A/N: Happy May 4th! May the fourth be with you all! Hope you are all doing well in these difficult times! Now without further ado, here's Chapter 65. Hope you enjoy!  

Weeks had passed and now I was on the planet Mon Cala. I did my best to keep myself busy, but I couldn't stop thinking about Echo. I still couldn't believe he was dead. Part of me wished to believe he was still alive, but I knew that was just wishful thinking. On Mon Cala, there was a struggle between the the aggressive squid-like Quarren, and their peaceful neighbor, the Mon Calamari. And it got worse after the King Yos Kolina of the Mon Calamari has been found mysteriously murdered, leaving his young son Prince Lee-Char to led his people. However the Quarren race didn't accept the new ruler as their king. So Padmé, Koltav, Anakin, and I were sent to Mon Cala. Meanwhile, Jinx and Maya were sent to the planet Cyphar.

They both had gotten padawans. Maya's new padawan was O-Mer a male Cerean around 14 or 15, who was captured by Trandoshan hunters years ago. Meanwhile Jinx's new padawan was ironically named Jinx as well. He was a male Twi'lek with green blueish skin and brown eyes. He was also captured by Trandoshan hunters years ago. And together along with Ahsoka, who was captured weeks ago, all managed to escape. Once we arrived, we made our way towards their council, sitting beside some of Mon Calamari as we wore enviro-suits in order to breathe underwater. We watched as the Quarren and the Mon Calamari argued back and forth. I narrowed my eyes upon seeing the Separatist ambassador, Riff Tamson, a male Karkarodon.

"You've all prospered under our rule!" A Mon Calamari exclaimed.

"It's time for a change! The prince's rule has been preordained! Down with this monarchy!" A Quarren snapped.

"We'll defend our right for a Mon Cala king!" Another Mon Calamari shouted.

"We want a Quarren king! Down with the Mon Cala! Power to the Quarren!" Another Quarren retorted.

"I am dedicated to serving the Quarren as well as my own people, the Mon Calamari." Prince Lee-Char assured them.

"Silence! You haven't earned the right to speak at this gathering!" Tamson hissed as he approached Prince Lee-Char.

"You have no say in the matter, ambassador, you are only here as an observer for the Separatists." Gial Ackbar, the Captain of the Mon Calamari guard retorted.

Tamson swam over to Ackbar, giving him a warning look. "Do not forget I am here at the request of the Quarren because you, Captain, demanded the presence of the Republic."

Tamson then swam off. Ackbar scoffed. "Such a disgrace, I'll give you a lesson in manners."

Anakin and I quickly swam over to Ackbar, stopping from doing anything rash. The Quarren Chieftain Nossor Ri then spoke up. "Prince Lee-Char will bring the planet to ruin! The boy has neither the experience nor the knowledge to lead."

"Please, we're here to find a compromise." Padmé urged.

"What can the Republic do to help keep the peace?" Koltav questioned.

"This is a matter between the Quarren and the Mon Cala." Ri shot back.

At that moment several of the Quarren agreed, making me feel rather uneasy. This wasn't going to be as easy as I had thought.

"Yeah, who asked you?" A Quarren chimed in.

"The Republic has no place here!" Another Quarren shouted.

"Down with the Republic!" A third Quarren snapped.

Padmé and Koltav glanced over at Anakin and me, sharing grim looks. I shook my head. "I don't like where this is heading..."

"Nor do I." Ackbar chimed in.

"We refuse to support the coronation of another Mon Cala King. I'm sorry." Ri replied before turning to Tamson. "Ambassador?"

"It is my opinion the Quarren have no further business here." Tamson protested.

With that Tamson and all the Quarren swam away. Once they left, Anakin spoke up, letting out a sigh. "Come on, Captain Ackbar, we have to contact Master Yoda."

Anakin, Padmé, Ackbar, Koltav, and I then swam up to the surface where our ship was waiting. Once we boarded the ship, we contacted Master Yoda. A hologram of him and Master Windu appeared.

"This civil war, is it inevitable?" Master Yoda inquired.

"Sadly so, Master Yoda." Ackbar mentioned.

"The Separatist ambassador only came here to stir up the Quarren." I commented.

"And that's exactly what he did." Anakin added.

"It's only a matter of time before the Quarren withdraw from the Republic." Padmé pointed out.

