Star Wars: The Last Qymaili | ✔

28 | Secession

Song: "A Red Sun Sets" from Adrian Von Ziegler's Odyssey

Dedicated to GhostFreak-Writez

Thank you for reading.

Two months later, Khetsuu saw four of his wives and five of his children off to the masking. The sacred festival held deep in the Shrupak temple, where they would be stripped of their facial veils and given masks, wrought from the bone of predators on Kalee. To every Kaleesh child, an eight-week retreat to the forest meant growing up.

"For the last time, you cannot come with us," Saikhan said icily, folding her arms across her waist. Small golden curls peeked out from her headdress, but her mask hid lost beauty; her pale scales had already begun to peel from lack of food, as had Khetsuu's own. "I will have the female izvoshra with me. We can ward off the cannibals."

The cannibals, Khetsuu thought as the children took turns hugging him, talking in the simple and babbling way that eight-year-olds did. Her previous husband, now dead, would have been so proud of her young ones.

The last girl, a little daughter, lifted up his mask and kissed him on the nose, and he backed away for fear of harming her. Your drama is pretty damn cute, Button-Nose, Ronderu would say before ruffling his hair and giving a cool smile.

He stood, walked to Saikhan. "I am proud of you," he said quietly. "And of our children. They will serve us well."

She cast her gaze downward. Her thumb went up to his mask, removing it. "Oh, you too?" he quipped just before she tore her own mask off and kissed him.

She pulled away. "Naidvar, Mergen, Lyankhua and I will be back in two days. If we do not return, come looking for us."

"I will," he said. If we do not return. He must stay at home with everyone else; the other women would be fine. They had been trained by him personally.

Yet as they left, he wrung his hands, hiding them behind his back.

✺✺✺

The sun set as Ronderu and Arna sat together on the peak of the inn. Three months had passed since he'd brought her to Grendaju, and her body was now strong and flourished with happiness. Her cybernetic fingers played with the veil of the headpiece she wore—a sheer veil, but still modest enough.

Arna sighed through his nose. "I'm sorry....but we have to leave tomorrow."

Her eyes shot up to his. "Why?" she whispered. "We still have to help the khagan restore Kalee. That's my greatest goal."

"It's not as important as Jedi business."

She sighed. "More Jedi business?"

"Do you feel better, Ru?"

Better than I have in a long time. But she could not admit it aloud. "Don't take me away from my home," she said, her voice breaking. "Please...."

He hushed her. "We're going to Serenno, another jungle planet."

"Serenno," she repeated. The name sounded familiar. Kaleesh-Bitthævrian war. One of the generals fighting along Qymaen's third-mother was....

"Count Dooku," Arna finished for her. "The planet's leader. He wishes to see us."

"He's one of the only people who left the Jedi Order, right?"

Arna dipped his head, and a sheen of sadness appeared in his dark eyes. "He was one of my trainers when I was five or so. I haven't seen him in many years."