Originally, Gerg had been hell-bent on banning cameras of any kind from being present during the Bleway siblings' funeral. He believed the galaxy didn't need to watch him and the people he cared about grieve. Having entire star systems bear witness to the service was something he didn't particularly like; he believed it made the event less personal than it deserved to be.

But his wookiee friends and co-founders of the Rancor Slayers, Heff and Tint, managed to talk him out of it. They made a considerably good argument, too. They knew that Denali hadn't just been a part of their bounty hunter group and, whether Gerg liked it or not, she'd been a part of so much more during her time in the Jedi Order. She'd traveled so far, helped so many people, gave entire planets hope when there was none. Denali Bleway had been a force of change in the galaxy, an angel leading all of existence to a brighter tomorrow one mission at a time. So, convinced that his friends were right, Gerg permitted a single camera crew to broadcast the event, live, throughout the universe. 

Gerg must've been in quite the merciful mood that day. It was probably Denali's final action of peace that kept replaying over and over in the back of his mind, that final olive branch she'd tried to extend to a man drowning in darkness. Either that or he was flat-out losing his mind, but some small pit in the back of his head gave him an idea. An impossibly selfless idea that he figured he'd one day come to regret.

"Mi, Chewie, there's a reason I've asked to meet with the both of you in private." The Nautolan man stated as he leaned back against Danik's old desk in his office. The two ex-padawans sat across from him like children in a principal's office. "I have some things I need to discuss with you regarding the funerals coming up."

The wookiee and Togrutian were silent.

"First off, I'd like to know what you two plan on doing after everything is settled here. Where you plan on staying, if you're splitting up or sticking together..."

Chewie and Mi exchanged a quick look of uncertainty.

"I guess we haven't thought about that yet." Mi admitted. Gerg gave them a small smile.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing that I have." The man began. "I have been in contact with one of the Jedi from the Council and they made a deal with me. It doesn't matter what I offered in return, what matters is that you two are now pardoned from all crimes against their Order and I am now your legal guardian, along with Boba's as well." He quickly stated before the two teenagers could fret about him speaking with a Jedi behind their back. "They've also agreed to leave us alone from this point on. No man-hunts in search of their two padawans, no galaxy-wide bounty for bringing you in. You're safe now and free to do whatever you'd like to with your lives."

Mi gasped and beamed with joy, while Chewie grinned an enormous, open-mouthed grin. Freedom. They didn't have to worry about the Order anymore. No need to constantly look over their shoulder in fear of being brought back to the Temple. No need to be cautious with what they said or did for risk of alerting their whereabouts to a higher power. Thanks to the man before them, they were completely new people.

"From your reactions, I believe there are no arguments on that case." The Nautolan chuckled, then let out a burdened sigh and ran a hand over his tentacle-covered scalp. His happy essence had evaporated into thin air, replaced with one of sullen seriousness and slight hesitation. "But...now for the more difficult discussion I wanted to have with you."

"Tint and Heff, old friends of your master, managed to sway me into letting a camera crew broadcast her funeral so that all the people she'd helped through out her life could pay their final respects. There's no changing that plan, I've already contacted the holonet channel spread widely enough through the galaxy that nearly every planet will have access to the service. But that's not what I wanted to discuss."

He took a deep breath.

"Denali knew that the Jedi weren't all evil like many people believe. They were only...mislead by Mace Windu. I'm sure she had friends in the Order who she cared about, kind people who she spent time with and formed bonds with during her years as a Jedi."

"What are you saying, Gerg?" Chewbacca questioned.

"What I'm saying is that I need you two to help me find out who should be invited to Denali's funeral, regardless of whether they're a Jedi or not. If their Council allows it, I want the people she trusted most to be given proper clearance when the funeral takes place."

* * * * * * * * * *

"Yes, Masters." 

Anakin turned off his commlink with a press of his finger, then sighed as he sat in his fighter ship, still tucked safely away in the Rancor Slayer base hanger. Windu was gone, had been for hours by then. The coward was probably addressing the Council now, undoubtedly doing his best to make the events on Alderaan seem much more worse for him than they'd actually been. Anakin didn't understand why Obi-Wan had stopped Chewbacca from finishing the Sith-in-disguise off, he would've let the kid kill the old bastard without a second thought.

Which was most-likely way he hadn't been given the title of 'Master' yet.

Chest aching and muscles screaming from his battle with Danik, the Jedi Knight watched as the crews within the hanger set to work like busy bees. They worked efficiently as they carried containers of fuel and moved their own ships off to the side in hopes of making more room for other things, probably other ships when people started arriving for the funeral.

The funeral.

He'd been expecting the punch to his heart at the thought of the funeral, the last good-bye and thought of watching his best friend's body burn. Or would they bury her? Gerg still hadn't given him the details of the service yet, but Anakin wasn't in any hurry.

The Council had granted him a week off for grieving purposes, though they said it was to keep an eye on things after all of this went down. Which was code for "Make sure the Rancor Slayers are actually done with before leaving the planet".

The Council had been full of interesting news minutes prior to his moment of quiet. While contacting the Temple, the Masters had agreed on inviting Obi-Wan back into the Order, although they didn't tell Anakin if his friend would still be on the Council if he returned. 

The offer made Anakin sick to his stomach.

How dare they have the audacity to invite Obi-Wan back when their Order was so corrupt? When Mace Windu had enough influence over them to declare war on a planet that had gone thousands and thousands of years without conflict against the Republic? No doubt, Mace wouldn't be held responsible for what happened on Denali's home planet. If anything, he'd probably be taken to the medical center upon his arrival at the Temple, where nurses and doctors would dote and fawn and tend to his every need until he was fully healed. Meanwhile, no one was tending to Denali's every need. Oh, that's right-

-Because she was dead.

It hit him like a wave once more, washing over every inch of his soul and suffocating every ounce of happiness from his heart. His hands gripped the controls of his fighter tightly, not to start the machine up and fly away, but to give the man something to hold on to. Something solid, something whole his shaking hands could take their stress out on even though everything else within him was falling apart. Over and over and over, the words ran through his mind like a taunt.

She's dead. She's dead. She's dead.

And he'd failed her. The whole reason he'd come to Alderaan was to protect her, to take care of her, to make sure she lived through this whole ordeal. But not only had he failed her. If Danik had been telling the truth when he said she was pregnant, then he'd failed her unborn child as well. He'd let them both die.

Now there was no one left.

The tears escaped before he could swallow them down and they dripped down his cheeks while his face cringed in pain. A pain he'd never forget.