Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 147, Page 149 - Prisoner of War Transfer
Ondron, Japrael Galaxy.

Japrael Sector.

At dawn, the morning light climbed onto the towering rooftops of the palace, and the city streets were already bustling with the aroma of the morning market, filled with the scents of freshly baked bread and spices.

Ahsoka rubbed his sore eyes, trying to shake off the sleepiness, and strode into the cold, wide stone corridors of the Ondron Palace.

Scout followed closely beside her, his steps hurried, one hand unconsciously rubbing his shoulder.

The soreness from riding the dragon had clearly not completely subsided.

Today marks the first official day of the peace summit.

Both sides hoped that this symbolic prisoner exchange would serve as a starting point to pave the way for the difficult negotiations to come.

This ceremony will be the most publicly and intensively publicized event during the peace summit.

Millions of Ondron residents will watch live or via holograms, and trillions of galactic citizens will be watching.

This also means that today is the perfect opportunity for anyone attempting to disrupt the peace process to create chaos and exert influence.

The air was thick with danger, as clear and palpable as the cool morning air in Weng Delun.

At the foot of the mountain in Yolain Square, the Senate Guard and the Royal Army of Ondron were already on high alert.

Royal Army soldiers controlled the rooftops and windows of the buildings surrounding the innermost ring of the central avenue, while the Senate Guard stood guard at the edge of the square.

Several discreet scanning drones hovered at low altitudes, vigilantly monitoring the crowd.

The square is cross-shaped, paved with polished stone slabs, and slopes slightly upwards towards the palace on the hillside.

One of the main avenues runs straight through the city center, dividing it into a bustling commercial district, and leads directly to the massive city gate tower in the distance.

Another vertical avenue winds its way upwards, disappearing into layers of elevated ramps and dense clusters of rooftop buildings.

According to the plan, prisoners of war from the Republic and the Separatist Alliance would enter the square from the vertical avenue, meet and exchange in the central area.

Guided by the Force, Ahsoka led Scout through the heavily guarded ranks of soldiers and found several Jedi Masters patrolling the edge of the plaza.

Despite the heavy security at the scene, Scout understood this caution, as the Force's warnings often appear earlier than the threats visible to the naked eye.

“Scooter, Asoka,” Master Procon greeted them gently, his gaze sweeping over their slightly tired faces. “Did you rest well?”

“It’s much more comfortable than riding on a dragon’s back,” Ahsoka couldn’t help but complain again, stretching his stiff neck. “But my whole body still feels like it’s falling apart.”

Sikute nodded in agreement. "That bed was heaven, but it was too short."

“When I was young, I also dreamed of riding on the back of a dragon one day.” Anakin smiled and looked into the distance. “However, the dragon I imagined back then was not like Ondron.”

“I remember this,” Obi-Wan stroked his beard, his eyes filled with reminiscence. “You ended up running all over Tatooine’s sands and canyons, only to find you were going in the wrong direction.”

"What do you mean by that?" Scout asked curiously.

“There’s an old legend about Tatooine,” Anakin explained, a hint of wistful nostalgia in his smile, “that there was a dragon that lived deep within our star, and perhaps… we should have looked toward its moon.”

He tilted his head slightly, gesturing towards the solitary moon in the sky that was gradually merging into the pale blue background as the daylight brightened.

Obi-Wan sighed softly, instinctively tucking his hands into his wide sleeves, and squinted at the moon, seemingly deep in thought.

"Where did Paris go?" Ahsoka suddenly asked, looking around with a hint of confusion on his face. "I clearly remember her coming back with us..."

“She’s back,” Master Pro said reassuringly, “but I advised her to stay home and rest. After everything she’s been through, what she needs most right now is to recover her strength, not to participate in these public events.”

“She was imprisoned by separatists for a whole year…” Ahsoka’s voice lowered, filled with deep sympathy. “I can’t even imagine what she went through.”

“And it was Bontri who imprisoned her,” Obi-Wan added thoughtfully as he paced back and forth, turning his gaze to Ahsoka. “Ahsoka, you’ve had contact with Bontri. What do you think of him…?”

“Rayne Bontri?” Ahsoka repeated the name, sounding somewhat surprised, before pondering seriously. “He…said a lot, but could I really say some of it?”

“I have already relayed the contents of your conversation to Obi-Wan and Anakin,” Master Proud gently reminded them. “What your master wants to know now is your observation of Bontri’s personality and temperament.”

Ahsoka frowned, trying to recall, her still-developing antennae swaying gently in the morning breeze.

“He seemed… quite normal,” Scout tried to describe her brief impression. “An orderly, rule-abiding person. All those rumors about the Battle of Kolumex… made it impossible for me to imagine what he would be like. But I really didn’t expect Bontri to be the kind of person… to do something like that.”

Obi-Wan nodded wisely. "'Normal' people, when they believe they are fulfilling their duties, can sometimes do extreme things. As Jedi, our goal is to seek justice, but we must act with caution. Is someone who strictly abides by the law necessarily evil?"