"I suspect behind this, Count Dooku is." Master Yoda stated.

"The Mon Calamari system is still part of the Republic. This planet must not fall into Separatist hands. I'll dispatch Master Fisto and your Padawans, Tano, Skikea, along with a company of clones, they'll be at your side by day's end. In the meantime, Captain, assemble the Mon Cala troops and prepare for a Quarren assault." Master Windu advised.

With that we headed back into the ocean. It wasn't long until Ackbar assembled his troops. Currently we were inside Prince Lee-Char's palace in Coral City, and he spoke to his people. "I know many of you agree with the Quarren, that I am too young to rule. But I assure you I will use all my strength and all my abilities to lead us through this challenge. We are a great people, and I will do all I can to negotiate peace without bloodshed. I do not believe the Quarren will attack."

At that moment, we heard noise coming from outside. We glanced out the window to see the Quarren attacking. "It's the Quarren."

"It's an attack!" Ackbar exclaimed.

"Take cover." Anakin urged.

We then made our way towards the Mon Calamari troops along with Prince Lee-Char. The Mon Calamari solders' eyes lit up as soon as they saw their prince.

"The prince!" One of the soldiers cheered.

"The prince is here!" Another soldier shouted out.

"He's joining the battle." A third soldier pointed out.

"What are your orders, your highness?" Ackbar inquired.

"Stay where you are and hold the line." Lee-Char ordered.

"If I may suggest, Captain, we should take the prince to a safer place until the Republic reinforcements arrive." Anakin suggested.

"That's impossible. That is a decision only the prince can make. He is our leader." Ackbar explained.

We watched as one of the Mon Calamari soldiers was shot down before us. Lee-Char wore a horrified look. "This is horrible."

Storm: Your highness, this is not a wise decision.

Anakin glanced over at Ackbar. "And you know it. Forget your tradition. This is war!"

"Majesty?" Ackbar asked.

"I have to stay here with my people." Lee-Char replied. "Press your attack, Captain."

Ackbar nodded as he led the soldiers of Mon Calamari forth. "Soldiers of Mon Calamari, this is your home. Do not let it fall!"

"I need to get some troops behind those Separatist droids. Come on, I know a shortcut." Lee-Char urged.

Koltav, Padmé, Char, Anakin, and I along with a few Mon Calamari guards made our way into one of the glass tunnels that connected the entire city. Lee-Char led the way through the tunnels.

"We should come out right behind them." Lee-Char mentioned.

"Good plan." Anakin said.

My eyes widened as I saw something move above us. "Look out!"

We saw a huge chunk of debris coming down on us. It missed us, but destroyed the part of the tunnel, taking down the Mon Calamari guards that were with us. We all exchanged devastated looks.

"What do we do now?" Padmé questioned.

"Well, we got to come up with another plan." I urged.

"Any ideas?" Anakin inquired.

"Our only choice now is to wait for the Jedi reinforcements." Lee-Char suggested.

He was right, we must wait for our reinforcements to come. With that, we swam out of the tunnel, and helped the Mon Calamari fight off the Quarren. Anakin and I used our lightsabers, while Padmé and Koltav used blasters. It wasn't long until reinforcements arrived.

"Anakin, Storm, Koltav and I are going to look for Senator Tills." Padmé mentioned.

"Hopefully she's still alive." Koltav commented.

"Be careful." I advised, giving Koltav a smile.

Koltav returned my smile before turning to leave. With that they both swam off to find Senator Tills. I knew they'd be careful, but lately in this war I was losing loved ones and friends left to right, and it made me worry that Koltav might be next.

"Look out!" Lee-Char exclaimed.

Anakin and I whipped around at his words, finding two droids behind us. In one movement, we slicing the two droids in half, destroying them. Anakin then turned to face Lee-Char. "Stay down and don't move."

Anakin and I swam up, fighting off the droids and Quarrens alike. Along the way, Anakin and I were separated, I was currently fighting four of the Quarren. Two of them tried to drag me down, while the other lunged towards me. I focused on the third Quarren as I reached out to the Force. The Quarren was then flung back. Areria then arrived with her OMS sub, shooting down the remaining Quarrens. Once they were shot, the Quarren released their grip on me and swam away.

"Someone called for backup?" Areria asked.

"I had it under control, Areria." I assured her.

Areria snorted. "Hah! Sure you did."

I cracked a smile. "It's good to see you, Areria."

