Authors Note: Well, this was different then intended. So, few notes about what's going on. First, this is about 1 month before Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order, and about 3-4 months before everything goes to hell and the Republic becomes the Empire.
Also, a Kheltar is the equivalent of 1 Kilometre. Roughly about 3400 feet.
There's a girl in the corner let no one ignore her
'Cause she thinks she's the passionate one
Lyrics from Ballroom Blitz
"But that's just not true! The Jedi have never, and will never, condone the use of slaves!"
"Oh? How noble of them… What about when government sanctions get thrown in?"
"Uh, no… Never mind personal opinions or government pressure, we're talking basic theology. We are taught from the crèche that all life is sacred, that everyone deserves the opportunity to live free lives. You can't be a Jedi and abide with slavery."
"Including Clones?"
"Personal belief? Especially the Clones."
He turned to look at the Togruta. She was small, and she had a weird mix of naïve belief and hardened resolve that was making it really difficult for him to decide what her age was. Still she was Jedi (or more likely a Padawan) and they were effective at any age. He quirked the side of his mouth up in an amused smile.
"Again, how noble… But there's your theology and then there's reality, and it's amazing how little those two have in common."
"Look, I'm not saying everyone believes the same. But to the Jedi, Clones are extended the same rights and privileges allowed to every other member of the Republic. You're a Clone, ergo that applies to you."
"Really?!"
"Of course."
"Fine… In that case I formally tender my resignation as commander of Century Squad 6-8 and request that the current Acting Battalion Commander, that's you by the way, access the honourable discharge notification 28 dash 12 slash B here-to-which authorizing my release from the GAR. Pending acceptance into the Republic civilian sector, of course."
Ahsoka blinked a few times, clearly trying to wrap her lekku around the mass of jargon he'd just thrown her way. Sever simply took a pull from his canteen and waited.
Eventually she rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish wince.
"Um… I don't know if I can? To be honest, I'm not even sure exactly what you said."
He hummed thoughtfully and screwed the cap back on with a shrug.
"Don't suppose you would. It's military double-speak for 'Here, sign this so I can get the hell out of here and go back home'… See, any Republic citizen can serve in the army provided they're deemed physically fit. That citizen signs an agreement that they will serve for a specific period of time- training schedule not included- after which they may chose to either continue service or be honourably discharged back into the civilian populace."
Sever picked up his helmet, slipping it on his head and snapping his visor back down in one expert movement. After scanning the rocky terrain in the distance he took the bucket off and turned back to Ahsoka with a wry smile.
"Care to guest what happens if a Clone to walk?"
He blamed Methos for this conversation even happening.
Well, actually he blamed whoever it was that let the kid pilot a damaged fighter to a potentially hostel planet and straight into the side of a rock. But considering the odds of her not only surviving but managing to be close enough to the one friendly located on this poor excuse of a mud-bowl, he figured she was lucky.
Still, he was going to blame Methos for this anyway. Because most of the absurdity in his life resulted due to that slagger, and while he'd certainly inherited his cynicism from the man, he'd also gotten that bizarre protective instinct as well.
And after spending more than two years as the voice of sanity by 'The Crazy Centurion's' side (and, boy was that a eyebrow-raising thought to anyone who'd spent any length of time with them) he'd come to discover there was very little left of the Kaminoan's 'good soldier' programming. Mostly because Methos had a knack for cutting right through the bantha fodder and telling it exactly how it was.
It was what made the Centurion Squad so unique among the Clones. They were the 'dark operations combatants,' the 'ghosts in the field'. Most times they went in and broke the enemy apart from the inside out and left without leaving any trace of being there. They had a training and mindset different from any other Clone in the GAR.
It was also why a good many of their brothers avoided them. Most other squadrons didn't want to hear what the men of 6-8 had to say when the conversations got heavy.
