The Weaving Force: Chapter 44 (Patreon)

Chapter 44:

Alexandria:

“Are you alright?”

It said a lot about her current… state- that even Satine was looking at her with a genuine concern. Their usual dynamic of pointed words and barbed ‘I-told-you-so’s’, forgotten in the day leading up to… Hebert’s arrival.

Alexandria forced herself to nod “Hmmm.” Came the sound from the back of her throat. “I simply… have a lot on my mind.”

“Regarding?” Satine questioned, leaning against her desk, a glass of aged brandy in her hands. The Duchess rarely drank- but today she felt the desire, or perhaps the need to.

Alexandria could relate.

Today; they’d finalized the deal with Clan Wren; the full might of the clan were headed to Ryloth to help the resistance there, along with all the support, weapons and war materiel they didn’t get from the New Mandalorian government- but had rather appropriated from a few lucky raids on slaver convoys.

“Our incoming guests.” She answered. It wasn’t even a lie.

“Yes- of course” Satine rubbed at her forehead. “How could that have slipped my mind? Of course you’d be thinking of the others you found from your home.”

“Actually I was considering the others; the Jedi.” Alexandria pivoted; and this was a lie, or at least half of one. The last thing she wanted was to discuss her own death and the girl who caused it with her sometimes friend, sometimes obstacle of a political partner. “Obi-Wan is coming with them-” The message between hyperspace jumps had been short, but that had been clear. Obi-Wan, Anakin, Shmi’s boy and the grandmaster of the order, Yoda.

She remembered meeting Yoda, at least in passing in the Senate building just a year ago; a tiny green alien, who seemed more fit to be an archivist than the head of an order of Warrior monks with a grab bag trump classification.

Satine took a long drag of her brandy. “Yes. Yes he is.” And Alexandria had to fight down a smirk. Obi-Wan was certainly enough of a distraction to peel away attention from any unwanted questions.

“It's clear that our actions on 13611 caught their attention.” She continued. “You’ve interacted with them more than me, what do you suppose the purpose of their leader coming here is for?”

“I have interacted with four Jedi to any degree that qualify” Satine reminded. “One of which is just a boy; and two of which are now dead- Oh… Oh” She rubbed at her forehead. “Obi-Wan lost another Master…” She seemed to realize.

Before the woman could lose herself in thoughts of Obi-Wan’s loss Alexandria cut in -honestly, that was the only man in the galaxy that could distract the woman with just the mention of his name- “Regardless, what are your thoughts as to their purpose?

“Mandalorians and Jedi have had a long and bloodied history. With our cooperation; perhaps they see a path to building bridges rather than burning them.”

Maybe; but Alexandria wondered if it was Satine’s wishful thinking that had her think of that as the first possibility. Thanks would certainly be given, if only for politeness’ sake. But they could just as easily be approaching to inquire as to what they found or didn’t find regarding the Sith that had apparently killed the Count of Sereno.

Still; these were all thoughts for later… and until this… meeting with Hebert was resolved, one way or another Alexandria really didn’t have the energy to devote so much thought to this.

“It’s late.” She said, standing from her seat. “I think I'll go to sleep; they’ll be arriving early tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

Offering a polite nod, Alexandria turned and walked out of the room, the rustle of her dark dress being the only sound in the office accompanied by the click of her heels.

The royal guards offered her polite nods that she reciprocated as she passed them in the halls. Gone were the days where she was just some strange woman they had to tolerate, more than a few respected her even if they still weren’t wholly sure as to her rank, if she even had one.

Unofficially she was simply ‘The Advisor’

And that was good enough really.

She reached her room, entering the darkened space with an almost relieved sigh.

She didn’t need to sleep, not like normal people. But she found herself wanting it tonight. A few blessed hours where her mind would stop whirling and writhing with… everything.

But before that she made her way to an adjacent room; gone were the days of a single guest chamber, for all of them. Militia had made her home with Aras, Dennis had an apartment of his own, though he preferred to live on his ship, and she had a place befitting her value.

The adjoining room was large and spacious, filled with things not many would associate with her.

She pressed several keys on the control console… then she let the sounds spill free and wash over her.

She closed her eyes, taking a seat on the sole chair as she tried to let the harmony banish her thoughts.

