//------------------------------//
// Return Home 
// Story: Star Wars Episode V, Phantoms Of The Past 
// by FourShadow 
//------------------------------//

In hyperspace, the Separatist fleet stayed steady as they flew together. The Sweetie Drop was now in the lead, with the six remaining shuttles behind, followed by the three deployer stations. 

Everyone on board the Sweetie Drop finally calmed down from the escape, allowing them to find places to get comfortable and stay out of the way. While it was weird being stuck in someone’s house, it was still spacious and warm enough for sanctuary. Even the few battle droids that aided their escape were finding spaces to sit down and relax. 

Tawni looked around, happy on the inside to see her people were safe, for once. But she wasn’t happy that their escape came at a price. She looked down the hallway, leading to the front where the cockpit was, wondering if she should check on their pilot. The governor looked at the datapad in her hand, then back at the hall. She considered going up there, until Captain Rex walked out of the hallway to talk to her. 

“I think right now she needs to be left alone,” Rex suggested. “She’s… not ready to talk.”

The governor leaned back against a bare wall. “I feel like I should talk to her though.”

“I don’t know how much good it will do,” Rex shook his head. “She’s locked up tight.”

“Well, hopefully your friends on Yavin can help her,” Tawni sighed. “I did a quick check on our crew; all of the citizens are here, we thankfully didn’t lose many numbers. Unfortunately during the escape we’ve lost more than half of our shuttles to the Star Destroyers.”

“That’s bound to happen regardless,” another voice interrupted. Adagio Dazzle spoke up this time, stepping in with a tray with some drinks. Rex accepted it, although Tawni politely declined. “How many do you have left?”

Tawni sighed as she looked at her datapad. “I’ve lost track of how many droids were in each of the shuttles, but the pilots of each of them are providing me a head count. We’re down to three deployer stations which means we only have eighteen flyers remaining, not accounting the droids that magnetized themselves to us. And at the moment, we only have thirteen battle droids in this ship."

“And how many did we have to start?”

“I don’t know. I do know we had twenty shuttles… now we only have six remaining,” Tawni said, slapping her hands by her sides. “It’s barely enough for a battalion, at best we have a company with my estimation.”

“Better than none of them,” Adagio shrugged. "We have to work with what we got, and if this is all we have, then we'll work with it," the Siren pulled out a few crates to sit down. "Better strategy than the typical Storm Empire way; kill all that are useless and fend only for yourself."

"I never believed in his ideologies," Tawni shook her head, letting her elbows rest on her lap. 

"Then why did you continue to stay?"

"I wanted to believe there was a chance I could make a change," the governor answered; short and quick.

Around the corner, General Kalani approached the group to speak with them. "My gratitude for your help cannot be properly measured, Captain and former Sith," he greeted.  "It was not a victory, but a successful strategy, nonetheless," Kalani he looked towards the civilians hanging out in the living area, talking and giving each other comfort from the fear. "We are gracious for your help in escape, Captain. You and the Jedi included."

"You should probably tell her that yourself," Adagio folded her arms.

"I am not going to bother an emotionally disturbed lifeform," Kalani assured. "That action has an 86% chance of destruction." 

"Good," Tawni rested her head against the wall. "Though I suppose now we need to ask this; what are we going to do when we arrive? You have Jedi in your Alliance, they will not be so kind when they see us," the governor asked.

"We'll make a stand for you, and your people," Rex reassured, standing up. "And I for one am not going to let General Heartstrings' demise be in vain."

"And where are you going?"

"I'm going to check on the kid, make sure she has company," Rex explained. Passing down the hall, he went past a few more civilians and another battle droid just looking for any spot to stand. Opening the door, she saw Flurry was sitting there with only Cheep for company. She stared out into space, not looking at anyone or anything, with only her hand softly petting Cheep's dome.

"Flurry," Rex spoke, softly as he closed the door. "I'm so sorry," the trooper sat down in the co-pilot seat. "If you want, I can stay here for company, or I could--"

"--It doesn't matter," Flurry said, coldly, trying not to look at him. Her hands were shaking, and Rex could see her trembling with anger and sadness. "I... I need to keep it together."

"Kid, it's okay if you're upset--"

"--I'm fine!" Flurry snapped, closing her eyes. "It doesn't matter! She's dead! That monster killed her, and I can never see her again!" 

Rex didn't flinch, nor run away. He knew this all too well, and just stayed there, waiting for her to release everything. 

