---Evening---
Greeting us as we returned to shore, my wives ran up to Isha and Lileath to ask how things went. Proudly displaying their engagent rings, and the two won quickly updated them on our eventful afternoon. Giving them the nitty-gritty details in hushed voices, my wives turned to before giggling gleefully.
“While we are happy to welco you into the family… Why was she with you?”, Mylene questioned, pointing to the shivering Chaos God behind . “Did sothing happen we should know about?”
“Oh no, nothing of ntion happened with Slaanesh. She did discover, however, that being a peeping tom has painful consequences.”, Isha laughed, giving Slaanesh an angry smile. “You will not be doing that again, will you?”
“To… Today… Today was only a… Minor setback!”, Slaanesh proclaid through chattering teeth. “I… I will beco… Part… Part of the… family! Ju… Just you… Wait!”
Rolling their eyes, Isha and Lileath suggested giving up, as that would never happen. Shaking her head, Slaanesh rebuked them, saying they would one day eat their words. Boldly proclaiming we shared a bond like no other, she was absolutely certain it would happen… eventually.
Pulling a towel over to , I dropped it on her head and told Slaanesh to dry herself off so we could eat dinner. Asking my family what sounded appealing, Mylene suggested we go out to eat tonight to celebrate Isha and Lileath’s engagent.
“Alright then, what sounds good, ladies?”, I inquired, looking at the two goddesses.
“Hmm… I could go for a nice, juicy steak and so wine.”, Isha comnted, looking to her daughter. “Does that work for you?”
“As long as they have crab legs, yes.”, Lileath added, giving a playful smile.
Asking Jarvis for a list of restaurants that fit their requests, he brought up several in our resort world. Going with the best-reviewed option, I booked out the whole restaurant for us. Receiving the confirmation almost imdiately, Elma and company looked at hesitantly.
“Are… Are we invited?”, Tohru questioned.
“Absolutely, the more the rrier.”, Lileath giggled, nodding her head assuredly.
“I think I will sit this one out.”, Loki spoke, turning away. “Being further indebted to all of you does not sit well with .”
“So… You would rather spend your evening with a bunch of drunkards?”, Angelica questioned, using her earlier comnt on her.
Loki abruptly stopped, spun around, and walked back over. Acknowledging she would rather dine with us over spending the evening with them, the Asgardian asked to borrow so clothing from my wives. Happy to oblige, we headed inside to prepare to go to dinner.
---3rd Person POV, Coruscant---
Awakening in the Jedi Temple’s clinic, a groggy Anakin sat up from his bed with a perplexed expression. Certain he should be on Terminus, not Coruscant, the Jedi Knight staggered to his feet and walked to the door. Stepping out into the hallway, he was surprised to find the temple buzzing with activity. Seeing faces he had not seen in ages; it felt like normalcy was beginning to return once again.
“Anakin, it is good to see you up on your feet again!”, Obi-Wan spoke, walking toward him with the Jedi Council in tow. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than I have in weeks.”, Anakin laughed, scratching the back of his head. “How long was I out for? It must have been a few weeks if we are already back on Coruscant.”
“You have only been out for about eight hours. Victor’s people gave us a lift back to Coruscant.”, Obi-Wan answered, patting his friend on the shoulder. “Co, we are on our way to brief the Galactic Senate on everything that happened. I want them to hear firsthand what their inaction has cost the people of the Galactic Republic.”
“A mont, please wait. Sothing we would like to say we have.”, Yoda spoke, looking Anakin in the eyes.
Sensing sothing big was about to happen, Anakin stood at attention, unsure what to expect. Telling Anakin to calm himself, Windu inford him the High Council had decided to promote him to Jedi Master. Imdiately pulling his ntor into a hug, the forr Jedi Knight was elated to receive the esteed title.
“You earned this promotion through your own determination and hard work, Master Skywalker.”, Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke, bowing his head respectfully to him. “As evacuations were underway, you led the defenders from the front to buy as much ti as you could for evacuees. When supplies were running dangerously low, you forewent eating so civilians had sustenance. You even fought a Carnifex alone to save a group of civilians who had been abandoned by rescuers.”
“Your actions have shown us you are ready to shoulder the enormous weight that cos with the title of Jedi Master.”, Piell spoke, giving Anakin a nod. “Continue to hone your skills, and rember, there is always room for improvent. We look forward to working alongside you as colleagues from now on.”
Accepting his new title with a gracious bow, Anakin joined the group as they continued toward the exit. Handing his forr Padawan a tablet, Obi-Wan began catching him up on everything that occurred after he fainted.