“Ms. Alexandria?”

Her eyes opened, surprised.

She must be far more distracted than she ever would have thought.

She turned in her chair, eying none other than young Korkie Kryze.

“Little princeling.” She drawled, one leg crossing over the other. “It’s bad manners to enter another’s room unannounced.

The boy blushed, looking down at his feet. “I’m sorry. I just heard… you weren’t feeling well. I wanted to know if I could help.”

Alexandria let out the faintest of breaths, shaking her head ever so slightly.

A sweet boy, one with a childish, harmless infatuation.

“It’s alright.” She sighed gently. “Though you should have announced yourself.”

“I-I was-” He stammered, he was telling the truth too. “But then… I heard the music.” He listened to the gentle keys of the piano playing through the speakers. “What music is that?” He seemed enraptured with wonder.

She couldn’t help the pang of sadness that poked through her heart; even if she never let the emotion show on her face.

“It was made by a man named Mozart” She answered. “This was his, Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Major,. 280.”

The poor boy’s features scrunch up and she can’t help but chuckle a bit at his expression.

“We also called it Adagio” She offered as a conciliatory gesture.

“Adagio.” He repeated the foreign word; finding it rolling awkwardly off his tongue.

He looked around the room, eyes going wide as he looked past her onto the rows and rows and rows of… more.

“What is this place?” He asked, wonder in his voice.

She looked to her right; onto the stacks upon stacks of… archives.

“Home.” She answered. “All that’s left.” She admitted. “All I could recreate.”

The boy didn’t understand. How could he? He knew they couldn’t go home. But he didn’t know why. He could never guess home was utterly gone now. Likely little more than dust in a hollowed out crater of a planet.

“During my first year here-” She explained. “-I… missed home.” She said. “The foods, sounds. People. But… all I could bring back… was our music.”

Hours upon hours; years of buying droids, computer software, finding ways to recreate the exacting sounds of home…

For music.

It helped… most days.

Others it just reminded her of how utterly she’d failed. No matter how much she remembered. She would never be able to grasp the enormity of everything they had lost. Never come close to recreating even a single fraction of it…

…

Ten minutes.

…

Just ten minutes.

And tomorrow she’d come face to face with her own personal culmination of all her life's failures.

She sighed, standing up as she made her way over to the little prince.

“Come now, princeling.” She said as gently as she could, one hand resting on the boy’s sandy blonde hair. “It's past time… we were both headed off to sleep.”

—

They’d meet them at the landing bay.

She’d arranged it in secret, without Satine’s approval. The Duchess would no doubt wish for them to be escorted to the palace’s private hangar and treated with all courtesy.

Alexandria wouldn’t be making that mistake.

No vents, no walls, no enclosed spaces, no time for her to gather a swarm at her side.

Another argument had been made to have the Duchess meet their guests once they reached the throne room rather than when they arrived. Satine felt it was ‘too proud’ given their shared history.

Alexandria simply wanted her out of the way in the event she needed to… deal with things.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Hannah asked her one last time as the ship began its descent the dark, distant dot in the sky becoming larger and clearer “You don’t need to see her.”

Her one time Ward meant well; wanted to protect her, but Alexandria had faced down endbringers, and even though the thought of bugs crawling down her throat and the pain of a chest that wasn’t strong enough to suck down air through their crushed bodies haunted her nightmares she wasn’t going to shy away from facing a slip of a girl.

The Siberian had haunted her nightmares too once. And she’d faced Manton again and again over the years.

“Look-” Dennis began at her other side. “We don’t even know if she even remembers what she did to you.” His hand came up, gripping her bicep to draw her attention. “She might be like Militia and doesn’t know anything! Don’t do this if you’re looking for a fight. Just-”

She pulled her arm free. “Despite what you think of me, Mr. Cook, I am not some rabid animal.”

“Not rabid no.” He hissed. “I can see you setting this up to give you an advantage for when you attack her-”

“If-” She stressed. “If we have to fight, then yes. I would want as many advantages as possible given the circumstances.”

Dennis growled. “Look. Let me take the lead on this. You just hang back and look scary or whatever it is you do-”

She snorted. “Yes, a marvelous idea. Lets give the boy who’s been actively contemplating abandoning the planet on his ship every few hours the lead on this.”