"I heard the stories. I heard how horrible Midnight was, how many lives were taken. How many families were slaughtered, and taken away from innocent people. But you know something? It never really hits you how awful it is, until it happens to you...." she was trying hard not to choke up. "... And she needs to die. I don't care if it's by my hand, or by an explosion, I am going to find Lady Midnight. I am going to find where she lives," she looked at Rex with bloodshot eyes. "And I am going to kill her."

Rex waited for a moment or two, then took his chance to talk. "Flurry, even if you get the chance, killing her isn't going to bring her back. And I'm not just going to let you run off on your own."

"And why is that? You are not my dad," Flurry glared.

"I promised her no matter what happens, I would bring you home safe," Rex informed. Flurry turned her head back to stare off into space, just watching it fly by her in a flash with little care or regard at this point. "But you know something else?"

"... What?" Flurry spat. 

"You brought us together. An entire army of clones, battle droids, Stormtroopers, and Jedi could never get along and meet in the middle. But you did. You brought us together. Your mother may not have liked it at first, but she knows it was the right thing to do. You were right."

"All I did was remind you numbskulls that the war was pointless since none of you were going to win," Flurry turned her body further away from Rex. "Just leave me alone right now." 

"Chirp chirp..." Cheep pleaded, patting her leg. 

Rex wanted to provide comfort, but it was futile. Realizing there was no sense in trying to comfort when she wasn't feeling receptive, he stood up and placed his helmet down. "If you ever need to talk, just hit my com. I'm here for you."

The doors opened and then closed, Rex sighing as he rubbed his temples. How was he going to explain all of this to Bon Bon? Or anyone back home? There was too many things happening all at once, and he didn't even know where to start. No, he had to plan a way to convince them, there had to be a way. And thankfully Tawni and Kalani were here to talk about a plan, he had some adults to speak to. 

But as he walked away, he had no idea Adagio was standing on the other side of the hall, listening in on their talk. She had no expression on her face, aside from curious. She looked back at the door, pondering for a moment. But the sound of clanking feet made her turn her head as a battle droid walked past her, trying to find something to do. She rolled her eyes momentarily, until a new voice spoke up.

"Can I help you?"

Nearly jumping, she felt her heart race from the unexpected tone. Looking back, she saw IG-11 standing there, scopes focusing on her. 

"No, nothing at all."

The Siren stepped out of the way, allowing the nurse droid to go inside and close the door behind him. Flurry still didn't speak, but IG-11 didn't have to ask to know what was going on. Taking another step, his fingers gently stroked her shoulder, quietly trying to provide comfort. But in a moment of surprise, Flurry got up and pulled Eleven in for a tight hug. The nurse droid wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and patting her back. She stood there, quietly whimpering into his steel-plated shoulder, for as long as she needed him...





After an hour or two of travel, the Sweetie Drop pulled out of hyperspace outside of Yavin IV. The sensors down below from the watchtowers soon picked up on, but worry started to occur when multiple ships pulled out of space alongside it. Multiple flashing red lights, displaying the ship types showed up on the monitoring systems for the watch towers.

"Holy..." the head technician saw. 

Slamming a hand down on the emergency button, a loud, blaring alarm sent soundwaves across Yavin IV's entire base, alerting everyone within earshot. Civilians in refugee housing, workers, chefs, staffing, engineers, everyone heard the alarm.

"Attention everyone, we are at Emergency Alpha Levi..."

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy looked up at the ceiling, listening for the alarm's words. The sound was bad enough, but what was said next made things so much worse. 

"... we have multiple Storm Army ships entering Yavin IV's atmosphere..."

Rarity was in so much shock that she dropped her fine china cup, gasping at the same time. Elsewhere, Zorii Bliss, along with a handful of others including Mystery Mint and Bon Bon froze in place, listening for the next set of orders to come through. Bon Bon completely ceased hostilities with Zorii, as both of them focused on what they had to do to get ready for an attack.

"... I repeat, we have Storm Army vessels entering the atmosphere. All refugees please proceed to the shelters for safety; all armed individuals please stand by for immediate action. Panicking is not advised."

Multiple Rebel soldiers charged down the hallways of all species and race, armed to the teeth with blasters, ready for a fight. Even soldiers with repurposed clone commando armor came forward, leading the packs. 

Swarming the platforms were the soldiers, taking cover behind whatever they could use; carriers, ships, crates, blockades, anything they could use. The commandos marched forward, standing in the front lines, armed to the teeth with the DC-15 interchangeable blasters; standard issue. Sunset Shimmer and the rest of the Jedi joined the commandos, sabers ignited in a line, ready to hold it if they must. Last to join them was Bon Bon and Zorii, standing at opposite ends of the Jedi group, blasters primed and ready.

