Chapter 10: For the Fallen

Vindi stared down at the metal-plated floor as he was escorted through the halls of the massive vessel that he was brought to. These newcomers, despite their technology being obnoxiously metallic and bright, were nothing short of horrifying. Every time he slowed down, even slightly, he felt the forked end of the Marines' rifles dig into his back. "Keep moving." The Marine deadpanned.

After being led through what felt like miles of starship, Vindi was shoved through a door. In the back of his mind, he expected a cell. What he got was much different. He got a very well-decorated office space. Sitting behind a very ornate-looking wooden desk was a human male with short brown hair, looking young yet experienced. Something about the glare that he was giving Vindi sent a chill down the corrupted scientist's spine.

"Well, I must say I have a hard time believing a scientist could have such a warped view on the sanctity of sentient life." The human admiral said, standing up. "You are aware that what you've done stands in direct contrast to the ideals of my people?"

"Your kind murdered life, yet you claim to stand to protect it." Vindi declared.

"Comparing a virus that targets all living creatures and a sentient being is a false equivalency." Lasky deadpanned. "The Mantle of the Coalition is quite clear that sentient life is to be guarded and protected. You have breached the very core of the Mantle."

"And you'll lock me away in your galaxy until I die?" Vindi asked, staring at Lasky.

"No…" Lasky said, walking a bit closer. "Your sentence goes far beyond simple imprisonment. For your crimes against life before the protectors of the Mantle, your sentence goes far beyond your understanding."

In a flash, Vindi felt blinding pain shoot through every inch of his body, down to his very core. It felt as if his very flesh was disintegrating on his bone. Even as he attempted to scream, he found his voice to be lost, simply falling flat as his mouth opened.

He looked down, seeing that his disintegrating flesh analysis wasn't very far from the truth. Layer upon layer of his flesh was being seared off by the second, starting from the feet and working up. Once it reached the muscle layer, it stopped hurting almost instantly. Instead, he felt himself growing weaker and weaker, falling to his knees and staring up at Lasky, who had an indifferent look on his face as he watched the doctor get composed. "My apologies doctor…" Lasky said as the last of his muscular tissue was ripped from his body, and the last of the doctor's very life was draining. "As punishment, you shall serve the Mantle in death." With that, Vindi's bones were reduced to dust, which was subsequently atomized as his consciousness was made whole again in the Domain. In the Domain, the secrets of the universe came crashing down on Vindi like waves on a shore, awareness he never thought possible bringing enlightenment and knee-bending servitude all at once. In his last moments as a "free" being before the Composer completed his transition into a Promethean, he knew the true meaning of Infinity.

Lasky sighed as he watched the last of Vindi's remains get swept into the void of Slipspace, shaking his head to clear it of the quite disturbing sight of Composition. Watching a being undergo Composition was always an unnerving sight. Twisting, writhing pain was replaced with nothingness before his very eyes, and he could always swear that for the slightest fleeting moment, the eyes of the subject showed their full understanding of the situation. For Lasky, watching that happen was all too familiar. At the very least, insanity was no longer a side-effect of the Composer's influence, that oversight was long-fixed by the GC's scientists. All Vindi would have to do is complete his thousand-year service to the Mantle, then his essence would be released into the Domain in full.

Lasky simply shook his head, hoping to clear the haze that had settled in. He strolled back to his desk, pressing a few of the keys on the holographic display, bringing up his communications link with Andromeda Fleet Command, which resided on the Ark Seed Fleet's flagship, the massive Terra-Class Command Vessel GCSS Stellar Wind. "Orders for us, High Admiral?" The Sangheili Fleet Admiral from the other end asked.

"I need the consciousness of one of our newest Promethean searched for intel. He has already been composed." Lasky explained. "Also, notify the President that I am formally requesting an additional Seed Fleet to speed up the construction of the Andromeda Ark."

"Right away, Admiral." The Sangheili said, clasping a closed fist over his chest before severing the communication.

Once his call was finished, Lasky simply plopped back down in his cushioned chair, letting out a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his synthetic hair. This was easily the strangest situation he had found himself in over his full millennium of life. Armies of robots fighting armies of clones, warriors with the 'Force', and the Coalition was fighting a war in a completely different Galaxy. The Star Charts that the Republic had shared with the GC were a welcome bit of help, so they didn't have to spend years scouting and scanning Andromeda, but it was still jarring.

Lasky was shaken out of his stupor by a very welcome voice. "Holding up, Tom?" Sarah Palmer asked, walking into his office in her gel layer.

Lasky smiled. "As well as ever." He said, cocking an eyebrow as she sat on the corner of his desk.

"You looked stressed." Palmer responded.

"No more than I usually am." Lasky retorted with a chuckle, smiling as Palmer gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"We're doing good out there." She said.

"I certainly hope so, Sarah." Lasky said, sighing again.

XXXXX

Kathryn slid underneath an incoming wrist rocket from a Super Battle Droid, her alloy armor grating against the metal floor. In a quick motion, she fired six shots from her Hard Light bolter, causing the droid to crumble under the rapid-fire projectiles. From the other end of the hallway, Ahsoka and four Clones rushed around the corner. The Clones fired their blasters into the unsuspecting B1 droids, while Ahsoka launched herself forward, hacking through six more droids in quick succession.