“Better than the woman looking to pick a fight for revenge!”

A sharp, high pitched whistle, made her and Dennis wince, the both of them turning to look at Hannah  as the woman pulled her pinched fingers away from her mouth.

“Since the two of you can’t seem to be objective about this I will do this.”

“You don’t know anything about her/You don’t know how dangerous she is.” The protest came from the two of them at once, with she and Dennis sharing a look- Hannah however, just nodded.

“Exactly.” She answered firmly. “And how long she must’ve been here, neither do you.” She spat. “Look at us!” Hannah gestured. “Would we recognize ourselves if we saw us three years ago?”

Alexandria understood the point Hannah was making but- frankly, she couldn’t picture Skitter any other way beyond the girl that had sat there, dead faced, utterly placid while believing her friends were dead and stared- as a dead eyed fish while murdering her.

“Look Miss M-” Dennis tried to cut in as Alexandria’s fingers clenched into a shaking fist.

“I-” Hannah cut him off. “Will handle this.” She answered firmly. “She’s been with Dallon this whole time as far as we can tell. Do you really see Dallon, Victoria Dallon tolerating a villain beside her?”

“... She was always charismatic-” Alexandria heard Dennis mutter.

Hannah turned her eyes towards the older woman, and Alexandria’s thoughts were so jumbled she could barely even read her expression, part concern, part demand.

Then, the ship began to touch down.

The engines howled, kicking up sand and dust, Mandalore’s dry, arid air feeling harsh to what passed for her sense of touch.

The landing legs lurched inwards as weight settled on them; the engines taking a moment to spool down before the ramp lowered.

The first to hobble out of the ship, was the tiny green alien, Master Yoda, beside him, Obi-Wan and Skywalker.

And then; behind them-

“Miss Hannah, hi!”

Hannah smiled, even with the tension seeping from Dennis and Alexandria herself at her back she still found a way to make it sincere and her voice genuinely happy. “Ani- Hi!, Shmi will be so glad to see you!”

Skywalker smiled, and though he was perhaps still ignorant of the tension brewing, she could tell by Obi-Wan and Yoda’s expressions they were not.

That’s when Victoria stepped forward a bright smile on her face as she waved excited ly over her own head.

The Dallon girl had grown in the three years, though not much. She’d already been eighteen or seventeen when they arrived, only three years hadn’t altered her that much. She’d hit the last bit of growth spurt she was going to get, capping off at five ten, her hair was longer, and still her skin glowed with youth; though the unnatural perfection Alexandria could remember had faded ever so slightly without her adopted sister quietly machining away with every tiny touch placed on the object of her obsession.

And behind her-

“Holy shit it is you.” Dennis breathed in a whisper that could have been equal parts horrified, awed or resigned. “Knew I should have just gone looking for less trouble” He muttered. “Hutta maybe.”

“I am Grandmaster Yoda. I  greet you, Mandalorians” Yoda called, looking up at them.

“And we welcome you to Mandalore; may you .” Alexandria had enough of her senses to answer the traditional greeting.

Hebert came closer.

Like Dallon, Alexandria could remember in exacting detail the last time she’d laid eyes on Hebert, and how she differed now. Tall, certainly -but she’d always been tall for a girl- willow thin, pale skin and an expressionless face.

She eyed Dennis and Hannah as though deciding how much effort she’d have to use to bring them down if needed.

Then her eyes met Alexandria’s and held her stare.

Alexandria knew then, without the faintest shadow of a doubt, that this girl remembered everything.

She could feel her heart pounding, her own physiological reaction feeling… almost foreign to her.

Subtly, she shifted her weight, wondering if she had the speed to spring forward fast enough to catch her off guard.She remembered the details on what Jedi could do, because the girl and Dallon were now apparently Jedi as well.

Records were broad. Telekenisis, mind reading, pre-cog being the foremost examples Mandalorians had on their combat abilities.

Dangerous…

But the girl responded to the subtle change, her own foot moving ever so slightly ready to ‘catch’ the lunge in whatever trap she had in mind.

Every muscle in Alexandria’s body felt paralyzed, her brain racked with indecision.

“Clock-” Hebert said, eyes never leaving Alexandria’s. “We could have found an easier way to escape those internet rumors about our sex life, you know.”