He sighed as he looked down at the Commander (and seriously, what the hell? They sent a kid- Jedi sure, but still- alone out into the middle of unprotected to look for danger. Who does that?!) As she looked back up at him with a concentrated frown.
"I… don't think I've ever heard of a Clone asking to leave the army."
Sever raised an eyebrow. Of course they hadn't told her the dirty details. There were some things a kid, even one fighting in a warzone, didn't need to know. He snorted.
"You wouldn't… First lesson each batch learns. You serve and you serve well. Failure to do so is a dereliction of duty and will be met with the Clone's immediate execution."
Tano's brows shot so high they seemed to merge with her other facial markings. Sever caught the sight of a dust trail in the distance and put his helmet back on, locking in the trajectory with his visor. He shrugged.
"Hard facts of life, kid… That order came straight down the Republic itself… We're property. We're born because someone paid us to be. We're trained in combat because necessity demanded us to be. We're the Republic's army because that's what's we're expected to be. We became the Jedi's blood brothers because that's what they asked us to be. And we've become this wars sword, shield, and sacrificial offering because that's all we know how to be."
He heard the commander make a soft noise, but he was too busy focusing on the upcoming transport to look over and get a read on her full reaction. He picked up the sniper rifle and began to adjust the sights as her voice filtered through his helmet.
"The Jedi don't believe that. We couldn't," she protested.
He shrugged as he dialled in the sights further, narrowing down the parameters until he had the target locked.
"Doesn't matter. Republic says 'jump' and the Jedi ask for recommended height… Don't get me wrong, there's not a Clone around that doesn't realize it'd be a lot worse if the Jedi weren't involved. But at the end of the day your still the ones giving orders that get us killed and we still don't have the option of saying 'no'."
In all honesty, short as the few hours of conversation had been, Sever was starting to like the kid. For one, she was proving to have the patience needed for this kind of operation. She was also apparently funny, relatively smart, and had a particular brand of pragmatic ruthlessness that he respected as a by product of training via Methos. It's why he was going to make damn sure Commander Tano spent a few hours with the squadron meeting the man in person when they got back. They'd get along like a house on fire.
Mostly because they'd be the ones having set it on fire, therefore using each other as alibis.
He nudged the kid and she startled out of her thoughts.
"Eyes up, we've got inbound. You sure you can make the shot?"
Sever had managed to secure a couple of the local colour's weapons of choice. It wasn't his preferred weapon, but he was confident enough with the specs to know he would be able to pull this off. Most importantly, this was a long-range blaster rifle capable of firing the necessary rounds for a successful Op. Ahsoka was the more unknown factor. She shifted, lifting her body and shimmying up until she was beside him, and raised her own weapon.
"Don't worry. Sky Guy, I mean Master Skywalker, takes the word 'unconventional' to new levels. He made sure I was equipped to handle whatever I might need to use to survive. When it comes to fighting, I've used everything from Sonic Blasters, to a Slugthrower, to a fork."
Sever blinked and tilted his head towards her. Everyone knew about General Skywalker and the 501st Legion, but it was a bit different hearing about it firsthand.
"A… fork? Now there's something that just screams 'tell me more.'"
She gave him a wry smile before turning back and adjusting her own scope.
"I'll tell you my best story, if you tell me yours… well, later."
"Later it is… Okay, first off, use that cloth to your left and cover your head and weapon. The sun's shifted and there's a chance they could spot the glint off your scope."
The kid cursed quietly and then grabbed the cloth, slipping it over the gun and her head. Sever checked and adjusted a little more before going back to his target.
"Right, you see the third Troop Transport in?"
"Got it."
"See the patch of red markings on the side, just left of the front armour panel?"
"Yep."
"When I give the order, take the shot. Bottom left where the reds been scratched away."
"Waiting for 'go'."
Sever counted down the klicks, waiting until everything was lined up just right. He could feel the moment they hit the sweet spot.
"Hit it."