Several of the ground staff and engineers fled the scene, moving just in time as the ships started to come down. The first they saw were a few Vulture droids hovering down, the legs unfolding and slamming onto the ground. 

"Eetah! Eeva!"

The vultures marched forward, and then moved to the side to allow the rest of the fleet to arrive. Even the Tri-fighter that hooked itself to the Sweetie Drop swooped around and landed in an empty space, with only a few plates of damage shown on the body. The Jedi had way too many questions to ask, but were about to have ten million more of them when the rest of them landed. 

First things they saw were a group of Sheathipede-class shuttles, emerging down to the surface all at once. One by one, all of them landed on the massive landing pad zones, powering down as they landed. Steam hissed from some of them as the engines cooled down. Next they saw the three deployer stations which towered over the shuttles by their sheer size. It was enough to send chills down everyone’s spine as they loomed over their ships. But still, no attack. And last of them all was the Sweetie Drop which parked next to one of the shuttles, unfolding the landing gear and powering down.

The General and the rest of the Jedi held their lightsabers out, unsure as to who could have been coming from these shuttles. Were they friends? Were they enemy?

Suddenly, the doors on the first shuttle opened. A group of B1-unit battle droids marched out, making everyone almost jump and panic. But no one shot. They were waiting for the droids to shoot first. Oddly though, none of the battle droids opened fire. Sure they had guns in their arms, but no one fired at the Rebels. In fact, one of them, a commander presumably, was marching towards them and stopped in front of them.

“Greetings! I am Unit B1-268. My commander has sent us out to greet you,” the battle droid announced.

Sunset’s heart pounded against her chest the moment she saw them. It couldn’t have been real, this couldn’t have. She tried to stay calm, but instead of hearing her friends or the people around, she heard nothing except a ringing in her ears. Her surroundings stopped hitting her senses, and all she could hear were sounds of the past. Blaster bolts firing, explosions, the sounds of Republic gunships swooping among a seas of cries of terror, pain, and death.

“No… it can’t be… it’s not over…” Sunset hyperventilated.

As quiet as the girls were at their arrival, they were all thinking the same thing. How many of them were there? The ones emerging from the shuttle, if they were going to attack wasn’t an issue. But if there were more of them? 

The rest of the shuttle doors started to unlock. More B1 units emerging with weapons lowered to the ground, joining the rest of the droids who were greeting the Jedi. And soon, super battle droids also began to emerge with them, joining the pack, marching their feet towards the Jedi. Commando droids joined them too, standing in fighting positions but without firing at anyone. Droidekas rolled out of the shuttles, only to just roll up and stand up straight with the rest of the droids, weapons unfolding in normal positions. Magnaguards marched in perfect formation, holding their staffs up in guard mode.  

Sunset’s breathing started to sound shaky as she faced them. Any moment her life would have been over if they fired at her, she couldn’t tell how many had come. Her vision started to become blurry as she gazed upon the masses of droids in front of her.

Finally, the Sweetie Drop’s hatch opened. Adagio Dazzle came out first, followed by IG-11 and Cheep. Tawni Ames followed after. They walked past the ensemble of droids, staying on the side-lines. The battle droids in the middle of the massive group moved out of the way, allowing for General Kalani to approach the Jedi general. He said nothing as he faced her, waiting for her or any of the Rebels to speak. 

Sunset held her hand up, silently telling every trooper and soldier to hold their position. She wasn’t about to start something she couldn’t finish. Kalani took another step forward, and Sunset ignited her lightsaber blade, sticking it straight out with a warning. Her eyebrows furled as she glared at him, still breathing heavily, trying not to freak out or overreact. The super tactical droid may not have been programmed to understand humor, but he could understand her state enough to take a step back and keep his distance. 

The tension was finally broken when Flurry Heart and Captain Rex stepped forward. Flurry said nothing, her face trembling with anger and sadness, trying her hardest not to break down in front of everyone. But she kept herself together as long as she could, and raised her arms out to block the droids, even if she couldn't realistically do so. She stood in front of them with watery eyes but a stern glare, she wasn’t about to let this entire journey mean nothing. 

“Flurry, get out of the way,” Bon Bon ordered. “They are dangerous. And where is your mother?” 

Flurry said nothing. She didn’t respond to her only other parent, and just looked at her sadly, breaking her guard. The Mandalorian didn’t understand, especially as she looked at the captain.

