Chapter XIV:
Downfall

By the time the surgery was complete, Mira wanted nothing more than starting a new life. But there was one last mission to do beforehand. The saddest of them all.

"How much?" Mira asked; she was the only one who was able to stomach the question.

Rey looked up to her in terror, but seemingly none of them paid attention. In reality, this was the only way to hold themselves together until the end of it. This was the last thing they were to do in the name of Luke Skywalker.

"She's young, but she is pretty," the slaver said, then cleared some of the sand from his shoulder. "Let's say five-hundred creds, huh?"

"It's a deal," Mira nodded. In any other case, she would have bargained for a much better price, possibly over seven hundred, but now she just wanted to be done with it.

"You got it then," the slaver nodded, and got the payment out of his bag.

She let go of Rey with a deep sigh, and took the bag from the slaver.

"Mom, what are they doing to me? Mom?" Rey cried out as the slaver grabbed her arm. She called them as parents ever since she woke up on their requisitioned ship. It wasn't surprising – she knew nothing about Luke or Mara –, but it made the mission all the more difficult.

They had to do it, Mira reminded herself. They had to send Rey to a place where no one would dare to look for her, otherwise Tenebrae could find her after he loses his host. At first, she thought about Tatooine or Nar Shaddaa, but they were too famous by now. Anyone with any knowledge about the Jedi would look there first, and she had no doubt about Tenebrae's ability to sweep entire planets.

Rey kept asking questions, only to be denied of answers.

"Why sell her anyway?" the slaver asked, sensing how much they were shaken by the event. "She could be good help at smuggling, she is small you know, can get to places."

"We need to get some booze," Kyle answered instead of Mira, relieving her some of the pain.

"Well, you can get plenty from this," the slaver nodded with a wide smile on his face. It wasn't unusual for someone to do this, not in this nameless corner of the galaxy. "Don't forget to look after that ship of yours. It's shiny, worth a lotta money."

"We won't," Mira said, and turned around, trying not to focus on the yelling kid. "Let's go," she glanced at Kyle, and went on her way to the ship.

It would take a long time to forget this day, but Rey was finally safe, and that was all that mattered. One day, Tenebrae would be stopped, letting Rey to be herself again. And that day may come sooner than anyone would have thought before the emergence of the Gray Jedi Order.

The Chimaera's cannons pounded the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer with all their might. Two Victory's quickly joined the effort, alongside with half of the remaining imperial Attack Group. The five Star Destroyers took the Resurgent apart within minutes, yet, by the time the ship's dark body shattered into two, the Finalizer managed to jump into hyperspace behind it.

Kylo Ren paid a high price for their escape: only one-third of his fleet survived the battle, while Thrawn's forces lost even less than it was initially expected. With the First Order concentrating on Starkiller base, the Chiss had high doubts about their sufficient replacement.

The battle of Jeddha was won.

"We shouldn't have let them escape," Pellaeon shook his head beside him.

They didn't. If not for the officer's sacrifice, Kylo would have died here, and Pellaeon had to know this as well. Thus, only one topic was left that could support the question.

"If we were to close the facility on them, Luke kills Snoke, and the First Order is done for. By my estimation, this is the last thing we would have wanted out of this situation," Thrawn answered coldly, still gazing at the burning wreckages drifting before them.

"But that was exactly what you wanted, sir. Imprison Tenebrae, decimate the Jedi, and decapitate the First Order with a simple order," Pellaeon objected, luminous to the gravity of the situation.

"And what have we gained instead?" Thrawn asked. "The New Jedi Order is not decimated, but done for. By the newest reports, Luke is now an exile, and the remaining Jedi concentrate their efforts solely on Tenebrae and the others like him."

"Great, so we switched one Order to the other," Pellaeon objected.

Two burning chunks of debris collided with one other in the distance, catching their attention for a moment.

"I'm afraid the Gray Jedi care little for the rulers. Their only aim is to stop those who disturb the balance of their precious Force. Thanks to their efforts, imprisoning Tenebrae is now their responsibility, and not ours, and our invasion can commence without any of them trying to stop us," Thrawn answered, explaining the reasons behind his decision. "This is surely worth the sacrifice of pushing a mere a button, don't you think?"

"What of the First Order, sir? We might never get rid of them," Pellaeon objected. "If they finish Startkiller base…"

Thrawn interrupted him.

"Then they fire it on the New Republic, only to realize that victory still comes with a great a price. After the initial assault, an invasion to the Core would follow, decimating the forces of both opponents. By the time one of them overcomes the other, their forces will be exhausted and few in numbers. There will be no possibility for them to counter the fleet we are assembling on Yaga Minor, and without further aid from the Order, victory would be all but assured from the very start," he explained, taking a few steps towards the window. "I have to admit, it was tempting to follow through with the mission, but it would inevitably leave the New Republic on the table, alongside with a handful of Jedi. A strong New Republic paired with the weakened Jedi Order could have proved to be a troublesome opposition. However, a weak galactic government paired with no Jedi represent much more opportunities for the future, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir," Pellaeon nodded, slowly grasping the amount of trouble this change had saved from them. "What are our further orders?"

"We move back to Yaga Minor," he answered, turning partially towards him. "We shall wait until our opponents tire themselves out, then we commence the invasion. The time shall come, when the galaxy bows down once again before the might of the Empire."

Thank you for reading my story all the way through! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)

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