"HOW CAN YOU WIN THE GAME IF YOU NEVER MAKE A MOVE?"
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What would you do, if you were given a chance to save millions of lives throughout a galaxy?
Would you do it? Could you even do it? Is such a feat even possible?
Or would you crumble and choke...
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The worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation.
—Sun Tzu
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Melanie hums a quiet tune of "Over the Rainbow" under her breath while striding down the long and winding hallways of The Resolute, mouthing the enchanting words from the iconic lullaby her mom used to sing to her as a child.
The song is a comfort; the lyrics even more so. Not just because they remind her of her mother, but also because the lullaby brings with it a feeling of hope toward a better future.
A hope of Melanie winning this war, and leaving this universe and its people behind better than she first found them.
The thought brings her comfort, but also a familiar type of ache that has been steadily growing inside her chest as the days wear on.
Her mind flashes with the grinning faces of all the clones she has come to know so well.
Rex. Fives. Echo. Hardcase. Jesse. Kix. Tup.
Next is Ahsoka, and the childish glint of her smile.
Then Obi-Wan, and Yoda, and Mace, and Barriss, and—
Anakin.
Agony spasms over her soul at the thought of him, splintering the icy wall around her heart with a yawning chasm of pure dread. The white-hot pain screams from somewhere deep inside her chest, threatening to make her knees collapse to the durasteel floor of the ship. She can't name why.
Her throat forces down a wet lump of emotion, blinking back the strange burn of tears building up in the corners of her eyes.
With a shaky breath, she deliberately shoves the haunting image of Anakin's bright blue eyes drowning in a sea of despair from her mind. It does nothing but torture her with a conflict that she can't afford to have.
Besides, Anakin will be fine.
Oh sure, he might be sad for a while, but he'll move on quickly enough. After all, he'll have plenty of time to enjoy the rest of his life with Padmé, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka at his side, once the war is over.
Well, she hopes he'll be around to see it.
After all, he could always still decide to lose his ever-loving shit.