---Fifteen Minutes Later, Rebuilt Senate Building---
Arriving at the Senate Chamber, the Jedi Masters could hear a heated debate happening inside between King Gid and the Galactic Senate. Stubbornly refusing to accept any bla for the horrible losses, several senators sought to shift bla elsewhere. Arguing poor planning was responsible for everything, they attempted to place the fault on Anakin and Obi-Wan. Imdiately jumping to the defense of their partners, Senator Kryze and Skywalker rebuked them for suggesting such a thing.
“It is astonishing to see how far the Galactic Senate has fallen since Darth Sidious was slain. Without his corrupt influence, things should have slowly gotten better, but it is the opposite of that.”, Billaba sighed, disappointed by how low they had sunk. “Is there really a point in giving them a briefing? It is clear the majority will denounce anything we say.”
"The people of the Galactic Republic need to know that the Jedi Temple supports them during these challenging tis. If the Senate fails to act in the public's best interest, it is our responsibility to assist the people. The Jedi Order was founded for that reason, and it should take that position once again.”, Anakin spoke with conviction, surprising his colleagues. “Failing to do so gives credence to Count Dooku’s claims that the Order has beco nothing more than the Galactic Senate’s lapdogs.”
Moved by his words, Windu and Yoda agreed that it was ti the Order assud its original purpose. Whether or not the Senate chose to listen, they would start moving to pick up their slack to the best of their ability. With everyone onboard, the Jedi entered the Senate Chamber ready to speak for the people. Just as they were about to step onto their repulsorlift, a Bifrost bridge slamd into the middle of the room.
---Victor POV---
Stepping out of the Bifrost, a bolt of lightning dropped down beside , silencing the room. Surveying the group of fools around , I shook my head in disgust. Having been listening in to their ongoing bickering, it had beco abundantly clear soone needed to take charge.
“It is disgraceful that the Galactic Senate cannot accept bla for its actions, or rather, the lack thereof. Every one of you knew exactly how awful things were on the frontlines. Instead of eting the needs of your nation’s defenders, you choose to bicker amongst yourselves. It took the loss of five star systems and trillions of lives for you to finally agree on sothing.”, I berated the senators. “When the Imperium of Man delivered your sorely needed firepower to Terminus, we offered to ferry the trapped civilian populace elsewhere. Tell , what exactly did you tell ?”
Unable to et my gaze, those who had voted against accepting my help looked away in sha. Rising from her seat, Pad spoke on their behalf since no one had the balls to.
“They claid the Galactic Republic was more than capable of taking care of its own people.”, Pad said, in disgust. “Shortly afterward, we ended up calling upon the Devilukean Empire for their aid.”
“We… We only contacted them after obtaining additional information about the situation on Terminus. Had we known more back then, I assure you we would have accepted your assistance.”, Mas Adda lied, finding his voice again.
Turning my gaze toward him, the Chagrian collapsed under the intense pressure. Falling to his hands and knees, Adda pleaded with to stop whatever I was doing. Refusing to do so, I flew over to him and stepped onto his repulsorlift.
“Fool, you dare lie to my face!”, I growled, putting my foot atop his head. “You speak as if you truly care about the people’s plight, but we both know that is a lie. Just like every other corrupt politician in this room, you care only about yourself. That is exactly why you readily swore loyalty to Darth Sidious.”
“LIES!! I NEVER- “, Adda scread.
Cutting him off, I began playing voice recordings of various senators pledging their loyalty to Darth Sidious. Generating the recordings with Jarvis’ assistance, they sounded so genuine that several senators bolted for the exit. With a snap of my fingers, several of my Doombots imdiately blocked every potential escape path. Raising their modified Gauss Blasters, they commanded the senators to return to their seats.
“You… You madman! We all trusted you, Lord Stark.”, Sly Moore shouted, glaring daggers at . “Now here you are, leading an invasion of our galactic capital. Do you have no morals or sha?”
Crushing Adda’s skull beneath my boot, I released an unamused sigh. Projecting an intense aura throughout the chamber, everyone present found themselves on their knees struggling to breathe. Stepping off the repulsorlift, I slowly descended upon the traitorous pigs as they attempted to drag themselves into the shadows.
“The Jedi Order and your colleagues had ample opportunity to right this sinking ship, but they lacked the resolve to make aningful change. The lives of the innocent will continue to be lost so long as corrupt politicians like you are allowed to live.”, I stated, lifting Stormbreaker into the air.
“Wait… Please wait!”, Moore shrieked. “I… I… rcy! There is no need for you to do this!”
“If you want rcy, ask for it from the trillions you condemned to a grueso end.”, I rebuked. “You will not receive any from !”
Bringing the hamr straight down on her, the Umbaran exploded into a red mist. Releasing horrified screams, her co-conspirators began pleading for rcy. Ignoring their cries for rcy, I commanded the Doombots to eradicate the vermin posthaste. Executing my orders, two hundred and seventy-three senators were erased in less than thirty seconds.
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