“Captain, where is she?”

Rex also was quiet, looking down with a sad face. Just like Flurry, he said nothing but looked at her sadly. But when he heard one of the Rebel troopers cocking one of their guns, he raised his hand up, quietly insisting them to lower their weapons. The battle droids didn’t drop their weapons, but finally Kalani spoke.

“New command sequence; lower your weapons and lock up blaster arms. Cease all hostility.”

Following orders, all of the B1 units and the commando droids dropped their blasters to the ground, one by one. The Rebels could not believe their eyes. Even the B2 units turned off their blaster arms and just let their arms hang casually. The droidekas flipped their arms up to turn off their blasters too! 

And when they looked at Flurry again, that one look… that one somber look on her face was enough for them to know what had become of Lyra. Bon Bon’s lips trembled and she began to shake. 

“No… no…”

Her blasters dropped to the ground. The Jedi slowly put their lightsabers away too, recognizing the peaceful approach the battle droids were using. Flurry walked away from the front of the droids towards her only remaining mother and hugged her, finally breaking down. Bon Bon didn’t know what to say, but all she did know was that she needed to hug her daughter back. She embraced her warmly, holding her close and not letting go.

Not wanting anymore attention on them, Bon Bon and Flurry slowly walked away so they could be by themselves, leaving everyone else to handle the matters on the outside. 

“She’s gone, isn’t she Captain?” Sunset asked, having a clear understanding of what was going on now.

Rex's silence confirmed it. Tawni stepped forward, patting Rex's shoulder with some sympathy. "We have much to discuss, General. May we talk somewhere privately?" the governor requested. 

Sunset looked at the battle droids again, all of them openly walking forward and introducing themselves to the Rebel soldiers. No hostility from them, no one was pushing, or shoving. The droids were acting very friendly, the exact opposite of how she remembered them. And who was this strange woman who wanted to talk to her, along with the tactical droid?

"Yes... yes we can."





The battle droids remained on the hangar platform, awaiting further instructions, with the civilians. Thankfully there were some humanitarian workers who came out to provide some aid to them, giving food, water, and even providing some oils for the droids to fuel up on. But in an upper hangar, it was clear the revelations had taken their toll. Screaming of anger roared inside, coming from a Mandalorian who was looking for something, anything to release her anger onto. 

Looking around, Bon Bon screamed with fury as she grabbed a nearby crate, throwing it against a wall with heaving breaths. The rest of the Jedi stood out of the way, while Tawni and Kalani waited patiently for her to calm down so they could speak. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other distressed, Fluttershy reclused away out of the destruction zone, while Pinkie and Rainbow stood by, ready to help Bon Bon calm down when she was done screaming. 

“I should have gone with her, I should have left… maybe she would still be alive. No, she… it should have been me…” she croaked. Bon Bon collapsed onto her knees, cupping her face again. No tears came out, mainly feeling drained from the rage. But Rainbow did see some tattered stains on her clothed shirt underneath the armor padding. Bon Bon tried to stand back up but couldn't bring herself to do so, only sliding to lean her back against the wall, sitting up and leaning her head against the stone, eyes closed shut to just sit still.

The governor’s arms remained at her side, face masked out of her own safety. And despite Rex having seen her already, she felt exposed without it. 

“I am sorry for your loss,” Tawni sympathized.

The girls turned their attention to the masked governor. 

“No offense ma’am, but… who are you?” Applejack asked, pointing a finger at her mask.

“I am Governor Tawni Ames. And this is General Kalani,” she greeted, getting the tactical droid to nod in response. “We are Separatists. Perhaps the very last Separatists in existence," she said, rather wistfully. "Your friend gave us refuge, and offered us a home here, in exchange for joining your cause and fighting the Empire together.”

“Huh. Well that explains why your droids didn’t shoot us right away. I thought they were gonna fire on us the moment they saw our weapons,” Rainbow shuddered. 

“My battle droids have coexisted with Governor Ames people for over a decade; once our truce was made, they ceased all hostilities towards anyone carrying a lightsaber,” Kalani answered. “None of you will be seen as the enemy.”

“… How comforting,” Rarity deadpanned with grit teeth. “But it still doesn’t help our friend is gone. How… if no one minds me asking, how is she…?”

“She sacrificed herself, helping us escape,” Tawni simply answered. “She gave her life, so that we could have a second chance again, and start anew with the Rebellion and fight the Empire. We’re all in this together now.” 

