Splinters

No one moved as Zay's blaster shot hit the man who wasn't one. That hadn't been just as blaster bolt. It had been redder than usual, and the impact didn't make any noise! That wasn't possible. The impact of the charged particle bursts that made up blaster bolts always made noise when they hit anything at all. No matter the object, the dispersion of energy always caused sonic vibrations. But not this time. So… what?

"ZAY!" Shriv protested and struggled in Catherine' grip, but the female form was far stronger than he was and far more versed in hand to hand combat. He didn't try to strike her. He wasn't that stupid. The Bladeborn were silent shadows against one wall. Michelle and her guards also silent.

"It had to be done." Zay said very softly as she lowered her blaster. She bowed her head as she holstered the blaster, but then she looked at the being she had shot. He too was glowing faintly red. "I..."

"You did good girl." Raviine said from where she stood. "It will take a moment, but you did good." Zay stared at her and then at Nia who was wincing. Raviine nodded Zay's face fell. "It was the only way. She is free now."

"Grandmaster Korr?" Zay all but begged.

"That hurt." Nia said softly, incredulity faint in her tone. "But I cannot hear them now. The voices are gone." She stared at the man she had once called Father and he was standing stock still, not moving even a muscle as red energy played across his form. "I… What?"

"The Link cannot be broken in any normal way. It is both blessing and curse as you have discovered." The Lord of the Darkstorms said heavily. "But it can be remade and by Zay Versio's actions, you now have the choice that Koro denied you." Pain sounded in his tone, but he squelched it. "I cannot repay the many years of pain we have caused you. I cannot undo the massive betrayal you suffered at our hands. I can fix this. You have the choice now, Nia Korr."

"I don't understand!" Nia snapped, fear warring with anger. "What did she do?"

"Using the last vestiges of power that she possessed of the Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Zay Versio broke the Link." She nodded to the male looking being at her side. "He formed the 'Link of Dark Storms' as a force multiplier, a communication system that cannot be accessed or hacked by any enemy. No matter how hard any have tried, they cannot access it. He made it that way many ages ago. He was and is the linchpin. The piece that holds it all together. Us all together." Raviine replied for her husband who grimaced, but then nodded at her words. "Zay Versio broke his connection. Our people were ready for it, so the disruption to us will be minimal. We have had safeguards in place ever since its creation, but that did hurt." She admitted. "We are reforming but it will take a few minutes as you count time. You have time to choose, Nia Korr. Choose wisely."

"You..." Nia stammered, but paused as Zay stepped right up to her and laid her hand on Nia's arm. It was solid enough to touch. "What? No!"

"It is all right." Zay said quietly as Michelle nodded approval, but remained silent. "I do not have any power for you to mirror now. It is all gone. I was selected to judge and I have judged that you deserve the choice." Nia stared at her and then at her own hands. "It is all right, Nia." Zay smiled at her distant ancestor. "This wormed its way into your mind and it was always there. Always a reminder not to trust any. Not even your own. Now it is gone."

"I..." Nia all but stammered. "This… I can't..."

"Nia Korr Kalenath Ordo?" The Lord of the Darkstorms' voice was quiet, but it was would be heard. "My daughter can do anything she damn well pleases now." He smiled. "Oya Manda."

"Mandalorian?" Zay asked Nia who pinked a little.

"A long time ago." Nia admitted. "My clan is gone, but… Our duty remains."

"You do not have to do it!" Raviine, her husband, Catherine and Michelle all chorused. They all looked at one another and then Catherine released Shriv who stood as if hit by carbonite.

"No matter what you choose, Nia..." Zau enunciated the name carefully as she pulled Nia's un-resisting form into an embrace. "...you are still my aunt." She gave Nia a hug and released her, stepping back to Shriv whose face was grim.

"I know my duty." Nia said softly. "But if it is my choice..." She mused as everyone nodded. "And you are my dad?" She paused and made a face. "Were?"

"I remember being him." The dragon in human form said quietly. "I remember loving you. I remember failing you. He tried to be a good man, but he failed so many times." The Republic armored form of Sharra shook her head and vanished from where she had stood.

