With everything here finally in order, Amir had no reason to linger. After installing the last generator, he walked out to the open clearing. It had expanded a lot—between these peaks, the trees and loose rock had been completely cleared away, yet that didn't compromise how well the site was hidden.
The sky was still blanketed in fog, and a number of sensors had been installed along the surrounding ridgelines, monitoring local signal activity at all times.
"I'm leaving the kids to you," Amir said to Guli'gana. He explained the Force-based deconditioning technique—not to manufacture loyalty, and not as a "kind lie," but to gradually erase the damage left by earlier conditioning and painful memories.
Ahsoka couldn't stay at the base indefinitely, so the job fell to Guli'gana, who was more familiar with the Force. She was talented too—after some practice, she started to grasp the essentials.
Amir climbed up the mountain. Veronica and Millisyn were still with Mistwing. At some point, Mistwing had gone hunting and brought back a fat fish, which it was now slowly eating with its long beak.
"I'm heading out, Veronica. Millisyn," Amir said. He'd already said his goodbyes to Paks and Ahsoka. He'd come up here to check on the two of them, and then he planned to have Mistwing take him back to the Traveler.
"Oh! You're leaving?" Millisyn cried excitedly. "Where are we going next?"
"You're staying here with the others—and with Guli'gana," Veronica said, patting Millisyn's small shoulder.
Millisyn's face fell instantly.
"Why?" she demanded, staring straight at Amir.
Amir hesitated. In his mind, these kids were going to live here now. And Mona loved this place—she'd just been helping tidy up the base. He hadn't considered that Millisyn, all this time, had never intended to stay.
"You don't like it here?" Amir crouched to meet the blue-skinned Twi'lek girl at eye level.
"It's not that I don't…" Millisyn said, voice small and wronged.
"It's dangerous out there right now," Amir explained patiently. "People like those researchers are looking for us everywhere. We need to hide here for a while—learn, grow stronger. Later, you'll be able to go anywhere you want. Mona and the others will be here too. And I'll come back often."
"No!" Millisyn's emotions spiked without warning. "You're leaving me behind?"
"Of course not," Amir said. The surprise lasted only a heartbeat—then he understood.
Millisyn hadn't been conditioned the way the others had. She wasn't like them. In her eyes, Amir had saved her—saved Mona. Amir was the only person she truly trusted. The rebels were strangers she'd met yesterday.
Millisyn wasn't Mona. Mona was more mature—more willing to understand, to endure, to accept an imperfect situation and repay help with warmth.
Millisyn was rawer. More emotional. And more importantly—she had no sense of safety. Amir could feel the fear trembling under her anger. Whatever she'd lived through before, it had carved pain and hopelessness into her.
So Amir stopped trying to "talk her into it."
When she heard his answer, Millisyn's agitation eased, her voice dropping into something softer.
"We're going together… right?" she asked quietly.
"If you want to," Amir said, resting a hand on her head. And he could feel it: her thoughts might already be getting tugged by the Dark Side inside her.
"I'll go get Mona!" Millisyn brightened immediately and ran off toward Mona, who was helping Ahsoka cook for the kids.
Amir sighed and followed.
Millisyn's darkness had to be dealt with somehow. Until then, Amir couldn't relax. When that power surged, she became dangerously destructive—and she lost part of her judgment. Worse, she was still young. Her mind wasn't fully formed.
If he took her with him, the road ahead would be full of danger, and he might not be able to protect her at all. But if he forced her to stay here… unless Ahsoka watched her constantly, it would be unstable in a different way.
As he approached, Amir heard Millisyn talking to Mona.
"Millisyn… I…" Mona fell silent. She glanced at Amir, then quickly lowered her head, staring down at the bowl in her hands, unsure how to answer.
She wanted to stay.
Even with the constant fog, the damp, and the fact that they had almost nothing yet—she'd started to treat this place as her first real home. She didn't want to wander again. She preferred the feeling of solid ground beneath her feet.
And now, just as her new life was beginning, Millisyn had come running up—bright-eyed—telling her they were leaving…
Mona didn't know what to do.
Ahsoka broke the tension.
"Mona promised me she'd help build this base with us," Ahsoka said. "Millisyn—this place is being built for you, too."
Amir silently gave Ahsoka full credit. Perfect timing. Perfect phrasing.
"But…" Millisyn hadn't expected to be refused. She sounded stubborn, hurt. She wanted Mona with her—Mona had been her only friend.
"All right, little Millisyn," Ahsoka said, stepping close and gently rubbing the worry lines out of her cheeks. "Mona isn't going anywhere. She's building a home with us. She'll be here."
"Hmph!" Millisyn turned away in a huff and stomped back up the mountain.
Amir looked at Mona, who now wore guilt like a weight.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Amir told her. "Stay here. Be safe. I'll talk to Millisyn."
Mona nodded. Her expression softened—but the earlier spark in her eyes had dimmed.
Off to the side, Ahsoka spoke quietly to Amir.
"Millisyn's darkness is growing. We have to do something. If we don't… the consequences could be beyond anything we're imagining."
"It's already affecting her emotions—and her thinking," Amir said. He was searching for solutions too, running through every possibility he could think of.
Ahsoka's voice became firm.
"You should take her with you. Even with Mona here, staying at this base will feel like the lab did—to her. She'll only feel safe if she's with you. And only you can help her."
"I know," Amir exhaled. "I'll find a way to fix this. The base is in your hands—and Guli'gana's."
Then he turned and headed after Millisyn.
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🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Calls! 📢
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