The Dallon girl let out a strangled squawk of ‘What!?’ The Jedi practically froze in surprise as the Skywalker boy blushed from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. Militia choked on her own laughter.

Dennis started.

Then he laughed.

It built up slowly, from a snicker to a chuckle, then a full on belly laugh, the boy throwing his head back with shoulders shakin and tears leaking from his eyes.

“How is it…” He wheezed. “-that's the first thing you say? I would be the one to say some stupid shit like that!”

“Wait, it's true!?” Dallon balked- and Alexandria could see…

“You know that’s- the only thing, I think I completely forgot about from home? The only thing anyone’s ever reminded me of.” He laughed again. “Not some important date or holiday. No. Just the shipping wars between the two of us!?” He guffawed.

Hebert smirked, but it was for show. Her eyes were still fixed squarely on Alexandria, her stance telling the thinker that her guard was up. She was well aware that this was still a fight infront of her, even if the others didn’t.

Alexandria cleared her throat, forcing her voicebox to work. “Give us a moment.” She demanded. “I would like to have a private word with Ms. Hebert.

It wasn’t subtle. She couldn’t have done subtle, even if she wanted to. Dennis stiffened, at her side, Hannah did as well and their tension bled over onto the others.

“Is everything alright?” Obi-Wan asked; his voice carrying a wariness as Dallon interposed herself between her and Hebert; while the grandmaster’s serious features grew grim and severe.

Hebert just kept staring at her.

“There’s no problem.” The young woman answered, dark green eyes unblinking. “Is there?”

She was threatening her, Alexandria noted incredulously.

Dallon turned, looking at Hebert over her shoulder.

For the first time, Hebert broke eye contact with Alexandria, offering the Dallon girl a soft, barely there smile meant to reassure.

Dallon hesitated, just for a moment. She was confused; and Alexandria realized that Dallon didn’t know. Not really. She knew there was bad blood but not why. She trusted Hebert.

“Come on guys,” Dallon finally said. “Let's give em some space.” She leaned close, half whispering her reassurance to Hebert. “We’ll be nearby.”

The Jedi acquiesced, clearly confused but willing to follow Dallon’s lead. Hannah and Dennis hesitated longer, but still did ‘back up’ at Vicky’s urging, eyes and body-language screaming tense trepidation.

Finally, it was just her, staring at the girl who’d killed her.

The winds whipped past the two of them, catching the fabric of Alexandria’s dress and Hebert’s dark hair in their hold.

“You wanted to talk?” Hebert began. “Or just room for a few seconds to try and make your move?”

Alexandria’s eyes narrowed.

She couldn’t read her. Her features were placid and blank. Just like back then.

Her heart hammered under her ribs.

Was it a bluff? Or was she genuinely that confident?

“I am.” The girl answered the unspoken question, making Alexandria’s eyes widen.

Hebert glared. “I know I will survive this encounter Alexandria. Can you say the same?” The world around them hissed.

Alex’s fists were shaking at her sides.

She wanted to kill her. She did. Suffocation was… a horrid way to die.

On average, it took two minutes for a person to pass out from oxygen deprivation.

Her physiology made it so it took four.

She remembered every single excruciating second. Down to the final darkening of her eyes and the brief motes of flashes that signaled the neurons dying behind her own eyes.

She remembered.

And this girl had caused it.

Worse, she could do it again.

Even if she didn’t cause it directly, she could tell others how to. Assassins were not in short supply towards her or Satine; more than a few had found themselves stumped that she wasn’t dead after taking whatever bomb or shot or other mundane murder attempt they’d cooked up.

How long would it take? For every ship she walked into to be wired for sabotage to its life support? Or just targeted to get blasted out of space?

She… wanted to be better. She’d tried very hard, every day on this world that wasn’t hers to be better or at least not be worse.

But she also wanted Hebert dead, if nothing more than her own peace of mind.

“I don’t want to kill you.” The girl finally said.

“How do I know that’s true?” The question burned at her throat. An admission of a vulnerability to this- the girl that had killed her. But what did it matter? She could apparently read thoughts regardless.

“What would be the point?” Hebert asked.