“No offense lady, but I’m not sure how comfortable the rest of the Rebels are going to be with a bunch of ex-Stormies here,” Bon Bon didn’t even hesitate with her snark, glaring at her. 

“Your judgements are 50% accurate. There will be members who will not be tolerant of our presence. However, data analysis dictates that there are former Separatist citizens and fighters among your Rebellion. In addition to fighters who will not care for the histories of former soldiers, they will be open to us turning anew," Kalani assessed. 

"And we do not carry the title of Storm Army anymore. We prefer keeping to our true namesake; Separatist," Tawni corrected.

"Stormie, Seppie, you're all the same," Rainbow spat. "Do you have any idea how many worlds your battle droids conquered? How many people's homes you destroyed, how many planets you starved?" 

"All the while your king turns their homes into perpetual stormy darkness," Rarity scoffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"Your armies have also stormed countless worlds with equal invasion," Kalani argued. 

"Enough," Tawni intervened, calmly but sternly. "I am not going to deny the Storm King's actions. The truth is, I despised him every day of my life. But when he was finally gone, I thought I was free. And now that I am here, and I've interacted with not just one of your clones, but also one of you, a Jedi," she looked to Rainbow. "You gave me a reason to believe. You gave me a reason to live."

The girls stopped to think. As much as they weren't entirely on board with having the battle droids with them, none of them could see a reason for them not to be there. The Empire's will expanded to thousands of planets across the galaxy, and they weren't at enough numbers for full-scale assaults. But now with the added battalion of battle droids, possibly the very last ones in existence? Suddenly the idea made the girl have pause, starting to wonder how well they could do in battle, possibly. 

But not everyone was thinking that way. 

“Sunset, you cannot be serious,” Rainbow said, not caring how loud she was. “Inviting the clones back was one thing, but them?”

“Rainbow, we need as much help as we need,” Sunset said, very nonchalantly as she tapped a few keys on a datapad. She wasn’t even paying attention to her friends expression.

“… Stormies!? Separatists!? Battle droids!? Do you even remember the war?”

Sunset looked up briefly with a harsh glare that looked to kill. “Yes. I do. Every day I can’t forget, because something reminds me.”

Now Fluttershy spoke up. “Rainbow Dash! I’m scared of them too, but we should try to make amends.”

“Is that what you wanted to do with Captain Ivy? After he tried to kill you because he was controlled? Or was he even controlled at all?”

“Alright, ENOUGH!”

The entire hangar went dead silent with all parties staring at Sunset. Her fists were clenched tight, the datapad was now on the ground from her dropping it, and her entire body was shaking from anger. The general's face went red, her eyebrows furled, and she didn't even care how far her outburst had ranged. 

“I don’t care if you’re scared of them! Lyra gave up her life to bring them here for us to expand our forces! I’m not entirely sure if she was in her right state of mind at the time, but I’m going to respect her wishes and her last actions as a war hero, and bring these Separatists in so they can help fight! This isn’t the Clone Wars anymore!”

Rainbow didn’t speak back at all now. She looked at Sunset with fear, much more than before. Sunset had gotten mad, she was notorious for having serious anger issues. But this? This was much worse than from before. 

“We cannot rely on a corrupt government to pop out troopers like candy! We’re on our own from here on out, and we need as much as we can! I don’t care if they’re a clone trooper, a battle droid, or even a Storm Guard! We’re taking as much in as we can, and if you don’t like it, you can leave!” Sunset shrieked, pointing to the outside. “Because I’m trying to keep this entire alliance together by myself, and you whining about everything is not helpful! You want to help me, Rainbow? You want to help me win this war? Well the best thing you can do right now, is put your issues aside and reach out to them like a real Rebel! Agh!" Sunset picked up her datapad. "Tawni, just stay there, I'm talking to the high command, and I'm gonna make sure you get in," she passively said, storming out of the hangar. 

There was a long silence from everyone within the bay. Bon Bon still felt like staying on the floor, slumped to the wall. Rainbow was even more shook from Sunset's yelling. Looking to her friends, all of them shared equal looks of concerns. They knew Sunset was notorious for getting angry and raging at things, but this time? This felt more raw than her previous ones, and it wasn't funny in the slightest. They even unanimously agreed that her snapping at Rainbow had gone way too far. The only question was what was happening with her...?





“Impossible!” One of the admirals shouted overtop the others. “We cannot just allow these battle droids back to fight.”

Members of the Rebel High Command were gathered, surrounding a projector table with several other high-ranking officers. Naturally Dodonna and Raddus were among them, standing with Sunset Shimmer as they spoke with not just the other admirals who had been serving for a long time, but also some senators who had aligned themselves full Rebellion.

