AN: Thank you all who reviewed and read this story so far! Sorry for the long wait, work has been crazy... Anyway, enjoy and if you have any comments or ideas, don't hesitate to write me! :)
„Thank you for your time, Lama Suu. The Empire is grateful for your cooperation." Admiral's even voice reverberated through the oval chamber. The Chiss stood up from the egg-shaped chair and inclined his head slightly in the Prime Minister's direction. Cody, standing near the entrance at attention furrowed his brow under the protection of his bucket. Why was the Admiral thanking this long-neck? This meeting proved to be just another political waste of time, and they learned nothing. He could not help but admire Thrawn's patience.
The Admiral was silent on the way to their shuttle. In spite of Kaminoan's many invitations, he preferred to stay on board his star destroyer for the duration of the visit - not that the Commander could blame him. Thrawn's personality - as Cody began noticing - had many quirks, and the clone could not be sure if they were normal for his race or if the Admiral was unique in that way, but what was the most perplexing of all was the Chiss's love for art. Cody had seen his fare share of fine pieces when he'd been stationed on Coruscant, but usually their owners were not very interested in the things themselves, only in the prestige they signified. Thrawn was different - he collected various objects almost maniacally and studied them for hours in his chambers onboard the Scylla. His current fascination was Kaminoan art.
„It was quite a fruitful meeting, don't you think, Commander?" the voice startled Cody out of his musings. They reached the Admiral's private quarters.
„Sir?" he put as much polite questioning in his tone as he could. His bucket off, the Admiral could see him arching one eyebrow.
„You must learn the art of subtlety if you wish to extract information from the likes of Lama Suu. He's quite the politician." Thrawn's lips pursed in a ghost of a smile. Cody rarely saw an expression on his CO's face and wondered if the Chiss did not believe in non-verbal communication or if the Admiral just enjoyed putting his interlocutors off.
„With all due respect sir, we were not made to be subtle. Our main purpose in life is to blast stuff" he answered matter-of-factly.
„I think you underestimate your potential, Commander. Tell me, when Lama Suu was talking about the neuro-chip production, did you notice his pupils become a little bit more… shall I say, milky?"
Seeing Cody's incredulous face Thrawn pushed a button on his private console and a large hologram appeared in front of the clone. It was an oval, white-blue sculpture which - Cody assumed - must have been abstract art, because it did not remind him of anything.
„This is a very famous piece by Lin Aah, the most revered Kaminoan sculptor. It's title is ‚motherhood' and I think you can notice by the symmetrical, strong lines and a clear color scheme that it symbolizes all that is good and true in their culture. According to my research, pure white or mother-of-pearl is the color of truth - also when an individual's eyes are clear, it means they are telling the truth. On the other hand, when they get clouded or milky, it signifies that the speaker is not entirely truthful; it is an involuntary reaction, like humans blushing. Nevertheless, not many people are privy to that information. After all, Kaminoans are a fairly unknown race and they wish to keep it that way. All I have to do is ask the right questions and watch closely, and all that I wish to understand unravels itself before me."
Cody stood for a while, speechless, trying to absorb all the information. He never really paid any attention to culture or art (the exception being his men painting less-than-appropriate decoration for their LAATi in the times when it was still permitted) and not for one second did he think of using it to extract information.
„I see now, sir… But, I have only one question, if I may" he said carefully, trying to put his mind back in order. Working with Thrawn, he was slowly getting used to loosing and then regaining his intellectual footing in a matter of seconds.
„Go on."
„Why do we need to understand the nature of the chips to find the missing clones?"
The Admiral looked at him with his piercing red eyes, his face again expressionless.
„I thought it was fairly obvious. I need to understand how you operate to solve this problem."
„But sir, I can tell you exactly how every clone thinks and operates." Cody tried not to sound exasperated. Why were they spending so much time on something so obvious? But Thrawn only arched one navy-blue eyebrow and continued to stare at him.
„Can you, really?"
ooo
Hardcase thought himself to be a man of simple needs. A clone like him required sleep, food and something to do to stay sane. While the first and second need was being fulfilled like never before in his short life, he was lacking action - to be specific, some action that involved lots of heavy guns and a nice amount of explosives. He knew that the Comm… fek, Ahsoka meant well and he was infinitely grateful to her and Rex for getting him out of the hell that was the Imperial Military, but man did he carve a good fight! He was, after all, engineered to be a warrior - maybe he got a bit more of those genes than the rest of his vode, though.
He sighed and kicked the dirt in their little vegetable garden that Kix insisted they start. Clones, farming! The long-necks would have a collective stroke if they saw what this rag-tag group of their creations was up to. Hardcase was not entirely sure if long-necks could have a stroke, but it certainly did not stop him from fantasizing about it. He grabbed his shovel when he saw a very dirty look that Wolffe shot him and, deciding it was not wise to mess with the Wolf Pack's alpha, resumed digging the small holes for the topato bushes.
Jesse - his long hair and beard obscuring the tattoos now - was usually on market duty, buying ingredients for Kix's new creations and Hardcase had to admit he was a bit jealous of his brother; at least he got to interact with other beings and could move more freely. He also usually brought back some treats for his brothers - probably because he was feeling guilty that he got the interesting job - and that made Hardcase wait for his speeder every time he was expected back from the local bazaar. When he heard the repulsor's whine in the distance he put his shovel firmly in the ground and headed towards the porch, his stomach grumbling in anticipation of snacks.
He rounded the corner and was about to send some playful verbal jab at his brother, but when he saw his charred clothing and grim face the words died in his mouth.
„Where's Ahsoka?" Jesse almost growled.
„In the kitchen with Kix" the other clone said quickly. „What the hell happened?"
Jesse shook his head mournfully, his mouth set in a thin line.
„Call everybody. We have to get out of here."
It seemed that Hardcase's wish for more action would soon be fulfilled. As he ran through the house and hollered at everybody, he only hoped that it wouldn't come back and bite him in the shebs.
ooo
Cody was still speechless when the comm beeped and he heard the deck officer's indifferent voice.
„Admiral, sir, Grand Moff Tarkin wishes to speak with you."
„Put him through to the comm in my chamber." Thrown said curtly, clearly not happy at the interruption. A moment later Tarkin's visage filled the space the Kaminoan art was previously occupying.
„Admiral" he drawled „I have received new orders from the Emperor himself. You are to pause all your current operations and engage Order 37. Our targets are larger settlements in the Outer Rim."
„With all due respect, sir, our investigation is finally bringing some results, I simply cannot abandon it right now." Thrawn remained calm as usual, but Tarkin's face contorted with anger with every word the Admiral uttered.
„That is His Majesty's direct order, alien, and I suggest you obey if you know what is good for you" he sneered „I will be expecting you near Ventooine in two days time" with those final words the connection was shut and an eerie quiet filled the chamber. Cody looked at the Admiral, staring at the inactive console in front of him, hands folded in his lap. The clone had a feeling they were both thinking the same thing - Order 37 meant slaughter of the civilian populace and Cody was not meant to hear about it before the official contact from the Emperor. Thrawn directed his gaze at the Commander once more.
„I will ask again - can you?"