The Great War

Chapter 1 - SKILAH

Skilah waited as the red and white ship before her landed on the floor of the hangar. A few moments later, Ahsoka Tano appeared down the steps of the platform that had just  been lowered from the ship's belly. Skilah smiled and opened her mouth to-
"Nice hair." Ahsoka retorted.
Skilah rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, letting the orange tips of her hair swing gently, off her shoulders and down her back.
"The General is waiting for you," she said. "She's prepared a briefing to get you caught up."
"Do I get to know what this is about?" Ahsoka asked as the two made their way through the busy hangar.
"I'm afraid we've lost you're prisoner." Skilah answered.
"Morgan?" Ahsoka responded.
Skilah nodded as she stepped into the lift; she proceeded to tell Ahsoka how Morgan Elsbeth was being transported to the New Republic for trial, when two mercenaries attacked the star ship and left with Morgan.

"Did Morgan hire them?"
The lift doors slid open and the pair stepped out.
"I don't know. Like I said, the General has prepared a briefing to get you caught up on what we do know about the attack."

Skilah now sat with one foot on the bench she rested on, watching as Ahsoka circled the hologram that stood infront of them - an older, bearded man and his younger companion, both cloaked in black.
"They took out an entire security detail and scuttled one of our new star ships."
General Hera Syndulla stood with her hands on her hips.
"Who are they?"
She looked to Ahsoka as if expecting her to know the answer. Skilah couldn't help but fear if she did. She sighed with relief when Ahsoka replied, "I don't know."
"They seem to have abilities like you." Hera said, as the younger companion in the hologram took out a red lightsaber and began to fight with it. The hologram froze as Ahsoka came back towards where Hera stood.
"These days there are few who can wield the force."
Well that's not true, Skilah thought. The Jedi order may be dead, but the Force is everlasting. It's been here since the beginning of time and as long as the Force lives on, so will those who can wield it; they may just not realise it yet.
"Perhaps one of them was once a Jedi?" Huyang suggested.
That's not such a bad thought. It was not uncommon for Jedi who survived Order 66 to join the Empire and hunt down what remained of their brothers and sisters.
"Possibly," Ahsoka sighed. She stopped pacing to stare at the glowing blue images.
"Huyang, make a copy of this recording," she ordered the droid. "And run a match on their lightsabers."
Skilah put her foot down and shifted uncomfortably.
"Could they have been hired by Morgan Elsbeth?" She asked.
"Well if they were the investment paid off,"  Hera retorted. "They vanished without a trace."
"The day isn't a total loss."
Ahsoka pulled a metal orb the size of her palm from within her cloak, and held it out to Hera, who looked unimpressed.
"A star map?" She snorted.
"Not just any star map," Ahsoka stated. "This one holds the secret Morgan's after."
"Which is?" Hera bemoaned.
"The location of the last missing Imperial Grand Admiral: Thrawn."
Hera glared at her, stunned. "That's not possible," she exclaimed. "Thrawn died at the battle of Lothal."
"His death was never confirmed." Ahsoka insisted.

Skilah was on her feet now, shuffling towards Hera and the map she had taken from Ahsoka.
"I started hearing whispers of Thrawn's return which led me to Morgan," Ahsoka explained. "She was a great ally of Thrawn's during Imperial rule."
Ahsoka stared at the hologram of the two mercenaries again.
"Morgan knows something, and the secret," she pointed to the orb.  "Is in that map."
"If Thrawn survived, does that mean Ezra..."
"I hope so."
Skilah looked between the two smiling women. Hera had been searching for years for Ezra Bridger. He was like family to her until his heroic disappearance. A grin spread across Skilah's lips as she remembered someone else who should be hopeful at Ezra's return.
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WORD COUNT: 697