Afterglow | The Clone Wars

60 | Heart of a Mandalorian

Ventress was prepared to leave the planet that night. All of her supplies were loaded and the ship had been properly refueled with its coordinates set for an unknown location. The former sith apprentice was about to climb the open hatch of her vessel, but paused to look over her shoulder to Dakota who stood quietly next to Obi-wan. Even after their dispute in the escape pod, the invitation was still open. The invitation to leave the Order behind and roam the galaxy as a free woman.

Was she to return to a home that teaches to suppress emotions, or be free to make her own decisions? All that is familiar dwells in the Jedi Temple, and all that is foreign lays out beyond the stars with Ventress.

All that was routine laid waiting on Coruscant.

Dakota gazed up at Ventress, contemplating her choices, both the pros and cons. She took a step forward and outstretched her arm, but hesitated when she caught sight of her own bionic fingers. Warm wind cascaded through the dark trees of the planet Raydonia. It's dry ground was now coated with the spilt blood of the innocent victims murdered by Maul and Savage.

No matter which side she chooses, there will no be escaping the terror that the brothers have inflicted. She droppd her hand and turned her head to see Obi-wan, her friend of many, many years. He wasn't aware of her inner turmoil then, he simply wondered why she was behaving in the way that she was. In the distance, behind him, the faint sight of slain bodies were visible to her eyes.

They didn't ask for this, they were caught in the cross-fire. A Jedi should have been there to protect them. She bit the inside of her cheek as her frustration grew. They deserved to live, just as the innocent people in her mothers home village deserved life.

It was the same then. Bodies were piled up and burned, leaving the chief of the village, her own grandmother, to bleed out and die in Dakota's presence. Their blood is on Savage's hands, just as the colonists here on Raydonia are. In turn, due to her neglegance, their deaths are on her shoudlers. It was something that she cannot allow to happen again, even if her pursuit to defend them leads to her death.

Remaining in the Jedi order gives her the ability to serve those in needs, despite its flaws. At the heart of a good Jedi, compassion overflows. With her friends, and alongside the clones, winning this war is possible. The hope that the Jedi provided her when she was a young child is what drew to the Order in the first place. The mystery of the force, the devotion that Mace Windu had for her as her Master, and the kindness that Obi-wan showed when no other Padawan at the time would. 

It hasn't been perfect since begnning her life as a Jedi. There have been many disagreenemnts, heartache and pain, but at the end of the day when she stands before a victory beside her closest allies in the name of the Republic, that is where her heart is. Her heart is in the reunification of children with their parents, in the poor-spirited souls who rejoice in the presence of salvation.

With Obi-wan came the Jedi order, Anakin and Ahsoka, Mace Windu, Master Yoda, the clones, and Rex. Freedom from war was being offered to her on a silver platter, but it's not only the war that she'd leave behind if she decided to go with Ventress. It'd be her loved ones. She stepped back to Obi-wan's side, silently making her decision.

"You will most certainly die" Ventress murmured, a hint of disappointment present in her tone as she disappeared into her ship. Within moments, it shot off into the sky and out of sight. Dakota watched silently, staring into the dark purple clouds. The door to unadulterated freedom was closed.