"He did his best. Always." Nia bowed her head. "But… the wards..." She protested.

"The wards do not have to be your problem! If you choose to tell us to take a hike, we will." The being who had been her father said mildly. "We have no right to deny you anything now. We would keep an eye on the realities that surround this one, but we always have. We caused this. We caused you thousands of years of pain. If you want, you have earned the right to tell us that it is our job now. If you want to retire or whatever? Say so. We will do our duty as we always have and will, but you are not going to be forced to do a damn thing, Nia." A raging wookiee might have fled his calm words.

"Duty." Nia said softly. "For so long, keeping this reality secure from intrusions was my duty."

"A duty you did very well." Catherine agreed. "But the splinter of betrayal wormed its way into your heart and soul. You are hurting, Nia. You likely always will be." She shook her head. "A feeling I know well."

"I... Catherine..." Nia sighed deeply and then shook her head. "I do not think that simply abandoning my duty would be honorable. But I need time." She looked at the Darkstorms who both nodded.

"Take what time you need, Nia Korr." Raviine said as her husband moved to her side. "No one will take choice from you again."

"Anyone who tries?" The husband said not to be outdone. "I am going to eat." Not a threat. A promise.

Everyone winced at that, but paused as he bowed to Nia and vanished. His mate nodded to her and then, she turned. She bowed to Zay! Then she too vanished.

"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons." Catherine intoned in a voice that was both mocking and not. Everyone stared at her. "For thou are crunchy and go well with ketchup." No one dared protest or laugh.

"Catherine!" Michelle protested, but her frown was twitching as if she wanted to smile. Then the princess sighed. "We need to go. Now. If we do not go soon, you know what my mom will do."

"I do." Catherine winced. "But Zay needs help. The splinter hurt her badly even trying not to."

"I have this." Nia promised as she moved to Zay's side. "We have this." She corrected as CA-E1 moved to stand beside Zay as well. "Are you staying?"

"My duty is here." The droid replied. "There are no ripples from me."

"This ship..." Zay felt faint. Was something happening? She saw Shriv slumping in Jinso Vun's arms. "I..."

"It is handled. Rest now, brave Zay." Catherine had Zay in gentle hands. "It is going to be okay."

Zay took those words into slumber with her.

The hangar bay

No one relaxed as Michelle bowed to Nia Korr and vanished. The golden warriors who had accompanied them also vanished. Catherine did not and neither did Karl.

"Catherine." Nia warned as the Tenno handed Zay to CA-E1 who took her, laid her down and started scanning.

"Just a few more minutes." Catherine asked mildly. "Falcon and Nyx are almost done."

"Falcon? Nyx? With what?" Nia demanded a hair before everyone else said the same.

"The usual." Catherine's tone was dry as Karl shook his head and moved to her side. "I found my boys, but they have duties here. Lives here. I would like to take them home but removing them would cause more ripples. Add to that? I have made enough of a mess here. I have no right to just upend them that way."

"This is going to be a mess no matter what." Nia said sadly. "I just… I need time."

"And you have it." Catherine was the only one not to jump as a holographic warframe appeared beside her. The Nyx Prime was shaking her head. "The needs of the many indeed, Catherine." She sounded sad as she strode to where the captain was still menaced by Karl's sword. "Do not move." She warned as she reached for the man. The man jerked as she sighed heavily.."It will hurt less if you do not move."

"What are you-? Ah!" The man cried out as the warframe laid a hand on his head. He went utterly still. Moments later, she retracted her hand and nodded to him. He bowed to her.

"Do not bow to me, Captain Torrs. I was never here." The warframe said and vanished!

"As you will, Nyx." Everyone stared as the First Order officer nodded to empty space and then turned to Nia. He bowed to her! When he spoke, it was reverent. "You are welcome aboard the Bladehome, Nia Korr Kalenath Ordo." Nia sputtered something, but he wasn't done. "We stand ready to serve the Bladeborn."

"Catherine!" Nia growled in a dangerous voice. "What have you done?"