“You didn’t have issue with the Mandalorian’s house of droids,” senator Bail Organa pointed out. 

“She turned them into her own allies, that’s different. How can we expect these droids to not betray us? Do you all not remember the fact they served the Storm Army in the Clone Wars?”" the nay-saying admiral retorted.

“And they served the Separatists before the Storm King’s reign,” another admiral added.

“If I may interject,” Sunset interrupted. “While I’m not too crazy about former battle droids coming back, there’s something else some of us are forgetting. Before the Storm King’s reign, people were a part of the Separatist Alliance for a cause similar to what we’re trying to gain; freedom. Independence from the Republic that some of us once stood for.”

“And we should ignore all their previous crimes against the galaxy?” The appalled admiral asked. “They’re Stormies, through and through!”

Her fist slammed on the table, echoing in the room. All admirals and higher ups that were attending were dead silent, looking at Sunset Shimmer. Her face went from calm to furious. She grit her teeth and glared at the people around her. That same anger that she had been feeling when Rainbow Dash complained came back around.

“Okay... gloves are off. I’ve been trying really hard not to explode, but I have hit my breaking point. We’re not going to ignore any and all previous crimes committed; but we need them. The Empire has been hitting us hard. Need I remind you that the Empire has been cracking down on our activity since we destroyed their factory? The Spellhaus operation, completely in flames. Our cell on Remnicore has been annihilated. The search team that Admiral Raddus found in the asteroid field, had been completely wiped out. Saw Gerrera and his violent tendencies got some of our best men on Jedha, killed. The ensemble of captains and soldiers that wanted to defect to our side on Bonadan, have been killed..."

No one argued with her. No one protested. They could tell she was angry, but with each fact she laid out, it only became more apparent that she wasn't wrong. 

"... the multitude of factions that refuse to work with us; Sectorists, anyone?" Sunset spat. "The Empire has been killing more and more of us every day, and I’m tired of losing more men. In any other situation, I would tell you guys to open fire on those battle droids,” she admitted, her voice getting louder with each breath. “But we need the soldiers, the resources, and my friend died getting them here. I’m not going to let her efforts be for nothing!”

After finishing her rant, she slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm down again. Anger was not professional, nor was screaming at her allies.

“I agree with General Shimmer,” Organa said. 

“As do I,” General Dodonna added. “And besides, the Storm Army is no more. All forms of leadership are dead, is that right Mon Mothma?”

The short haired senator nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. The Empire took over Storm-Army controlled worlds when they began to expand. The last senator in charge of them has been terminated, and now that we know they still remain, it means Governor Tawni Ames is the last representative, and General Kalani is the last authority figure left of the Separatists and CIS.”

Sunset looked around the council again, getting some looks from others; some were on board, others were not.

“A long time ago, the Storm Army was just called Separatists. They represented the Confederacy of Independent Systems, who only wanted independence from the Republic, to be in control of themselves. How can we call ourselves a Rebellion who welcomes all, if we’re going to exclude a former enemy from our past?”

Now it was at another standstill. Even the admirals who were against the idea started to reconsider their options, wondering when they would ever get a larger force like this again. Battle droids were bad; they believed that for sure. But these battle droids that helped their Rebel allies fight the Empire to come here with civilians they saved? 

"Let's put it to a vote," one of the senators spoke up; Senator Pamlo. "All in favor in allowing Governor Tawni Ames onto the council, say aye."

"Aye," came from everyone.

"All in favor of allowing General Kalani at the table, say aye," Bail Organa added.

"Aye," mostly everyone answered. 

"And... all in favor, of helping the battle droids adjust to being a part of the Alliance, and give them a new chance at life than war, just like our clones," Sunset finished.

This last request came at a heavily split group; more were for the battle droids being allowed, but there were a few others who were silently against them.

"The ayes have it," Sunset agreed. "Now... if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"Where are you going? We still have to get them registered," one of the admirals asked.

Sunset stopped. Her fists clenched again but she let out a heavy, defeated sigh. "I have to arrange a funeral procession to help a grieving mother and daughter who just lost their family member. Need I remind you?" She glared.

"... Understood," came from the admiral in questioning. "We'll do our best to welcome the good governor in, and help her people get settled."

"Thank you," Sunset tried not to seethe. 

Bail Organa, along with Raddus and Dodonna looked to each other with worry. Even a few senators exchanged worried looks. Someone needed to talk with her and soon...