"Roda, let him go..." Emiria spoke softly as she watched the Jedi's body collapse unwillingly.
Roda looked embarrassed. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to hold yourself back..."
Emiria raised her right hand, cutting Roda off. "I understand your concern, but you forgot—if I truly wanted to save him, you couldn't have stopped me..."
Roda froze. Only then did he remember that the girl before him was actually a Jedi Master more powerful than himself. In other words, it was not he who had stopped Emiria; she had chosen to put the greater cause first.
"Your Majesty, you've grown up..." Roda said with a hint of relief.
Emiria cast one final cold glance at the droid army. "Let's go, Roda. The entire Comero Grand Canyon has been surrounded. The defensive perimeter outside, along with those tens of thousands of warriors, has likely been wiped out as well. Go. Deliver my order: use the secret passage to transfer all warriors to Locke City. Once they get there, have them forget that they were ever part of the Resistance..."
Roda stared at Emiria. "What about you?"
Emiria looked up at the sky. "I'm going to welcome hope's arrival..."
"Hope? Do we still have hope?" Roda's vision blurred.
"Master Roda, have you forgotten? You taught me to always look up at the stars and listen to what the Force had to say. The Force has never abandoned us. And now, the light of hope shines brighter before my eyes. Perhaps in a month, perhaps in half a year, the Jedi will regain their glory. During that time, all you need to do is hide..."
Roda understood. Emiria intended to sacrifice herself to ease the Dark Lord's extermination of the Resistance. Only then would the Resistance have any