hesitation is defeat
His answer came too readily. From the quagmire of his ruminations, something emerged, and Ishida dedicated herself to understanding it.
Bernard looked so tender now, so unencumbered by the necessity of keeping a brave face as he’d done on Coruscant, busied by distractions. Once again, the subtleties of expression — the pure weariness of himself — spoke louder than words, despite their poignant eloquence.
“It is.” Ishida agreed.
She looked away, only briefly when the light outside changed from bright to shadows, then back to light again. Skies warred all the way through the atmosphere dark, light, shadowy, sunny, cloudy, clear — the only constant was conflict.
The interval of disconnection gave her the chance to consider the weight of his thoughts. Was a planet barely sustaining life, but somehow barely managing to be a husk of its former self, better than a planet annihilated?
Yes.
Tython had, somehow, survived. At a cost that had been paid through a gruelling battle and would continue to pay, again and again, and again. Would Tython ever be the same? Maybe. In their lifetime? Unlikely.
She sucked in a breath through her teeth and anchored her forward-motion thoughts around the feeling of instability that came with his observation.
“You’re right. Tython survived, just barely — maybe only because the galaxy witnessed Csilla and how evil The Maw is, and couldn’t let it happen again.”
She frowned and looked back.
“But they will try again. They will. The New Sith Order’s creed is to see the end of the Jedi.”
Her lips sealed and set in a hard line to stop themselves from over-spilling with the what-ifs, and could-bes. Part of what remained unsaid was the inkling of a consideration that citizens of The Alliance if unaffiliated with The Jedi by way of their government, might be safer without being connected to the Jedi at all. Coruscant had been to turn The Senate against The Jedi. Jedha had been a Jedi Holy world. Empress Teta was a gateway to Tython.
“We have to find a way to win not just a battle, but the war. Tython has to be the last time The Maw takes the chance to ruin a world.”
In the back of her mind, more dots connected. Without the Jedi, The Alliance might be safe for a time — but once the Jedi were gone, they were unprotected. Separation would be only a short-term solution.
“Fill that emptiness with something meaningful.”
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