"The First Order will continue to try the barriers between realities." Catherine said mildly as every single First Order soldier in the bay braced to attention and every commander saluted Nia! "The same as the Empire did before them and various factions in the Republic did before them. The Jedi did what they could, but the secret was out as soon as the Sith Empire figured out that I wasn't from this reality. You will need help and they can."

"How is that honorable?" Nia demanded as Karl holstered his weapon and moved to Catherine's side.

"We can answer that." Everyone stilled as both of Catherine's sons stepped into view from behind the serried ranks of troopers and crew. Both wore armor and had weapons holstered. "You needed the help and we needed a cause."

"Um..." Nia shook her head as the two moved to stand in front of her. One wore stormtrooper armor without a helmet, but it was brown, not white! The other wore a dress uniform. "That still does not make what she just did honorable."

"Our mother did not choose this. We did." The stormtrooper said quietly as CA-E1 moved to stand beside him. "She has been remarkably reticent but we did learn a great deal. More than is healthy for us. When Zay Versio picked up the splinter, the power touched us both and changed us. She was angry, with cause. She tried very hard not to harm us and succeeded but even the briefest touch of such power always leaves changes. Some good, some bad."

"But still..." Nia protested as Falcon appeared from nowhere to hover beside Catherine's group, her Sentient bioform all but quivering.

"Our duty was always defined by our masters." The officer said quietly. "Suddenly, we had both the time to think and information that we had lacked. We did not like what we found. We pressed our mother for more information and she rightly refused."

"So how…?" Nia stared from the speaker to Falcon. "Oh no..." Nia groaned as the Sentient hovered slightly away. "You didn't! Falcon!"

"The being called Falcon wished to help us and she did. Princess Michelle was coming anyway as soon as her mother heard what happened to Zay Versio." The stromtrooper allowed. "But now? We have a choice too and we have made it. Without the brainwashing, without the evil, we have the choice and we have made it. We are soldiers. We serve." He saluted Nia who stared at him, dumbstruck. "We serve the Bladeborn."

"And Nyx?" Nia demanded. "Don't tell me she didn't do something!"

"She broke the brainwashing." The captain said as he strode to stand beside the other two. "She was rather annoyed with the utter lack of professionalism that was shown in the methods." He winced. "Not someone I want mad at me."

"Brainwashing?" Nia asked. 'Oh no. Jade." Not a question.

"She won't be a problem for much longer." Catherine said and suddenly everyone was staring at her as Falcon started to glow. "Nyx is rather upset by this and so is Nikis. These talked to Nyx for quite a while from what I gathered. She could and did pull them into a virtual world to talk." All three of the soldiers up front nodded. "And..."

"And order is meaningless if it serves no greater purpose, Ma'am." The stormtrooper agreed. "Even those of us who were trained from a very young age wished to serve. Just not the First Order." He allowed. "It doesn't seem very healthy now." Did he just make a joke?

"But..." Nia was all but sputtering now.

"But nothing." The trooper smiled at her. "My designation was HJ-9276. My mother has stated my name was Kano, but that does not feel right. I will think on names and such." Nia looked at the other who shrugged.

"My name was apparently Franklin." The officer replied. "Now? I am Lieutenant Jun Horis. Like my brother said, I serve the Bladeborn. You will need help."

"I…." Nia wilted a bit. "I..."

"You need rest, Bladeborn." The captain of the ship said firmly. "We serve and we will wait orders from Grandmaster Orrs. We will hold the line. This reality will not fall!"

"IT WILL NOT FALL!" Came from every soldier and sailor in the bay.

"But… they will call you traitor, worse..." Nia protested.

"Oh no, they won't." Nia's eyes went huge as another armored form appeared nearby. She wore Imperial armor, but her head was uncovered. Iden Versio nodded to where Shriv stood protectively over Zay but then she smiled at Nia. "Or did you think I just vanished, boss lady?" Nia groaned to everyone's amusement. "I have orders for you and everyone, Nia. From Jan: You. Rest. Now." Not a suggestion.

"No one is ever really gone, are they?" Nia asked a bit plaintively as she started to fade.