“Revenge.” Alexandria shrugged. “I can’t imagine you hold any particular love for me-”

“I don’t.” Taylor answered blithely. “... But I don’t hate you either. I don’t think I can. Not with what you were fighting.”

So… “You’re like Cook.” She said. “You remember the final battle.”

For a brief moment Hebert’s features showed a genuine flicker of expression, too complex to decipher.

“Yeah…” She said then her expression stuttered again. “Wait. Final battle? Dennis was dead long before that-”

Alexandria’s own heart did a flop in her chest

“You… remember more than Cook.” She realized; then, she realized something else by the words, the inflection in her voice and what minimal signs had escaped the tight cage of her expression. “It… finished. You saw it end. But- that means”

She felt her heart beating faster now, for wholly different reasons.

“We won?” The question emerged as a whisper, so faint; it was as though Alexandria feared voicing it would shatter and kill the flickering hope in a stillbirth.

Hebert’s expression once more closed off, but not like before, not the accursed blankness that had murdered her, rather it was as though a dark shadow passed over the planes of her face.

The girl looked away. And Alexandria recognized, perhaps the opening she’d been looking for.

But the desire to kill her had evaporated, destroyed utterly by the overwhelming need to hear the answer.

A long heavy silence fell between them.

“... I’m not telling this story more than once.” She answered after gathering her thoughts. “Tonight. You, Clock, Militia… Vicky too. Somewhere private.”

Alexandria physically fought the urge to lunge for the girl, ready to grab her and fly up into the sky, threatening to drop her unless she told her now exactly what had happened.

Thirty years. Thirty years she’d fought the monster. Done things that made her into a monster in turn in the faintest hope that they could win.

She’d thought it’d all been for nothing. Worthless and pointless. A life of misery that begot yet more misery as it damn well should have.

And yet… this girl here held the answers that could silence the nightmares.

The thought of waiting nearly drove her mad, but with the same iron clad discipline and self control she’d relied on the whole of her life she limited herself to merely one step forward before she felt a pressure settle over every muscle in her body, Not enough to stop her, but it was certainly affecting her.

Hebert’s hand was held out in a warding gesture.

“Tonight” The world hissed as Hebert’s thin lips held still, Alexandria heard the flutter of a cloak as Dallon swooped in behind her, on alert now. “Or I tell you nothing”

“No!” Her voice came out far more desperate than she could ever remember, and wasn’t that saying something. “No…” She repeated, stepping back. “I… can wait.” The words clawed their way out of her throat like barbed wire, and stung as much too.

Hebert nodded, and then, moved with careful wariness to step past her, staying beyond simple arms reach as she offered Alexandria a wide berth.

When the girl was standing shoulder to shoulder she stopped, pausing just before walking towards the others as Dallon’s boots touched the ground slightly behind Alexandria.

“For whatever it might be worth…” She said. “I’m not unhappy that you’re alive.” She shrugged. “I hope you find whatever peace you can with everything you’ve done.”

“Have you?” She spat back. Then winced, reminding herself not to push the girl that had all the answers she was looking for.

Hebert didn’t answer before she kept walking.

—

The wait for the oncoming night was genuinely the longest wait of her life. Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days.

She tried to distract herself by attending to diplomacy. Focussing on her work as she normally did.

The Jedi were shown to their quarters, Master Yoda and Obi-Wan visited Satine as Hannah happily took Anakin to see Shmi while Dennis and Rugess took Dallon and Hebert on an impromptu tour.

She wondered if he’d be so happy to wait if she’d told him what answers Hebert was hiding until ‘tonight’

She rather doubted it.

But still, slow or not, time inevitably marched on and soon enough, the Mandalorian sun began its slow descent under the edge of the horizon.

She waited in her office, seldom used of course. She hardly had need of a computer to or a secretary of any kind. She used it when she wanted, activated Merrick’s listening devices when it was convenient and deactivated them without him knowing all other times.

Modifications over the years ensured none could listen beyond these walls unless she wished.

So for her needs today, it was perfect.

Hannah was the first to arrive. Because of course she was. Dennis and so, Hebert and Victoria, arrived late. She’d been just about ready to order the guards to search and drag them back here if need be.

She was not used to waiting.

Likely the boy had done it just to irritate her.

Even so, when he stepped into the office and realized Hannah and Alexandria were the only parties present; she saw the realization creep up on him.

