Reminder: Please kindly note that this is a remix of angelrider13's fic titled: Resist Order 66. This has been written with her permission and blessing.
- A continuation of Chapter 1 which revolves around Aayla Secura's reaction to Order 66.
Of Aayla, the stars, and the strength they have.
She surfaces from the deep with a gasp that dies before it forms. The lights from above are harsh and white; they blind her and she cannot see but she needs not to when she can feel aching of her wounds.
She licks her lips, tastes iron, and wonders how she can ever be whole again when the Force is screaming with loss and betrayal. She feels wetness on her skin and marvels how she can even be crying when her soul is shattered into a million pieces ever since she was in the jungle and she felt pain that carved into her very heart.
The medical droid's movement pulls her out of deep again as it places cold machine hands on her. "Ah. You are awake." It pauses as if waiting for a response before continuing. "You arrived eight point three hours ago with severe blaster wounds. However, they were not life threatening as someone had taken the appropriate medical process to preserve your injuries."
The droid rattles on but Secura no longer hears as she spirals inwards. So. She is in a medical facility. How. How could this have happened. Why did this happen. But perhaps she is not asking the right questions as the stars wink outside her window. After all, it was her own men who had painted her with holes that were now merely fading white, thanks to the bacta treatment.
She's missing something and she's certain that her heart isn't one of the answers to her question.
"Excuse me," the medical droid cuts in, pulling her out of the deep once again. "The astromech you arrived with wishes to speak with you. He is… quite persistent." If she didn't know any better, she would have been surprised, even laughed, at the almost human dour coming out of the droid. Instead, everything in her vision fades as Arnie rolls up to her bedside, she sits up, and something clicks.
And she realizes that she knows the question to ask now. It is no longer How. It is no longer Why. But a Who.
Who could have gotten her men to do this?
Her Commander appears before her. He is standing straight, so straight that it looked like a stray wind would blow him over. His helmet is on and not for the first time, Secura wishes that they are not who they are so that she can see beneath the white white armor.
"General," the recording states and it is curt, so like and unlike the Commander who spoke wonders with his expression but not with words. "I'm sorry. We tried."
Such simple words but she can hear the faint tremor in his voice; she sees his head bob slightly, an indication of him swallowing hard, and she has to blink away her tears because her Commander is in pieces and she can do nothing but watch from eons away.
"We tried to stop," he explains and she believes him because there was a wild wild moment before pain hit her where she had looked back at him, at her men, and they all paused before her, as if they were fighting something that was beyond them.
Perhaps it was. After all, they had shot her.
"It was Order 66 and-," Bly cuts off, helmet tipping down. His shoulders are shaking. All Secura has to do is tilt her head in question for him to pick up where he left off, his voice monotone. "In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander, GAR commanders will remove those officers by legal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander until a new command structure is established."
He recites from rote and Secura's lekku curls. The Supreme Commander. The Chancellor. And everything starts falling into place as the Force continues to scream.
"We had to, General. Good soldiers follow orders." There is a beat, two, where the Bly in the holo message stares outwards before finally removing his helmet, and Secura holds her breath, trying to memorize his every feature.
His face is the same as she last saw them but something is different, something has changed since then and she can see it in the way new lines have been carved; he looks defeated.
"I hope this message finds you safe. I instructed Arnie to play this once you wake up." He pauses once more, an unknown expression crawling on his face that Secura couldn't read. She thinks it's heartbreak. "I… I don't think I'll be seeing you again in this lifetime, General. I'll never forgive myself if-" He clears his throat. "We can never forgive ourselves if you died. So please." He blinks those large doe eyes that pull her closer to the holo image until she is almost nose to nose to it. "Please, stay safe."
"It's been an honor," he states and Secura can tell he means it as he held his head high. "May the Force be with you."
The hologram flickers out and suddenly, abruptly, Secura is aware of the horrible silence that prevails. Even the Force is quiet.
What can she do now when everything she holds dear is scattered across the galaxy?
She closes her eyes and breathes, reaching into the Force. Horrible silence greets her but she hears something, a keening, and she knows right there and then that she is not alone. Others live. A few, a mere few, but they are alive, as surely as she is now as the Force pulsates around her. She feels more than sees Arnie moving closer to her and she reaches out blindly to him; he is cool to the touch and Secura finds herself thinking of white white armor cold as snow that bound hot blooded men to their duty.
Something rears up its head in her stomach and she doesn't fight to suppress the anger simmering barely beneath her skin. Her men are broken. Her Commander is lost. She is hurt.
But they are alive and they will find a way back to each other just as surely as suns will rise and fall. For her, her men had fought off something cruel and sinister. She opens her eyes and stretches; the white marks that were wounds just mere moments ago before she fell unconscious and woken from the deep stretches as well. Her eyes narrow at the winking stars above and the black swirls of the galaxy.
She will not betray that loyalty they had for her with abandonment.
The 327th is hers and she's going to make sure it stays that way.
On another planet far far away, Bly thinks he hears his General's declaration and smiles.
A/N:
- I really hope I did Aayla Secura and her men justice. I really like Aayla's character and when she perished in canon, I was quite sad. To think she died in a place so teeming with life. :(
- Next chapter will move on from Aayla and Bly. Perhaps we'll come back to them if angelrider13 ever goes back to it in the original story.
- Reviews are much appreciated. Please, let me know how you feel about it!