A Mother's Love.

[Asajj Novar]

Rain had always been a good cover for shady work. It's blanketing sound covered the faint footsteps of thieves. The heavy drops obscured how things looked. Mix that with the night and it was a haven for those who didn't want to be seen. It was on a day like this Asajj had broken into another Imperial compound with several other rebellion personal to steal some food for the less fortunate under the Sith's rule. It was a quick and easy job. Food wasn't as well guarded as weaponry or databanks.

She and her companions had just escaped the compound with the necessary supplies, loading them up in the back of speeders. "You guys head back. I'm gonna check on the city. Make sure nothings too amiss." Asajj nodded to one of the rebel soldiers, who nodded in return. The pair of speeders then took off in different directions while the Dathomir went a third, running down an alleyway to get some space between her and the Imperial outpost before what was taken would be noticed.

Once far enough away she sat under an overhang, just watching the rain in silence. There was always something so calming about rain.

[member="Minna"]

 

[Minna]

As much as it still irked her to be using the skills she had acquired as a Sith Assassin, Minna had gone to every extent to find her daughter after hearing about her. Her old contacts were shattered and mostly outdated, even with them she couldn't risk asking people affiliated with the Sith about Asajj. Instead she had to completely rebuild a small network, following trails and leads as she had learned but through lighter and safer ways. It had taken weeks of work and travelling, but finally she had hints at Asajj's new allegiance and location. A rebellion against the Sith; Minna couldn't have felt more proud upon discovering it. With the idea in her mind that Asajj was now safe and not fallen to darkness, Minna now employed her second part of training; stealth.

The rain and the force aided her in moving unseen and unnoticed, until suddenly she would seem to just appear a few meters away; her face and features hidden by the shadows under her hood. To the naked eye she was just a mysterious robed figure, but she expected Asajj would have some inkling about their connection. At first she merely examined her daughter, taking in the fact she was now physically looking at her, before smiling.

"Asajj," Minna started, but struggled to find the right words to continue. Instead she waited, hoping she had not come to have her visions of a peaceful relationship shattered so soon.

[member="Asajj Novar"]

 

[Asajj Novar]

Asajj turned to the sudden appearance of the hooded woman, a flash of fear filling her one good eye. Had she been discovered already? No, they wouldn't send one person like this for rebel activity. Their'd be a whole squad. Slowly the Dathomir approached, removing her hand from the hilt of [member="Vaulkhar"] 's lightsaber. "Who are you?" She called out as she stepped forward. She reached out with the Force to see if she could get a bead on [member="Minna"] , and immediately recoiled.

She knew this person. Asajj didn't know how or why, but she knew her. A memory once she wanted to cherish, then to hate. And now, she wasn't sure. How could she be? Her father said she was dead for so long. It wasn't until recently she even knew the truth. She wasn't prepared to find her, not yet. She didn't know what to feel. The mother she was denied for all her life.

Yet when the cloaked figure called her name in the voice she had longed to hear for so long, she couldn't stop the tears that formed in her eyes. "M.. Mom!" She ran through the rain, more or less tackling Minna as she finally got a chance to hug her mother.

 

[Minna]

The barrage of emotions hit Minna at the same time her daughter's hug did; mixtures of sadness, joy, guilt, and relief. Part of her thought she might just be dreaming this, but the rain running down her hood and onto her face made it feel so real.
"Asajj..." She said again, this time with more relief in her voice. "I'm so sorry." Was all she could add as her arms moved around Asajj, returning the hug to her daughter. Even Minna, who had spent all that time in exile training her emotions, could not stop the tears from rolling down her face. Luckily the rain masked them, just as it had her approach.

"Tell me everything." She managed to continue, eager to know what her daughter had been up to all this time. "I heard you escaped the Sith, and now you're here with the rebels. I knew you would always be brave." Her smile was more visible now that Asajj could see clearly underneath her hood. Minna's bright blue eyes looked down, now with less sadness, taking in the sight before her.

Asajj looked so grown up already.

[member="Asajj Novar"]

 

[Asajj Novar]

Asajj buried her face in [member="Minna"] 's chest to hide it, shaking her head. "I.. I can't. The Sith. They did.. So many things." The Dathomir whimpered, holding her mother as tightly as she could. She had always been guarded of her emotions, never truly telling anyone except for one close friend what had happened. But to tell her mother, she couldn't. Not yet. She just wanted to be held.

Eventually she did look up, her want to see the face she dreamed of outweighing showing the obvious synthflesh that covered a good portion of the left side of her face. The left eye faintly glowed with it's cybernetic's peering at the Jedi's face. "You really are still alive."

 

[Minna]

"Yeah, mostly atleast." Minna smiled, showing her cybernetic arm for a moment, although it seemed like Asajj had more in the way of robotics than that now. Although it was a worrying observation, she didn't let it phase her. Instead she maintained her smile at her daughter. "I won't leave you, Asajj, I promise." Those words she felt like she had always needed to say. Even though she had been forced apart from her daughter the first time, she would not let the same thing happen twice. She would make sure her daughter was safe at all costs.

"Where do you live now?" Minna looked around, only vaguely familiar with the planet. "Some kind of hideout I presume with all the Imperial presence here."

[member="Asajj Novar"]

 

[Asajj Novar]

"With the queen, actually. I'm her handmaiden. Though as of late I guess I'm really not. No time to keep still." Asajj mumbled, still clinging to [member="Minna"] as the Dathomir scanned her mother's features fully. Both the real and cybernetic eye took in every detail, every angle and line, everything that made Minna, Minna. She didn't recognize any of it, just her voice. Her presence. That was all she could remember.

"I.. I'm sorry mom. I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you."

 

[Minna]

"Well that's not a bad arrangement is it?" Minna raised her eyes with a smirk, it seemed Asajj had been quite busy indeed. "You shouldn't be apologising, I only just found you now. I was away for a long time by myself... I couldn't find a purpose once the Republic fell, but now I think I've found it." She looked down in a way that confirmed she was talking about Asajj, still smiling.

"Don't let my arrival disrupt any of the good work you're doing though." Minna's hands moved from hugging her daughter to holding her arms, so that she could get a better look at her as a whole. "I'll always be around if you need me, but I don't think I'm much of a fighter anymore." A half-laugh escaped her lips as she glanced aside, briefly remembering the battles and duels from before her exile.

"I'll teach you, like I should have all along, and be here for you when you need me. I'll be the mother I should have been from the start. I promise, Asajj."