The Weaving Force: Epilogue

Epilogue:

Vicky

“And there it is.” She took a deep breath after she said it, her whole body seemingly uncoiling from a tension she hadn’t really known it had as she watched the screen. 

There, splashed across the news reel- 

Senator Alexandria of Mandalore; Elected as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic!

Just above the News Ticker, was an image of Alexandria herself as she was sworn in on the oath of office.

“So it is.” Shmi commented, carrying a tray of tea and cakes into the living room. She was smiling. “I think miss Alexandria will do well.”

“I hope so.” Vicky answered; then smirked a little sardonically. “She cant do worse than the last guy!” 

Shmi gave her a dry look at that, her own smile tugging at the corner of her lip. “Be nice Miss Dallon; she does try very hard.”

“Hm. Fair.” Vicky conceded. 

It’d been eight months since Coruscant, and the Republic was teetering at the very precipice of complete disintegration.

Many worlds had taken the chaos post battle to simply join the secessionists too; without Palpatine’s iron grip, or their senator’s corruption in places, it had been a golden opportunity. 

As information came to light even more had been horrified at the full scope of said corruption within the senate and had simply declared independence. The same had been happening along the separatist side as the corporate machine that controlled their media lost its grip and the decadent collusion for greed and ever more corporate interests was revealed as the true “north star” of the separatist movement. From what Vicky understood the fragmentation was occurring even faster on their side as old grudges, past conflicts and yes; even Corporate rivalries flared up.

So silver lining there

With no leader to rally behind, many of the political analysts and Jedi shadows estimated that the “Separatists” would likely ‘fizzle out’ after just another year at most, their hundreds of worlds fragmenting and breaking apart into hundreds or thousands of independent entities. It would be chaos. 

The Republic, however brittle, however weakened or eroded it might be, still had long standing institutions and mechanisms for continued government. 

Mechanisms and Institutions Alexandria had taken swift measures to insert herself into and ride right into the Chancellor’s seat as one of if not the most open enemy of Palpatine.

Vicky didn’t really begrudge her that… Alexandria felt she could help. That she could save it, rebuild it, and hopefully do so in a way that purged the corruption from the old system now that Palpatine had shrived clean the entire rotten carcass with the burning of Coruscant. 

Vicky wished her all the luck in the world. 

There was a sudden clack and clatter, like aluminum cans being smacked together and Vicky wasn’t surprised to see Daryan waddling his way into the living room, metal bits and bobs that vaguely resembled something that might one day be armor, hanging off his body while being trailed by Jen, who had an ‘Angelica mushroom’ sitting atop her head. 

Vicky wasn’t sure how Aras and Militia had gotten one from the ruins of the temple, or smuggled it out, and she probably never would, because… ethics… That’s how that worked. 

Point is; they had one. A mushroom that Jen had determinedly named ‘Basilisk’ after the Basilisk War Droid she would discover one day.

“That’s not gonna work!” Jen was telling her brother, glaring at the back of his head. 

“How would you know!?" The boy challenged. Sniffing haughtily. "Its my design!”

“Because babies grow, stupid! By the time you build it cousin Luke and Leia will already be too big for it!”

Daryan paused, features scrunching up. Then he pulled out his datapad and began looking over the designs, humming to himself. “Maybe make it bigger…”

“What are you two talking about?” Shmi asked, ears perking up at the two eleven year olds mentioning her grandchildren. 

Daryan smiled at his honorary ‘aunt’, or maybe ‘grandmother’ as Jen began answering. 

“Daryan wants to make something for cousin Luke and Leia. They’re too little.”

“It’ll make them get bigger, so we can play together!” The boy explained, with simple, eleven year old logic. 

Vicky tried to hide her chortles as Shmi’s features froze, caught between extreme concern, alarmed confusion and a smidge of mirth. “Lets, let children grow at their own pace. They’ll be running around and playing before you know it.”

Daryan frowned. “But that’ll take forever!”

“Patience is a virtue.” Shmi answered without missing a beat.

Vicky snickered.

It had taken weeks to reestablish communications from Coruscant to the wider galaxy. During those chaotic, horrible days, rumors had spread like wildfire.

Like Alexandria and Tay said. Lies ran around the world twice before Truth had even strapped on its boots. 

With no contact, everyone had been worried. And some stupid kid at their school said that he’d heard that everyone on Coruscant died.

That night, Shmi had found him disassembling their oven down to its component parts. 

They weren’t exactly sure what his specialty was. But for now, the placeholder name they were using for his partner was ‘Armorer’ because almost everything Daryan made was tied in some way to ‘armor’.

Whether that was because of his partner, or because of cultural bias; Mandalorians and their Beskar after all, they didn’t really know yet. But Vicky wasn’t entirely convinced he was limited to armor, she’d seen more than one blueprint of other types of designs in his room and his datapad, the boy left that thing lying around everywhere. 

She was pretty sure he was half ready to build Jen her Basilisk War Droid as a birthday present.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Shmi almost seemed to perk up like a school girl, it made Vicky smile as the woman turned and almost skipped towards the front door. 

It hissed open, and Vicky could practically hear the smile in Shmi’s voice.

