blast! → the clone wars

xii. not really goodbye

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TARA AND LILAH LEFT THE BALLROOM with Xen right behind them and they wasted no time in conversation. The Jedi Master headed up the group and, upon facing two different paths, readied herself to split off from her padawan...though a clatter off the left made her realize it wasn't necessary. She took off in a jog, raising her right hand to grip the hilt of her lightsaber in the event that she would need it. In spite of the situation, Tara felt calm; the emotions that had kept her distracted the past couple days were now hiding away in the back of her mind, leaving room for focus and, yes, serenity.

She rounded the second corner without hesitated and skidded to a halt about three meters away from Coran, who was crouched beside a squat droid—who, as it happened, he was in the process of wiring an explosive device to. Tara took a breath, channeling the Force and seeking guidance through it. Her free hand, meanwhile, instinctively stretched out beside her, shielding Lilah. She could feel Xen, who stood just off her right shoulder, look to her for guidance in the same way she looked to the Force. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but he too rested his hand on his own lightsaber hilt, for he trusted his master with everything. She was thankful he put so much faith in her.

The senator's aide, in the second Tara took to analyze the scene, turned his attention on the group, but didn't release the explosive.

"I'm going to need you to put that down, Coran," Tara tried, quiet yet firm, but Lilah interrupted any chance of negotiating.

"Coran?" said the senator, her voice full of astonishment and disappointment. Tara could feel the other woman's pain in her own heart.
"You were behind all this?" The aide looked at her sadly.

"I wish it hadn't come to this," he sighed.
"I didn't want to hurt you."

"You only wanted to scare her, am I correct?" inquired Tara, her tone toeing the line between accusatory and understanding.
"You're against the bill." She planned to continue, but the senator beat her to it.

"You do realize the Separatists won't stop attacking us just because we stop buying and making weapons, don't you?" Tara spared the woman the briefest of glances, attempting to tell her to stand down. She got a small nod in reply and returned her attention to Coran. Beside her, Xen's eyes went wide as he began piecing it all together.

"That's why you didn't want her attending tonight, but since she insisted on coming, you were going to detonate another droid, this time in a place where casualties would be far more likely." Coran glared at him.

"No one was going to get hurt," he demanded as if it excused all his actions.
"I was doing what was right for the Republic and for Corellia."

"But you weren't," Tara interrupted gently, trying her hardest to keep her tone on the kinder side. As a sign of good faith, she let go of her hilt and raised her hands to be level with her forearms. Xen looked at her in disbelief, but quickly turned back to Coran, eyes narrowing. He, of course, continued to grip his own hilt.
"The senator is right. The Separatists will keep attacking whether we have the correct supplies or not. They don't care about peace; they will decimate us if we stop fighting. As much as I hate being involved in a war, it's the only way to restore peace to the galaxy, just like I told you back in the ballroom." Coran's glare faltered and he lowered the device, but didn't set it down just yet. They weren't done.

"The weapons we're supplying aren't just going to defensive measures," he tried.
"They're going to assault missions and sieges against otherwise-peaceful planets." Tara could feel the flame of fury rising within him again and tried to stoke it as best she could.