Ahsoka, true to her word, nailed the target dead center, which happened to be the main battery powering the Transport's front air lifts. The front end immediately dropped towards the ground, causing the de-powered Clankers inside to shift, which swung the transport wide, driving it into the fuel transport right behind it.
Sever watched as the fuel container impacted, grinding itself up into the air and exposing the one weak spot on the heavily armoured craft. He fired five shots. The first two were the primaries, putting 2 high-intensity incendiary rounds inside a container full of fuel cells. The third went going into the engine compartments of the MTT behind, causing a rupture, and the two others were random shots placed to make this look like an 'unlucky' accident cause by bandits after some credits.
Two seconds after Ahsoka had fired, the now-destabilized fuel cells caused a chain reaction which engulfed the entire convoy in the explosion. The kid cursed and curled up defensively as they were pelted small pieces of debris, as well as a wave of heat, that had made it out to them.
Even Sever was mildly impressed, considering they were just under a Khelter away from the blast zone.
After a second, he stood up, doing a fast little in-place jog to quickly work out the kinks his body had picked up while lying basically motionless for the better part of a day. Snitch's Intel was always accurate; he just didn't always have an exact time to go along with his reports of enemy troop movements.
Still, any day that a single trooper (plus a mini-Jedi) could take out a battalion of Clankers and front line supplies with nothing more than 6 rounds and a kark-ton of patience was a good day in Sever's book. He nudged Tano with his foot.
"Unless you want to walk your way back to the pick up point, you need to get up and move."
She sprang up, looking around.
"You've got transport."
Sever snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Nope, I crawled my way here. Help me grab the gear, kid."
"Okay, that's like the 15th time you've called me 'kid' today. You do realize that at 16 years old I'm 2 or 3 years older than you, right?"
Sever gave her a bland look.
"Yeah, well, age isn't about actual numbers, it's about experience. Yeah, you're 16, but you spent all of that except for the last two and half years allowed to be a child."
"So?"
"So… No Clone ever had a childhood. Oh, we may have looked like kids for a while- but we came out of our birth tanks cock, locked, and loaded. You had 14 years of relative innocence, and 2 years of watching it all go kriff up. Yes, I'm 14, but I've spent every minute of that time being the best leader, soldier, and killer I can be. The Boss describes it as 'putting on City Miles'; and that makes me the older by twelve years."
He watched as she absorbed that, and then held out his hand to offer her a few of the supplies.
"How bout it, kid?"
She paused and then huffed out a small laugh, taking the items from him before narrowing her brows in though.
"Wait, why are we taking the guns with us?"
"We're not, but we are dropping them off somewhere else."
"Why?"
Sever paused.
"Reasons," he said vaguely.
He waved at the rock face behind, pointing out a small but negotiable path along its edge. He stared to walk and Ahsoka followed behind.
"As for your much earlier question, I've got a speeder tucked into a crevice on the other side. It'll carry the two of us fine. It's also a local build and modified to have next to no traceable mechanical signature, so the chance of any Tinnies zeroing in on us in their territory will be low. I've got a drop zone with a pilot circling in the blue waiting to hop us out… Might not be able to get you back to your own Battalion for a few days, but you'll be with friendlies at least… Anything in the fighter of yours that ties you to it?"
Ahsoka shook her head.
"It was a stealth run. Non-Republic class flier and any evidence is either with me or a pile of ash in the wreck."
"Good."
For a few minutes they walked in silence, but whether that was because the kid was all talked-out or she wasn't used to the pace Sever had set for her, he didn't know. He did know he wanted both of them long gone before any of the Clankers came around to investigate. It would be worse it they ran into the planet's native populace.
Going around the final corner, it took him a minute to realize Ahsoka had frozen behind him. He turned to look at her before following her eye line until it met up with a small campsite and five dead smugglers. She turned to look at him; he was no Jedi, but she didn't have to voice her thoughts in order for him to pick them up.
Sever removed his helmet. The kid deserved eye contact for this.
"You know what planet you hit, kid?"