“Oh! Little ones”

And in spite of the still heavy mechanical breathing, Vicky heard the laugh in Anakin’s response. “Oh I see, all love for the grandchildren and none for me?”

“No dear, you can leave.” Shmi joked, and from the sound happily taking hold of the two babies in their carrier.

The happy grandmother walked back into view, already cooing and making faces at the twins, Padme just behind her, Anakin behind Padme, with Hanah and Aras, who’d gone to get them at the spaceport taking up the rear.

 A large part of Vicky felt bad for Padme. She’d worked all her life for the betterment of the Galaxy, and now, her name had been tarnished, possibly beyond repair as the woman who gave the order for the destruction of Coruscant.

It wasn’t remotely true, but there were very few who believed the truth, preferring to simply put her in the same boat as Palpatine and his schemes. 

Vicky hoped, desperately; that time would prove her wrong and that Padme would be able to claw back her hard won reputation. No one deserved what had happened to her.

Even so, pulling her from her morose thoughts Miss M looked at her husband. “At this rate, maybe we should be worried about getting kicked out of our own house and Shmi taking all the kids.” 

“Hn.” Aras grunted. “Do not give her ideas you’ll regret.” He joked. 

Militia turned her eye to Vicky; and the blonde couldn’t not notice the mess of scar tissue, all jagged lines and torn flesh. She hadn’t gotten her eye replaced. Vicky didn’t need to ask why, it was obvious.

People with one eye didn’t get assigned field jobs.

“Hi Uncle Ani!” Daryan smiled, almost bouncing on his feet. “How’s it doing!?”

Anakin’s visible eye crinkled in a bit of a smile. “How’s what doing?” He teased.

For once, the boy frowned almost pouting. “Come on. You know what I mean!”

Anakin laughed, bringing his hand up and tapping the smooth metal of his facemask that still covered the burns. “I’m just messing with you; I never felt better kid.”

Daryan had taken one look at the medical suit Anakin had been stuck in, and almost instantly did the eleven year old version of ‘Hold my Blue Milk’ 

He’d made Anakin a personalized suit of Tinkertech armor that doubled as a healing device. It’d been a Tinker fugue of months to see it done. 

And it would still take months, if not years before Anakin would be back to his old physical self, his lungs and trachea at the very least might have been permanently damaged. But it was something. 

Miss M. turned to Vicky, blinking curiously. “Where’s Tay?”

“Still at the temple.” Vicky smirked. “One of us has to be the responsible one.”

Miss M raised an eyebrow… which somehow didn’t really lose its effect at only having one eye. “Are you being irresponsible?”

“Pssh, never!” Vicky scoffed. “I am insulted and have had my honor besmirched.”

“Aren’t you the ranking council member on this planet?” Anakin wasn’t helping. 

“Like you’re not!?” She shot back.

In truth, neither she nor Anakin were even sure what his status was anymore. Ever since his involvement with Amidala came to light, by all rights he should be removed from the Council at the absolute least.

But Obi-Wan, now the Master of the Order, and Yaddle, the Grandmaster, always seemed to find ways to deflect and sidestep the question.

And to be fair to them, there was a lot to do. Even if you didn’t factor in rebuilding the temple on Coruscant which was not a decision that anyone could agree on one way or another, the expansion of the order through the enclaves fresh recruitment efforts, assisting in holding the Republic together, interior disagreements as to how involved the Jedi should continue to be in Republic politics, to the custodianship of the grand army, negotiations with separatist systems- there was more than enough work to go around for the next couple of years, if not decades.

And she doubted anyone really wanted to be the ones that had to grapple with the question of Anakin and his status as basically the next in line as head of the order.

Least of all Anakin himself really. Last time Vicky had asked him if he wanted to be Grandmaster he looked almost green at the gills.

“Well-” Miss M shrugged. “Either way, you should get her, now that almost everyone’s here I imagine we’ll be serving dinner soon.”

Vicky nodded, agreeing easily. “Kay, I’ll be back soon.” She could call, but Tay would probably try to do “one more thing” and run late. Better go in person.

—

“Just don’t let it go to your head.” 

“Is that a threat I hear Hebert?”

“Does it need to be?”

Vicky sighed as she entered the room. “Girls; you’re both pretty.” She declared. 

Both Taylor and Alexandria tossed her an irritated look. One in person, one through the screen. 

“Dallon.” 

“Chancellor…” She made a face. “Eugh. Yeah. I don’t think I’ll be calling you that.”

“It does sound odd; doesn’t it?” The woman shrugged. And turned a page in her report. Vicky saw her previously broken arm was now fully functional again. She didn’t have the details, something about Queen Administrator “assuming control” to shut off her power to let her heal, before turning it back on again.

Medical tech in this Galaxy had also cured her cancer. Vicky hadn’t even known the woman had cancer.

“Regardless, it is what it is, and in spite of Hebert’s concerns, I have no intention of letting it ‘go to my head’

Vicky nodded. She’d never had as many doubts about Alexandria as Tay had. But then again, she never had as much history between them as she and Tay had. “How are things proceeding on Coruscant?”