"Not as long as there is even a splinter of memory regarding them, no." Iden Verso said as Nia vanished. Only then did she relax. She nodded to the captain. "Grandmaster Orrs asks you to see about replacing the troops garrisoned on this world." The captain stared at her, eyes wide and then he nodded.

"We cannot allow the First Order to have so many potential hostages." The man's eyes hardened as Iden nodded. "ROE?" Rules of Engagement.

"We want it as quiet as we can." Iden replied. "As you say? There are many potential hostages here. Your codes are all current, so you should be able to switch the garrisons with no one the wiser. The CSA are leery about many sudden changes. The Grandmaster wants to limit the ripples. Speaking of..." She turned to Catherine who nodded. "Get out of here."

"Yes, Ma'am." Butter might not have melted in Catherine's mouth as she, Karl and Falcon shimmered and disappeared. Iden stared at where they had been for a moment and then at Shriv who smiled at her.

"Still the hard way, huh, Iden?" The Duros asked as Jinso Vun moved to his side.

"Hard jobs are what we do best." Iden's face fell as she looked at Zay's still form. "I can't stay, Shriv."

"Figured." The Duros sighed. "Will I remember this?" He asked carefully.

"Do you want to?" Iden asked, her face softening as Jinso Vun laid a hand on Shriv's arm. "Zay won't remember much if any of this. She can't. There was too much power in that blasted crystal. It hurt her badly."

"If it won't mess things up." Shriv laid a hand on Jinso Vun's. "Yeah. I think I would like to remember." He patted the other Duros' hand. "So… What now?"

"Now we clean up the mess." Iden made face as she pulled her helmet up in preparation to putting it on. She had a smile in her voice now. "Some things never change do they?"

"Nope." Shriv smiled as Iden vanished and the future opened up a bit rosier than it had been.

Some time later

Zay Verso jerked wake, instantly aware that something was very wrong.

The last thing she remembered, she had been walking into a cantina to try and find allies for the Resistance. How long had she been asleep?

"She is awake." The modulated voice of a droid sounded close at hand. Not one she knew! Her eyes shot open. What met her eyes was horror! She was lying in a medical ward on a First Order ship! But... She wasn't restrained and none of the beings who surrounded her bed were in uniform. Or, not First Order uniform.

"Easy!" A light haired woman in brown armor like everyone else moved into Zay's view and a hand gripped hers. 'We haven't had time to change the décor. This isn't a First Order ship, Zay Versio." The face was familiar. Zay had seen a pictogram ina file that her mom had left in case of demise. Zay felt grief rise, but the woman, Jan Orrs smiled at her. "You are not alone, Zay Versio."

"Where am I?" Zay all but begged as Shriv moved into her view. The Duros looked grim, but relaxed on seeing her awake. "Shriv?"

"We did it Zay." Shriv said quietly. "We found them. The Bladeborn."

"Can you help?" Zay pleaded. "The Resistance needs help."

"There is too much baggage for us to help the Resistance, Zay Versio." Jan said heavily, but before Zay could slump, she continued. 'But… we can help you. We are limited in what we can do." She warned. "But what we can do, we will. For you mother and for you." She gave Zay's hand a squeeze.

All Zay could do was cry as Jan bent down to hug her.

Far away and yet very near

Catherine smiled as the scene faded. She, Falcon, Karl and Michelle had been watching from a safe place as Zay had been tended. All had wanted to make sure she was okay. The Catherine laid the small, red crystal she had in her hand on the floor and sighed.

"You can come out now." The Tenno said sourly and then nodded as the form morphed into a small human girl. Her form was glowing with red energy but her face was familiar. She looked very much like a smaller copy of Eliza, Michelle's mother. "That was dumb, Eliza." The Tenno complained.

"I couldn't very well take any other form there, now could I?" The woman asked, her tone calm and assured. "You know what would have happened if I had let any Force user touch that kind of power. Especially a dark one. Luke blurred the edges, Leia too. But Zay? Zay used it and used it well. No one will be looking for it now, since it, me, is gone."

"That she did." Catherine mused and then shook her head. "Will you go back?"

"Maybe." The copy of Michelle's mother said with a shrug. "Then again, everyone will be looking for splinters now."