Scout shook his head, feeling as if he were back in those ethics classes at the Jedi Temple. "No, the law itself may be problematic, but those who follow it aren't necessarily evil." "But what if the law he follows is evil itself?" Master Kenobi pressed, his gaze drifting into the distance, as if he were witnessing the carnage of the Battle of Kolumex. "Imagine, Scout, if you were in Kolumex then, and you saw the Separatist warships closing in on you, their crews only interested in taking your life because you're a Jedi, would you still think Bontry was merely following the law?"

“That’s because Dooku is evil!” Ahsoka retorted, somewhat agitated. “He set the rules that separatists must follow! Bontri was merely the enforcer!”

“Evil…” Pro Kong’s voice was filled with deep sorrow, as if he were sighing for an old friend who had gone astray. “It’s a heavy and absolute word. I’d rather say that Dooku was misled by the dark side, and I hope… Bontri was just shrouded in the shadow of the dark side as well.”

Scout looked up at the elderly Jedi Master. "Count Dooku... was he once your friend, Master?"

Procon turned around, his gaze deep. “Dooku… he was a stern, even harsh man, not easy to approach. But he was respected by the entire Jedi Order and was a friend to all of us. I still regret that we failed to stop him from sliding into darkness, but hopefully with this peace, we can begin to mend the rifts of the past.”

“Masters.” A soft yet exceptionally clear voice broke the momentary silence.

Master Pro looked behind Scout and said, "Baris, you should rest. I have arranged a shuttle to take you back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and I have also informed Master Luminara that you are about to return."

The lost apprentice of Master Luminara Andhuri.

Scout knew this story.

When Master Luminara was on a secret mission of vital importance to the war on the border of the Republic, he went with his apprentice, but only the master returned alone.

Considering how much time has passed, it's nothing short of a miracle that Baris survived.

Scout believed she wasn't the only one curious about how Baris had survived the Separatists, especially given that Ryan Bontry clearly knew her Jedi identity.

“Thank you for your concern, Master Pro, I have rested enough.” Baris’s cobalt blue eyes were unusually bright, and although there were traces of fatigue around them, her gaze was clear and sharp. “I cannot leave until I have witnessed the aftermath of the Kolumex incident with my own eyes and until I am certain that peace is truly secure.”

"You were in Kolumex at the time?" Asoka's voice was full of surprise, though he refrained from raising his voice, his eagerness to find out the truth about the war was clearly evident.

Paris nodded calmly.

“Wait a moment.” Anakin stepped forward, his gaze sharply scrutinizing Baris. “Back then…who were you fighting for?”

Ok?
Scout was also stunned.

Wasn't Paris a prisoner of war?

How could she...

“I was serving on the Separatist destroyer USS Flame Messenger, Master Skywalker,” the Miriaran apprentice stood ramrod straight, performing a standard Jedi curtsy with the utmost grace despite wearing a simple borrowed robe. “Earlier, I was on the frigate USS Unicorn. I am deeply gratified to see you safe and sound again.”

“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.” Anakin’s brow furrowed as his memory was awakened. “You were in Atlantis, weren’t you? The Unicorn… the ship that sent us the distress signal for refugees… it was you who warned us about the refugees.”

His tone was complex, a mixture of confirmation and a hint of barely perceptible heaviness.

Anakin looked down at his apprentice, who had been lost and found but whose identity had become complicated, and his expression changed several times.

Just like his sudden questioning, he wearily rubbed his face with his hand, then let out a long breath, his tense shoulders relaxed, and his tone softened.

“The workings of the Force… are always so mysterious,” he murmured, more to himself. “It’s not my place to question you, Apprentice. It’s the committee’s responsibility. But I believe they will understand your situation and reasons and will not unfairly accuse you.”

“Anakin is right.” Obi-Wan crossed his arms, his expression serious yet understanding. “Clearly, it was the Force that guided you to reunite with us in Ondron. Barris, there is no need to be afraid. The committee will conduct the necessary hearings, but to make judgments without hearings would be a serious mistake.”

“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease, Master Kenobi.” Baris’s eyes flickered slightly, then she looked toward the square. “But I’m here to inform everyone that the crowd has gathered, and the exchange ceremony… is about to begin.”

“It’s starting…” Ahsoka’s words suddenly stopped, her body tensed instantly, and her head turned sharply to the ground, becoming highly alert as if she had caught the scent of her prey.

The next moment, Scout understood the reason.

A low, continuous vibration came from the stone floor beneath my feet.

Although the city avenue of Izzi is wide and grand, it is crowded with two huge streams of people.

As the exhausted and ragged prisoners of war, escorted by armed soldiers, slowly poured into the square from the vertical avenue through the closed shops and towering apartment buildings on both sides, the once spacious area instantly became crowded and oppressive.

"The handover ceremony has begun," Master Pro confirmed in a deep voice, his gaze fixed solemnly on the surging crowd.

"It just...started like this?" Scout felt a suffocating sadness.

She knew it was meant to show goodwill to the entire galaxy, but to thrust these men and women, wounded by war and exhausted both physically and mentally, directly into the spotlight, making everyone know that they represented the Republic's most painful defeat and the humiliation of being captured... was itself a new kind of torment.

She saw some Republic prisoners of war with their heads down, trying to avoid the countless gazes and buzzing camera drones around them.

(End of this chapter)