Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 132-133 - The Situation Is Pressing Us Down
"I should call you my savior..."

As Alvira was speaking, Stella took a step back, her keen eyes catching the almost completely faded old badge mark on the shoulder of her work uniform.

"You're the contact Dono was talking about?" Stella asked incredulously, trying to connect the image of the supposedly exiled, rude soldier in her mind with the clumsy woman in front of her who had almost fallen to her death.

"The contact?" So's voice came from the attic window, which he had already opened. "What on earth is going on?"

“Dono contacted someone with connections in the military and said he'd meet with us today,” Stella explained, her eyes still fixed on Alvira, “but I didn’t expect it to be…”

“I feel like your words are barbed, like you’re insulting me,” Alvira raised a hand and made a “stop” gesture. “I have to make it clear that I brought all the intelligence that Dono promised me.”

“…You can go downstairs first,” Stella rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache. “Dono will handle things with you.”

“Alright,” the contact replied, then glanced one last time at the towering Temple of Unifar, shrouded in the shadow of the fleet, before nimbly climbing back into the attic through the window.

“You don’t trust her, do you?” So lowered his voice. “She was definitely faking it just now. She was able to climb up this roof without anyone noticing, without being spotted by any of the lookouts, and she was able to sneak up behind us silently. That’s quite an ability.”

“According to Dono, Alvira used to be a Royal Guard,” Stella said. “Aren’t guards the best in the army?”

Her brother frowned, his suspicion deepening. "Something's definitely wrong. The way she walks... it feels really awkward, like..."

"like what?"

“Never mind, it’s nothing,” So suddenly stopped talking, waving his hand irritably. “Anyway, I just think she’s suspicious. Trust me, I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Stella trusted So, her brother, who, though sometimes reckless, had keen intuition. "Okay, but don't scare her. It'll be troublesome if you scare her away."

“If she really is a guard,” So muttered, then he also climbed down from the eaves and squeezed through the window, “then we should be the ones who are afraid.”

His figure disappeared into the darkness of the attic.

Stella also climbed back into the safe house through the window.

Downstairs, she saw Alvira already sitting on an old wooden chair, holding a cup in her hand, slowly drinking what was inside, looking as relaxed as if she were in her own living room.

Despite being surrounded by six or seven comrades, the atmosphere was tense, like an impromptu interrogation.

Suo crossed his arms and leaned against a support pillar in the center of the room, his brow furrowed as he fell into deep thought.

"Stella, you're finally here!" Dono rushed over as soon as he saw her, his eyes wide and his voice filled with obvious panic. "Something terrible has happened! Ondron wants to hold peace talks; they want to end the war!"

Stella froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, "...What?!"

“The Lords’ Council was convened urgently to prepare for a peace summit,” Alvira leaned back, the back of his chair creaking slightly. “They haven’t made it public because they want to keep it a secret for as long as possible. In fact, the location for the meeting hasn’t even been finalized yet, for the galaxy.”

Keep it as secret as possible...

Before Stella could even ask "why," she keenly noticed that Alvira was staring at her with an unusually focused, scrutinizing gaze.

She instantly understood; the secrecy was to prevent "them" from finding out.

It's not just their small resistance group, but all the forces in the galaxy that might try to undermine this peace effort.

Keeping it secret until the very last moment is to maximize the difficulty of sabotage.

"We must stop it!" So's voice was low and urgent, carrying an almost desperate ferocity.

He and the others knew that these words confirmed the parliament's concerns about secrecy: "If the war ends now, we will be disposed of like trash! Ondron's last hope of liberation from the separatists will also be completely destroyed!"

Stella nodded heavily, unable to refute. They knew perfectly well that the reason the separatists and the Rush regime hadn't gone all out to eradicate them was simply because it wasn't a high enough priority for them.

Once the war ends, that puppet regime will be able to free up all its resources to crush their small uprising organization. "But what can we do to stop it?" Dono's voice carried a hint of helplessness and doubt. "Our original plan was to seek the Republic's help, but now the Republic has initiated the peace talks!"

Even in the darkest of times, So could always come up with a brilliant idea.

They are usually the kind who are extremely reckless and disregard the consequences.

But this time, he just sighed in frustration and closed his eyes.

Stella suddenly felt an unprecedented longing for her brother's crazy ideas, because at this moment, even a crazy plan was better than being helpless.

A heavy sense of despair permeated the small safe house like a cold fog, enveloping everyone.

Everyone looked at each other, racking their brains to find a glimmer of hope in this seemingly unsolvable predicament.

“…There must be Jedi Knights among those in the delegation, right?” Alvira’s voice broke the silence. She put down her cup and looked around at everyone. “Could we… ask them for help?”

“We?” So let out a sarcastic laugh. “So this is ‘we’? You’re quite the outsider.”

“Calm down, So,” Stella said seriously, her arms crossed over her chest. “She’s right, this is the way forward.”

"What? Ask the Jedi for help?" So said incredulously, his face full of doubt. "You mean the Jedi we know? The Jedi who are generals in the Republic's army? The Jedi who are henchmen for the Senate?"

"But weren't they the peacekeepers of the galaxy before the war broke out?" Dono pondered, his eyes lighting up as he became interested in the idea. "Shouldn't they be helping the people who are resisting illegitimate rule?"

"Just because they're Jedi, does that mean we should unconditionally believe they'll stand on the side of justice?" So scoffed, his tone sharp. "Who can guarantee they won't betray us right away? Don't forget, if they're coming to Ondron, they're here to be in charge of summit security! To them, we're just a destabilizing factor!"

“Hmm,” Alvira’s gaze shifted back and forth between the arguing siblings, as if weighing the options, “Maybe I’m being too naive, but… if we can’t even trust the Jedi, then who in this galaxy can we trust? Since ancient times, the Jedi Order has been regarded as friends in Ondron.”

“I mean, there’s no harm in giving it a try, right?” Dono looked around at his silent companions, seeking their support. “Does anyone here have a better idea than this?”

The room was silent except for the sound of heavy breathing.

After everyone shook their heads, their gazes finally focused on Stella.

She took a deep breath and made a decision: "Dono and I will stay and try to contact the Jedi delegation. So, you take the rest of the group and go to the southern jungle to meet Hatch as planned. Everyone, the evacuation operation remains unchanged."

So's lips curled down in dissatisfaction, but he knew his sister's decision made sense.

“I don’t like leaving you two alone in this tiger’s den,” he said sullenly, “but… you’re right, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. But Stella, do you really think it’s possible?”

His eyes revealed a rare hint of worry.

A warm feeling welled up inside Stella, and a smile appeared on her face, silently expressing her gratitude.

“Dono and I can look after each other,” she assured firmly. “We also have our own escape routes, and if things go wrong, we’ll leave immediately. We’ll keep in touch, and if communication is lost, we’ll meet up at the ‘nest’.”

"Understood." Su nodded heavily.

“—Wait a minute,” Alvira raised her hand like a student asking a question in class, her face full of confusion, “What exactly is this ‘original plan’ you’re talking about?”

Dono sighed helplessly, glanced at So, and answered for him, "Originally, I planned to go deep into the wilderness to seek help from the Beast Rider Clan. However, personally speaking,"

She looked at Stella and said, “I think the idea of ​​contacting the Jedi sounds much more plausible.”

Alvira slowly lowered his raised hand and muttered something so soft it was almost inaudible: "On this point, we are completely in agreement."

(End of this chapter)