“Slowly.” The woman answered. “It’ll take decades to make a full recovery. If it ever does.”

“Silver lining?” Vicky asked hesitantly.

“Master Fay is here to save the day!”

The new, far too chipper voice chimed into the conversation, as the aforementioned Jedi Master stepped into view with her typical smile and soft demeanor.

Alexandria spared her a glance over her shoulder, “Its done then?”

Fay nodded. “Yes, the last of the chips have been removed finally.”

Alexandria sighed. “Good; one less headache.” Her brow knit together, half in thought, half in irritation. “Now, to deal with Kamino-” She suddenly seemed to remember she and Hebert were there. “Have you heard from Cook?”

“Nothing yet.” Tay shrugged. “But he’s only just gotten started.”

“Fair enough, keep me posted, and send Mr. and Mrs Saxon my regards for their anniversary.”

With that, she signed off the screen winking out.

“Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.” Vicky snorted. “Can you believe that?”

“Hn.” Taylor groused. Her mind clearly going to all the ways it could go wrong. 

In spite of herself Vicky rolled her eyes with a familiar fondness marching over to Taylor’s side, feeling the cold metal of her new arm pressed against her as Vicky slid her own arm around the brunette’s waist. 

“Stop looking so gloomy; it’ll be fine! You’ll see.”

Tay sighed. “She has changed. For the better. I’m just…” She shrugged. “Old habits.”

Vicky nodded. “Its ok. That’s what you’ve got me for.” She used her finger to pull up the corner of Tay's mouth, "I make you smile."

Tay turned, looking at Vicky and she was indeed, smiling. “How are you?”

“I’m good really; you dont have to worry.” Vicky promised, tapping at her stomach. “Replacement organs are doing just fine.” 

The first couple of days had been a little ‘touch and go’. Vicky didn’t remember much from the immediate aftermath of Coruscant. Just… voices and impressions.

She remembered someone… sitting next to her. Though for the life of her she couldn’t place it. Sometimes she thought it was Little Green, other times Master Plo. Maybe Iskt, Karla, Dennis, Tay herself. Though she and Anakin hadn’t been pulled out of the depths for nearly three whole days.

But she wouldn’t say she was delirious. Whatever she’d felt, whoever it’d been… She felt safe. Everything would be ok.

Though Tay had been playing a bit of mother hen ever since.

It was cute in a way. Until it got annoying.

Right now it was still cute.

Tay nodded back. “Good.” Then she smiled, though it was a little sad. “Karla and Iskt called by the way.”

Vicky perked up, her eyes alight with joy. “Oh? And what have our two favorite Jedi Knights call about?”

“Noble-” And now Vicky understood Tay’s sadness. “Corelia offered to inter them in the monument to Noble Legion… back where it all began.”

Vicky swallowed, feeling the lump in her own throat. “I think they’d like that.”

Tay nodded. “Wolffe agreed. I’d…” Tay paused, closing her eyes and shaking her head as her voice warbled but steadied. "I’d like to meet them there. They’ll be heading out in a few days.”

“Then I guess we know our next heading.” Vicky affirmed. 

Tay nodded. They still had a responsibility, managing the Mandalorian temple while Fay was away, but this was important too- Fay herself would agree. 

Vicky decided to change the subject, feeling the silence becoming heavy with feeling, regrets and melancholy. “You still haven't told Dennis or Lexi about Scion?”

“No, and I won't.” Tay sighed. “Dennis is looking for a way home because I told him that one exists. I think both want to know if it does, for closure at the very least. But Scion.” She shook her head. “Unless I have to. I don't want to destroy their lives here. Its a bridge we can cross when we come to it; if we come to it.”

Vicky understood. She wasn’t sure if she agreed; hell, she wasn’t sure if she disagreed, but she understood.

Even if they found a way home… would they even want to go back? Would it make a difference? Would things turn out worse?

She didn’t know. And upending the lives Dennis and Lex had made here for so many unknowns…

Yeah. She understood.

But that was a question for tomorrow today… today they were here. They were together. They had their little slice of happiness in this galaxy, with all of their weird, dysfunctional and divergent, oddball family members.

“Yeah. We do.” Tay answered, having aparently read her thoughts squeezing Vicky close, her head resting over Vicky's own.. “You and me right?”

Vicky reached up, pulling Tay’s head down, foreheads pressed together, lips close. “Always baby-girl; No matter what.”

(X)(X)(X)

And thats it!

Its all over!

The fic is complete!

176 chapters!

Its finished.

Thank you all again, I got this one out relatively fast because 1) I wanted to, 2) Its my gift to all of you for thanksgiving.

I'd like to thank you all again for being here, for those of you who will leave now that the fic is complete, thank you again, for those of you that will stay, also thank you, and you all can expect a new Story's pilot chapter to be posted right here first, probably on Monday of next week. It'll be a shorter fic. Probably 14-20 chapters tops. But it should be a fun one.

If you'd all like a hint as to what this Next story might just involve. Here's one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7gm_r8hXoU

To all of you; thank you again from the bottom of my heart, enjoy your festivities and spend time with your families. This has been a hell of a journey and I'll catch you all; in the next one :)

Edit: The Link should be working now