"And whose fault is that?" Everyone asked as she pouted whimsically.

"Luke Skywalker's!" The energy being replied and then everyone laughed.

"I think I resent that." A blue form shimmered into view, but the old man who had once destroyed a Death Star and defied an Emperor to his face was not angry. Indeed, Luke Skywalker was smiling as Leia Organa Solo appeared standing beside him, her face as serene as his. "That said? You did good, Eliza. Zay will recover."

"Only time will tell, but I think so." Eliza agreed. "Tell your mom I will be in touch." She asked Michelle who nodded and vanished. "Catherine?"

"My quest is done." The Tenno agreed. "I didn't find what I hoped to, but I found what I needed to. Catherine is no more. I will go back to being Cathi Gata."

"And many people will breathe a hefty sigh of relief." Luke said sourly. "That said… Get Nyx and Nikis out of here before they make even more of a mess." Catherine glared at him and he sighed. "Please?"

"Don't tell me you don't want Jade punished." Catherine retorted.

"Not like they will!" Luke retorted right back. Leia shook her head, her own face set. "Sis..."

"They won't kill her." Leia smiled a bit grimly. "And I bet they will make it memorable."

"Oh, they did." Falcon's quiet words had everyone staring at her. The Sentient seemed to still in mid-air. "Um..."

"Do I want to know?" Catherine asked a hair before Luke did the same in the same long suffering tone. They shared a small smile but focused on Falcon.

"What goes around, comes around." Falcon replied, her form shifting a bit. "They didn't kill her, but she will beg for it for a long, long time."

"What did they do?" Catherine demanded.

"Someone destroyed her forces, took her prisoner, gift-wrapped her and left her for the Mandalorians to find." Falcon replied. Everyone gasped and she made a noise of mirth. "And they sent her to Horn who is apparently deciding how to try her for her crimes and in what jurisdiction since she had broken everyone's laws."

"He didn't just shoot her?" Luke asked. "I would have expected him to do that."

"Apparently, Mirax is still a good influence." Falcon replied. "And no, he is back on Correllia with his wife. He handed Jade over to Corsec who are holding her for trial and trying to treat her wounds."

"What wounds?" Catherine snapped. "If anyone gets to maim the woman, Jan does!"

"That is the odd thing." Falcon replied, her tone half amused half worried. "No one can define the type of wound, but it seems to have centered on her reproduction organs. They are gone. Almost as if they were..." She broke off as Catherine and Luke shared a look of horror and understanding.

"Eaten by things too small to see. Almost like nanites." The Bladeborn and the Jedi chorused heavily. "Do not anger the Sitolon."

"Bad idea." Falcon agreed. "Can we go home now Cath- Um, Cathi Gata?" She asked a bit shyly. "I still think you have flipped, offering me a place at your side. Your clan leader must have flipped too."

"Maybe, but she did ask the others and they all agreed. If there is any way to keep our own reality from being torn apart by a full scale war, I need to try, Falcon." The Tenno replied. "That said? My own splintered soul has been healed. Now maybe, we can help you."

"I do not deserve you Cathi Gata." Falcon said sadly. "I certainly do not want to cause trouble for you."

"Oh, trouble is what she does, Falcon." Leia smiled at the others, but it was melancholy. "Thank you, Tenno. You have eased my heart and now? Maybe all of ours. Nia is a good soul, she will make a good choice, whichever is best for her."

"It is out of my hands." Cathi Gata replied as her form morphed into her Wisp warframe. "I did what I could. Now it is time for me to go try to save our splintered world."

"May the Force be with you." Luke intoned as he and Leia vanished.

"Always." Cathi Gata had smile in her voice as she grasped Falcon's appendage and then Karl's hand. Then they were on their way home.

For a long moment, the red energy woman stared at where they had been, her face sad. Then she nodded. A dozen small fragments of crystal appeared around her and morphed into smaller versions of her.

"They are gone." The energy woman said quietly. "And we have a lot of work to do to clean this mess up. So hop to it. Tell Jan we are on it and let's see what kind of cover story is needed. And this time, no silliness about science fiction!"

"Yes, mother."