Areria chuckled. "Good to see you too, Master."

At that moment, Anakin contacted me over the comlink. "Ahsoka, Storm, cover the prince. I'm going for the Senators and the Diktat."

"You got it, Master." Ahsoka replied over our comlinks.

"Copy that." I responded before turning to my padawan. "Areria, we're going after the Prince to protect."

Areria nodded. "You got it, Master. Grab on!"

Once I grabbed the OMS sub, Areria took us to where Ahsoka was. Prince Char was holding onto her sub as Tamson swam right behind them. We followed behind them, I ignited my lightsaber slicing the side of Tamson's face, causing him to yell in anger. He fell back for a moment, which allowed us to head into the tunnel, however we noticed that there were droids heading our way, so we let go of our subs, allowing them to destroy the droids. As Tamson was distracted by the Mon Calamari soldiers who fought, we quickly made our escape. It wasn't long until we reunited with Master Fisto, Anakin, Padmé, Senator Tills, Ackbar, Koltav, and the others.

"Prince Lee-Char!" Senator Tills called out.

"Senator Tills, I'm glad to see you're safe." Lee-Char mentioned.

"You must prepare to dictate terms for a Quarren surrender." Tills advised.

"Surrender?" Lee-Char repeated, sounding baffled.

"Not so fast, Senator." Ackbar intervened.

"I know the Quarren, they won't surrender." Lee-Char commented.

"We may have won the first battle, your highness, but it won't be the last." Anakin stated.

I nodded. "I agree. It's only a matter of time before they launch another assault."

"I sense the real battle is about to begin." Anakin said.

At that moment, big jellyfish looking creatures rose from the coral and towards us. We all watched in horror. You've got to be kidding me...

"We have no defense against those." Lee-Char mentioned.

"This isn't going to be easy." Anakin stated.

"All troops, battle stations!" Master Fisto ordered.

"Do not fire until the prince gives the command." Ackbar said.

We watched as they came closer towards us. We ignited our lightsabers as we prepared. Ackbar raised a hand. "Steady, steady. Not yet."

We watched as they swam above us. Ackbar turned towards the prince. "Now, your highness!"

"Attack!" Lee-Char exclaimed.

We watched as those who touched their tentacles were filled with a electric charge before they were killed off. And as if it wasn't bad enough, more droids emerged. We tried hitting the creatures with all we had, but it seemed nothing would destroy them.

"Ahsoka, find a way out of here!" Anakin ordered.

"Prince, where's somewhere safe?" Ahsoka asked.

"We can't retreat, not now. We've got to be brave." Lee-Char argued.

"There's a time to attack and a time to retreat, and now is not the time to be brave." Ackbar informed him.

Lee-Char seemed to take his words into consideration. He looked out into the distance for a few moments before replying. "The safest place is in the caves."

"I agree, Your Highness, follow me." Ackbar urged.

"Anakin! Storm! Go! I'll hold them off." Master Fisto offered.

With that we followed Ackbar towards the dark and empty caves. It wasn't long until Master Fitso joined us. Lee-Char gave us a smile. "Thanks to you, Padawans Tano and Skikea, Jedi Knight Ca'ana, and to these brave soldiers."

Lee-Char's shoulders then slumped. "I wish I could've done more for my people. Maybe then we would've been spared all of this, the illusion that I could actually lead in my father's place."

Ackbar placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your father would be proud of you."

Lee-Char scoffed. "Proud? We lost!"

"Today, you learned the hardest lesson a commander can learn, how to live to fight another day." Ackbar clarified.

I then swam towards Koltav, where he sat alone. He wore a worried look upon seeing me. He placed a hand on my arm. "Are you all right?"

I hesitated. "Not really...I've been trying to keep myself busy to distract myself."

"And why would you need to distract yourself?" He inquired.

"Echo died...While we were trying to get out of Lola Sayu." I explained. "He was killed an explosion, trying to get us off the planet."

Tears filled my silver eyes and streamed down my cheeks. I shook my head. "It's not fair, Koltav. He shouldn't have died. He was one of my good friends."

Koltav placed an arm around my shoulders. "It's all right, Storm. Let it out."

And so I remained by Koltav's side as I let out all my pain that I had been trying to bottle up for weeks. I didn't know what I'd do without Koltav. Hopefully I wouldn't know that feeling.