She shook her head.
"Yarvis, which is knee-deep into Neutral Space. This planet was declared neutral territory by the locals and by galactic law the Republic has no operational authority here. Seps have been using these barrens as a supply stock up and jump point for their forces in the area; we knew it but couldn't prove it without coming here and causing enough of a scrape that the natives would probably join the Separatists out of spite."
He tilted his head towards the dead bandits.
"They actually were watching the transports, trying to figure out how to get at one. As far as this world will know, this was nothing but a bunch of thieves who just happened to shoot the wrong blaster at the wrong time. Of course they got mad because of it and a firefight broke out. Quick, clean, and efficient- and best of all, nothing that can be traced back to us. But now there's a big hole in the ground filled with smoking Tinnies and Sep tech... Ten credits says they side with the Republic by the end of the standard week."
Sever reached out, taking the guns and few supplies from the Jedi, and jumped down the last couple of feet. He tossed one blaster slightly away from a woman lying on her back, and wrapped the weapon he'd used back into the hands of a man face down in the rubble, he scattered the rest in logical areas around the camp. Then he put his helmet back on and went over to uncover the speeder-bike.
"This isn't right."
Sever looked up and paused. Ahsoka looked younger. Smaller. Like someone who had just been told that all the things she believed in were lies. Sever sighed and felt bad for the kid, because that's what she was, right at this moment. Not a Commander, not a warrior, not a Jedi. She was a kid, and the universe was a pretty karked-up place for that kind of youth. He sighed again and powered up the machine.
"Which part?"
She waved a general hand.
"Pick one. This place, these people, the war, the Clones… You. None of it is right."
"Nope… But it's reality."
Sever slid onto the speeder, turning to look at Ahsoka, who hadn't moved from her spot. He sighed. He got where she was coming from, but he also knew they need to move. He motioned sharply to her and she startled, but quickly ran over, sliding in behind him and wrapping her arms around his mid-section in order to hang on. He slammed the speeder to full and took off, quickly getting lost in the landscape. Like they were never there.
It took a good while before they reached the pick-up site. Once the bike was powered down Sever signalled to the ship, two quick burst of com chatter that wouldn't mean anything to anyone else. After a moment they could make out a small cargo transport coming towards them. The kid looked at him; Sever looked right back.
"They've been doing legit cargo runs over the planet all day. Lets them stay in atmosphere without raising suspicion. They'll land here with the claim of landing leg refusing to lock into place, hence the stop for maintenance, and then we'll be gone."
"Just another mission for the Century Squadron, huh?"
Sever waved his hand back and forth.
"This one wasn't about the Republic. This one was about the fact that the Droids were currently, quietly stripping away planet resources while using this planet as a jump point. But that was just the beginning; they planned to start pulling its resources in mass and use the populace as slave labour. If we'd waited until official sanctions it would have been too little, too late."
Ahsoka blinked and looked up at him. And she really looked, that eerie way he'd discovered only Jedi could look at a person: like they were studying them from the inside out. He didn't squirm, but it was only discipline that prevented him. Finally, she blinked and then spoke.
"Is that why you keep fighting?"
Sever tilted one side of his face up in a crooked smile and shook his head.
"If you're looking for explanations, clarity, or atonement, you're in for some serious disappointment. There is no easy answer. Why do we Clones fight? Because that's what we were made to do, and we're proud to show off. Maybe it's because we're the best of the best at what we do."
He waved back in the direction they came in.
"Even when what we do doesn't come close to being classified as 'nice'… Mostly I think it's because my brothers and I quickly realized that most Jedi have the survival instincts of mentally deranged Gundark's born with suicidal tendencies and therefore would have died 5 months into the war if we didn't step up and do something to help."
