned well,” was all she could say.
“Maketh's a good teacher. She taught me and Sabine some things we'd never dreamed of.”
“Like how to instinctively find a girl's weak spot?”
“That was luck, really. Maketh likes it back there, so I thought I'd give it a try.”
“Let's see if your 'luck' holds up, then,” Ahsoka said, rolling over and getting up on her knees. “You've earned your choice.”
It was a choice that would perplex anyone in such a situation. I could see just how sensitive her 'weak spot' is, but what other chance am I going to have at this? His mind made up, Ezra lined up with her and slid himself into her warm, velvety depths.
There were no words then, only the grunts and moans of two people locked in the most carnal of embraces. At first, Ezra tried to control himself so he could last long enough to give Ahsoka the most pleasure possible. But the fact that it had been some days since he had last been with either Sabine or Maketh coupled with Ahsoka's earlier denial made it too difficult to hold back. He grabbed her wrists, pulling her back with each thrust to get as deep as possible. The Togruta gasped but did not complain.
Two cabins over, Sabine was giving Maketh a workout as well. Maketh's eyes were closed tight as Sabine ground their pelvises together with enough force that the mattress was in constant danger of sliding right off of the frame. The Mando's slender legs and arms looked too weak to hold the taller woman in place, but the former Imperial had learned from long experience that there was deceptive power and dexterity in those limbs. The animalistic grunts from Sabine overpowered her lover's quiet whimpers and moans.
Another thing Maketh had learned was the thrill of playing the submissive to Sabine much as the younger girl played the submissive to Ezra. Neither was truly subservient, though they doubted anyone outside of their little relationship would pick up on it. But Maketh loved Sabine and giving her this level of control, to let this warrior do with her body however she wished, was the ultimate expression of that love. It was that reason which allowed Maketh to understand the love Sabine felt for Ezra better than anyone else could. Chancing a look upward, Maketh's eyes locked with Sabine's and saw only love and passion behind them. Not the same depth that she reserved for Ezra, but it was enough for Maketh. Shifting position, the two women melded until every possible part of their bodies were touching and continued their fast-paced work towards climax.
In the middle cabin, Maris Brood was face-down on the bed, a pillow folded over her ears as she tried to drown out the noise from the other cabins as well as ignore the persistent tingling in her own groin. Not for the first time she was uncomfortably aware of how much leather chafed her when it got damp in certain places. She flinched as all four seemingly orgasmed simultaneously, with one scream so high-pitched that it actually shattered a glass water pitcher that had been on the table beside her bed.
Neither pair of lovers kept much track of the time as they coupled, so wrapped up were they in their pleasure. The signal from the cockpit that the pre-flight diagnostics were complete went completely unnoticed – as did the tiny red marker on the monitor showing a fault in the fuel regulator as the systems check information scrolled by.
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Less than an hour later, Shaak Ti, Ahsoka Tano and the crew of the Ghost watched the Defiant lift off from the landing pad and ascend into the sky. There had been a few goodbyes spoken, but Maris made a point of staying on the ship and not speaking to Shaak Ti.
Once they were out of sight, Zeb, Hera and Chopper went about finishing pre-flight for the Ghost. Kanan had decided on another chore for himself, though he did not relish it.
“Master Ti, I have something to say.”
“I anticipated as much, since you have said nothing so far.”
“I stayed quiet for the sake of not being divisive, though it seems I shouldn't have bothered.” He stood up as straight as he could, looking the Master square in the eye. “What you did today was inexcusable. You have effectively cut us in half, with the least-experienced of us now out there on their own. That's dangerous for them and it's dangerous for us.”
“You could have easily stopped them, had you chosen to. Your inability to discipline your Padawan is not my problem.”
“No, but your attitude is everyone's problem!” His outburst caused everyone to stop what they were doing. “Ever since you arrived, you have done nothing but belittle Ahsoka and I and berate our students while treating yours like she was some animal on a leash.”
“Students obey their Masters. And yours apparently have more lessons to learn.”
“Not like that, they don't. And not from you. You call yourself a Jedi Master, but you have even less of an idea of what you're doing than I ever did. Yet you strut around here like you're a general again. Well, you're not. Hera's the captain of the ship, I'm the field commander and Ahsoka's the leader of the cell. You don't factor anywhere in that equation. Until you can learn some damned compassion for others, don't expect me to listen to a single thing you have to say.” He turned on his heel and started for the Ghost. “I really don't even want you around, but if I leave you here the Empire will eventually find you and that's bad for all of us. But you're not one of us. Not yet. You're going to earn that.”
Kanan's next move was to use the Force to yank Shaak Ti's lightsaber off of her belt. Even as he did it he knew that the only reason it worked was that she didn't expect it, as fact which the look on her face betrayed. “You'll get this back when I feel you can be trusted with it again,” he added before finishing his march to the ship.
Shaak Ti merely stood there, the Dantooine winds blowing the loose ends of her cloth wrappings gently as though it were the final scene of a holodrama. No-one was close enough to hear her softly speak. “Spoken like a true leader, Kanan Jarrus. If your Padawan has that same loyalty and devotion, then mine is in good hands.”
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The End

And so ends one story arc. This dragged on longer than I meant it to, but my personal life got in the way once again. The death of my grandmother and having to adjust to taking care of the bills and upkeep to her house have just drained me, not in the least due to the extra hours I'm having to pull at work. I've already got more plotted out, so once I can get a title for the next story arc I'll begin cranking it out. Until then, be well, readers, and thank you for enjoying the end results of my little hobby.
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