“Heh… Group therapy time?” He asked, feigning non-chalance. “I’m tempted to pass.”

“Dennis.” Hannah called softly, half chiding, half concerned.

“Sharing details of how I died isn’t exactly fun Miss M.”

“You what!?”

Dallon’s horrified voice bounced off the walls. Cook looked away from her.

Silence held the room for a moment; Hannah broke it with a sigh.

“We all remember… up to a point.” The woman began, then pressed a hand over her chest. “The last thing I recall from home is a call, Armsmaster captured Lung.”

Hebert shifted, surprise in her stance. Alexandria remembered Hebert had been the one to do that on her first night as a cape.

Hannah continued, gesturing towards Alexandria herself. “Alexandria remembers…” She hesitated, eyes flickering towards Hebert for a brief half second. “Her own death… no further. Dennis is much the same.”

The Dallon girl looked troubled at that, her eyes going between the three of them, then flitting back to Hebert who pointedly avoided meeting her eyes.

She knew nothing then. Hebert had kept her in the dark.

“How… bad did things get Tay?” She asked in a horrified whisper

“How much do you recall?” Hannah asked, cutting in.

“I only remember up to the bank robbery with the Undersiders.” Dallon answered hesitantly, looking to Dennis. “You remember that too right?”

“Heh. First time I got the skitter special of spiders down my throat.” His smile was bitter. “How could I forget?”

Dallon winced.

Hannah’s voice was still gentle, to her credit when she addressed Hebert. “And you Ms. Hebert?”

Alexandria watched her, the girls facial muscles beginning to twitch and give the barest hints of micro expressions before they flattened utterly.

“I remember everything. Right up until the end.” She answered. “Dennis died before it was over.”

The boy sighed, shoulders and back tight with tension. “So… its true then. We all died fighting him.”

“Who?” Dallon asked.

“Scion.”

It was Alexandria’s voice that answered the question. She didn’t have the patience to dance around this information quarantine Hebert had set up around Dallon.

The blonde’s eyes widened. “What!?”

“He was a monster” Dennis hissed, emotion starting to choke him as tears burned at the corner of his eyes. “Just… decided to stop pretending one day.” He made a gun with his fingers, pretending to pull the trigger.

Vicky looked to her, then to Hannah and finally to Hebert herself, searching for some clarification. Some denial.

She didn’t find it.

“Is that what you were fighting?” She demanded.

“Fighting might be a bit of a stretch.” Dennis laughed hatefully. “We were dying.” He looked to the two girls. “Hebert may have lasted longer, but we lost regardless.”

“I didn’t say that.” The dark haired girl answered.

Again, Alexandria’s heart stuttered in her chest.

Who?

“W-wait!?” Dennis’ eyes went wide, his hand falling slack at his side. “W-we WON!?”

The incredulity was there, but so was the hope, a desperate burning hope Dennis hadn’t allowed himself to nurture in years now, armored in a shell of bitter resentment and resigned melancholy.

Who?

Hebert nodded.

Dennis was too stunned to answer.

Beside her, Hannah’s eyes were wide as dinner plates.

“Who?”

She finally found her voice, all eyes rounding to her as she stepped forward, feeling her legs shake with… almost weakness as she lurched forward, demanding the answer.

“Who killed it?” If not Eidolon… who? Sleeper? Glaistig? A fresh trigger or a Cauldron Vial?

Hebert stared at her.

Her voice was as dead as her eyes when she answered, staring past all of them in that moment.

“I did.”

(X)(X)(X)

So I didn't expect this chapter to take place through Alex's POV. But when I started with the others, nothing really clicked until *her* so *Ta-dah*!(Also link to discord to discuss the Patreon chapters if you'd all like to join there https://discord.gg/KAxG98zn )Next chapter is gonna be from a mix of Tay, Vicky and likely Hannah's POV; with some extra with Anakin, Obi-Wan and such thrown in as the team will be staying on Mandalore for at least a few days to a week. Then, after that we have ONE more chapter left when the girls return to the Jedi temple for something... big...And then we go on break!!!

I have the best sense of timing :D

PS. ALSO ALSO this story now has a TV tropes page :D

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheWeavingForce

It would mean the world to me if you guys could help fill it out. :)