He was happy to see the kid crack a smile, even if it was followed by a sarcastic eye roll. She turned as the ship set down in front of them. They walked up as the ramp opened, revealing Thing 1 and Thing 2 at the top. Ahsoka blinked in surprise at the two clones; which was fair, because she would know that they valued their individuality. Seeing two clones that clearly chose to look exactly like one another (exactly alike. Same hair, tattoo, mannerisms. Even their clothes, which was currently civilian gear) was a little strange. And not even the force was going to help her out with this one. Sever had mercy and waved a hand at the two of them.
"Long story short: they both formed and grew in the same birth pod. Kaminoans were curious and let them be. They're basically our version of identical twins; and they live that fact large. The one on the left is Thing 1, on the right is Thing 2. Your only hope is knowing that Thing 1 favours his left side, Thing 2 his right. Can't help you any more than that."
Ahsoka blink in incongruity.
"Seriously… That's what you went with? Thing 1 and Thing 2."
Thing 1 walked down the ramp chuckling slightly as Thing two walked deeper into the ship.
"Blame our Boss. And trust me; once you know the story behind it, the names are perfect… By the way, nice to meet a new face. What's your call sign?"
The kid smiled and stuck out her hand which Thing 1 took.
"Ahsoka Tano, and the feelings mutual. My fighter and I tried playing chicken against a rock wall; the wall won. Just so happened Sever here was watching the same patch of wasteland. Agreed to give me a lift as long as I helped him blow stuff up."
Thing 1 looked over at him, giving a thumbs up.
"Well, dwang… Last time Glitch went solo for a mission, all he came back with was a funny-looking rock. Way to raise the bar."
Sever rolled his eyes and couldn't help but snark.
"Yeah, yeah. She's a good shot, I'm debating asking Skywalker if he wants to trade her out for you."
Thing 1 just waved a significant finger in his direction as Ahsoka turned with a sardonic smile and pointed to herself.
"I should really have a say in this."
Sever waved a hand at the bike, silently asking his brother for a hand as he returned the kids smile.
"Nope. Now quiet, the adults are working here."
Ahsoka huffed dramatically and stomped up the ramp throwing out loudly,
"Just sit on it and spin you karker."
Both clones couldn't help but bursting out laughing as they got the speeder inside the tiny cargo hold and magnetized into place. From the direction of the cockpit they could hear Thing 2 cackling away before calling out.
"Oh… I like her! Kriff what the Jedi says; we're so totally keeping her."
Thing 1 waved at the front.
"I better get up there and make sure he doesn't try to do a barrel roll or something. You know… Again."
Then taking off, Sever and the Jedi taking a moment to decompress from the mission as they listened to the twins bantered back and forth. Eventually they sat down. After a moment she shifted over, coming to sit right next to him and bumping her shoulder into his. Sever turned to look at her.
"We'll make it better. After… after everything. When this war is over and everyone finally learns how to sit down and talk instead of fighting. We'll make sure they remember who helped us get there." The young Jedi offered Sever a small but confident smile. "The war will end… Then we'll make sure every Clone gets full citizenship. And I will personally hand you your 'walking orders' myself."
He smiled and bumped her shoulder back with a small huff.
"Okay, confession time. I don't actually need them."
The kid frowned.
"What?"
He smiled and waved at the symbol on his right shoulder. She wouldn't know the significance behind the design, but she would recognize it as meaning he belonged in Methos' squad.
"We got lucky. Luckier than most. There isn't a Clone in the 6-8 who doesn't believe Methos will have our backs the minute this wars done… Still, it's the thought that counts, so thanks."
He tilted his head back, resting it on the wall behind the seat and letting the drone of the engines lull him down. He didn't miss the kids soft 'Your Welcome'. Then his eyes opened back up slowly as a remember something. He nudged her arm again as he turned to look at her.
"Yeah?"
"I would really, really like to know the story behind that damn fork."
Ahsoka barked out a surprised laugh, chuckling as she rubbed her face with one hand.
"Wow… Okay. So it was just supposed to be a boring diplomatic meet-and-greet, but Master Skywalker found out that-"
