storyteller2899 – thank you so much! Yes, Kallus has been a favorite of mine for a while, too – just a GORGEOUS voice actor 😉 I'll keep writing – writing is therapy, so I get a lot of it done! I'm also hoping when I'm done with this to do a Kallus-back-story, so keep your eyes on me for when I do that.
Fire and Ice 01 – Oh I plan on continuing 😉
PrincessCadence2012 – thank you soooooo much sweetie! Yeah, poor Kallus! Why am I so horrible to him!?
Jaki822 – Ha! No worries dude. Sorry for the confusion! But yes, *spoilers* Kallus will get plenty of good things coming his way.
Midnight Luna – Your reviews always make me laugh!
Eirian Erisdar – "He'll be half a spectre before he even gets to the Ghost" OMG THE PUNS! STAHP
Maliwan - 😉
Phoenixofmyth – Thank you! And yes, I just was watching that episode like "ARE YOU SERIOUS THRAWN!?" Like…. As Thrawn-y as Thrawn is, that moment he was really low on the scale of Thrawn-i-ness. Like, at the least he could have put Kallus in a cell…. I had to do something about it. Too bad it was something horrible XDDD
Takeno – Thank you! Yes, there is definitely always life, but writing is great therapy, it removes me from the issues I face, and when I get some words out, I'm ready to tackle the world fresh and motivated.
xCoatl – Thank you sweetie! SO MANY REVIEWS! I'm glad you found my fic!
Kallus's body was in a world separated from reality…. All outside distractions could hardly register over the wave of agony. He was dully aware of things happening – people moving, orders being given, the distant flashes of light as TIE fighters flew passed. But it was all somehow in a completely separate world, a different dimension.
Kallus had never felt so alone. So trapped. His body a prison.
"Governor, we have ships approaching."
The sound of voices were like listening underwater. Muted, blurry.
You have to do better than this.
Kallus had to struggle to force his eyes to open, to open his ears, to force his senses to work. Putting a task before him helped the overwhelming pain. Barely.
"Rebels reinforcements?" Governor Pryce asked.
"Mandalorian, by the look of them," came the reply.
"Sabine Wren," Governor Pryce growled, Kallus looking up. The crew of the Ghost certainly didn't disappoint. If they were able to push through the obstacles to survive, Kallus had to step up, too.
"Send fighters to intercept," Pryce ordered. "And move our capital ships to reinforce them."
Kallus's mind, while reeling with pain, latched onto a new idea. He'd figured that Pryce – out of all the officers on the bridge – was the most likely to adhere vehemently to Thrawn's orders. Whatever her motives, she sought Thrawn's approval.
And yet, Thrawn couldn't have predicted this. He'd left Pryce in charge, yes, but he'd also wanted the fleet to remain where they were.
That was Kallus's only chance – he had to get Pryce to lose her confidence, to feel torn between following Thrawn and doing what the situation demanded. Possibly bad enough so that she'd unwittingly play into Kallus's other plan – getting Thrawn to see dissension everywhere.
It didn't hurt, either, that Pryce was the only person to so far voice her disgust at having Kallus so close at hand. She could easily be convinced to send him away. That's what he needed – Pryce to order him sent to a cell… while in the lift, Kallus stood a chance at knocking out his guards….
But he needed to get her angry first.
"Thrawn ordered the ships to stay in their assigned positions," Kallus spoke up, glad that the pain he was suffering under was well masked.
"If I wanted the opinion of a traitor, I'd-" Pryce started with an eye roll.
"But if… one ship moves, then they're all going to move," Kallus said. "It's going to be a disaster. Thrawn will not be pleased."
"Guards, I don't want to hear any more from this rebel sympathizer," she said.
That worked great! Now to build up your strength so you can-
But Pryce hadn't meant to take Kallus to a cell. He found out as his entire body was suddenly engulfed in pain. The tazer again…. If the storm trooper wasn't holding onto him, he'd have ended up on the ground already. Without meaning to, a tormented gasp left his lips, a desperate intake of air.
Calm down, the pain will go away. You have to try again. She has to send you away.
Unfortunately, as things went silent, the pain in Kallus's leg began encroaching on his mind. He had been trying to avoid looking at it – things always looked worse than what they were, but as the storm troopers on either side, forced him to his knees, he subconsciously glanced down and…
The next thing Kallus knew, a hand was shaking his shoulder. He'd passed out.
Don't look again.
But his imagination was ignited. That injury… it looked… how was he going to escape? There was no way he was going to use that leg. His pants were black, so it was difficult to recall, but… were they wet? Was he bleeding? A compound fracture…. Could be life threatening. Nevermind using it to walk. He'd have to drag himself to an escape pod… and hope no one saw him….
It's not impossible. Just difficult. Two different things.
"Governor, the enemy fighters have deployed a strike team onto the hull of our Interdictor cruiser," an officer spoke up. Kallus was glad to have something new to focus on.
"Well, repel them!" Governor Pryce barked back.
"Great order, Governor," Kallus panted, forcing a grin on his face. He had to convince her that he would not stop being a nuisance. "You'll end the entire Rebellion with clarity like that."
"What is it going to take to convince you that I won't tolerate this kind of insubordination?" Pryce growled, signaling to the storm trooper.
Brace yourself. Kallus winced, feeling the all-encompassing torment of the tazer again. Except this time, he opened his eyes, on the ground. He was losing the battle against his body. He'd passed out, again. For how long, it was impossible to tell. It wouldn't do him any good if he passed out and woke up to find himself already locked away in a cell.
"Governor, we have a problem," an officer shouted.
"I don't want to hear it! Just, stop them! Nothing gets through!"
This was almost too easy.
"Thrawn's not going to be happy with you making a mess of his fleet," Kallus said with an all too apparent laugh on his words.
Pryce wheeled around, eyes blazing.
"Throw this traitor out the airlock," she said.
Whoa, Governor. WHOA.
Kallus had to remember he wasn't actually looking for a chance to escape, and quickly changed his smile into a look of surprise. Of course, if he didn't have a plan, he'd have probably resisted, but he let the storm troopers grab his arms and drag him away.
But still, it was hard not to be completely surprised by her reaction.
The airlock!?
Either she was beyond stressed or he really nailed the whole "be irritating" thing.
Of course, now was the moment of truth. Kallus concentrated, forcing the agony from his mind the best he could. He'd only have one shot at this. Thankfully working for the Empire for years taught him a few things – like how absolutely vulnerable storm troopers could be in their armor. Just the right kind of strike at their helmets would force their neck a certain way and mean instant unconsciousness. He just had to be able to force his body to obey him, and not give in to the pain.
WHOA ANOTHER CHAPTER. GUYS…. We're almost there… next chapter, Kallus's horrible, no good, very bad attempt at escaping. Poor guy.
Also, sorry this chapter was kind of short!
Also also, filling in the blanks for how Pryce went from "you're annoying" to "murder tf out of this guy" in like, one scene. Actually, when watching the episode for the first time, I burst out in gleeful laughter at how annoying I imagined Kallus must have been.
Also also also, yes, I totally went Breakfast Club with that one…. "It'll be anarchy!"