Ahsoka, after felling the droids, ran over to the access ladder that would usually provide an exit to the surface. The sealed door was being grinded away by a B1 droid with a heavy metal-cutting saw. She reached out through the Force, yanking it down. It let out an almost comical wail as it clattered into the ground, which was silenced as Ahsoka stuck her lightsaber through its torso.

As Kathryn pulled herself to her feet, quickly crushing a twitching B1 droid's neck with her armored boot, she saw that Ahsoka's condition was quickly deteriorating. The normally upbeat Togrutan's eyes were sunken, her veins very visible beneath her greying orange-white skin, and she simply looked sluggish. This was confirmed when the young Jedi collapsed, only barely being caught by the SPARTAN thanks to her heightened reflexes.

As she looked down, Kathryn could easily see that Ahsoka's breath was coming in heavy, irregular patterns. "Ahsoka, are you alright?" Kathryn asked, activating her armor's medical systems to scan the girl.

"I'm alright…" Ahsoka managed between breaths. "That should be the last of the droids."

Kathryn watched as Ahsoka's medical information flooded into her Neural Lance, the results looking rather grim. The virus was actively targeting specific protein chains, bending them out of shape and causing swelling in the cell walls. Some of the more fragile cells had already begun to rupture, causing minute internal bruising. She had lost roughly twenty percent of her bone density, and her neural activity was slowed by six percent due to low oxygen in her blood. Even with all of the GC's advanced medical equipment and practices, a virus like this was truly difficult to treat in a warzone. The most the SPARTAN's suit systems could do was lessen the symptoms, and even that was very limited. "You all need to rest." Kathryn said, zoning back in. "All of this activity is only making the virus' effects more potent." The SPARTAN silently thanked her suit's atmospheric control system as she saw the effects the virus was having on the Clones. Their skin had gone from an almost Mediterranean olive color to a pasty white, with some reaching the final stage of the virus' effects. Three had already died in the past six hours since the outbreak, and the cause of death was not pretty at all.

As Kathryn turned to lead the way back towards the safe room, where Willow, Senator Amidala, and Jar-Jar were treating a few of the other Clones, Ahsoka piped up. "I can walk you know…?"

"After what happened back there, evidently not." Kathryn snarked back, earning a grim smile from Ahsoka. "They'll be back soon." She comforted.

"I know… I have faith in them." Ahsoka said in between a coughing fit.

After the short trek back, Kathryn finally let Ahsoka down onto one of the bedrolls that the Clone Troopers carried in their packs. Looking around, she could make out the smell of death even through her suit's filters, and it made her stomach churn. Seeing these people, helpless when faced with a disease like this, made her sick to her stomach even more than the smell did. She silently cursed the lack of information she had on this illness. Even with the GCSS Infinity in orbit, working on analyzing the virus' genetic code, a cure was still at least two days away from final synthesis. Kathryn knew that nobody down here had that much time.

"What's it like?" Ahsoka asked, shaking Kathryn out of her stupor.

"What's what like?" Kathryn asked. "Sorry, lost in thought."

"Where you're from." Ahsoka asked again, giving a small smile.

Kathryn smiled beneath her helmet as she knelt down, shrugging. "Not too different from Naboo, actually." Kathryn explained. "Naboo mixed with Coruscant."

"What's it called?"

"Earth." Kathryn responded. "The Human homeworld. It's… it's a beautiful world, but I might be a bit biased. What about you?"

Ahsoka smiled again. "The Togrutan homeworld, Shili. A lot of rocks, desert, and Togrutans."

"I'd imagine that there's a lot of Togrutans." Kathryn responded with a soft laugh.

Deep down in her mind, something clicked with Kathryn. She was having a conversation with a fifteen year old girl that was on her deathbed, talking about her home. As the young girl mentioned her homeworld, she had the slightest little hint of sadness, regret in her eyes. Even for the battle-hardened SPARTAN V, it was painful to look at. Seeing a young girl, a mere four years younger than herself, thrown onto the battlefield in such a manner hit really close to home. If the GC High Command didn't have an issue with the Jedi before, they certainly would once word of this got out.

Kathryn quickly pushed those dark thoughts aside, simply deciding to keep Ahsoka company for as long as possible. Ahsoka was very much surprised the more she talked with the SPARTAN. "You're only nineteen?!" Ahsoka asked, stunned.

Kathryn nodded. "Nineteen and two months. I seem older because of all of the… augmentations that come with being a SPARTAN."

Ahsoka nodded in understanding, letting out another cough in the process. "Are all of you this young?"

"We get recruited and complete training at eighteen." Kathryn explained. "Some of us like Alice, for example, are older. She's going on thirty. Some of the officers are over a hundred years old."

"Wow…" Ahsoka wondered. "How long can your people live?"

"I mean… Lasky's been alive for over a thousand years." Kathryn explained. "And the Wartime Director of the SPARTAN V Program, Sarah Palmer, is just as old."

"Your galaxy sounds amazing." Ahsoka added. "Maybe we'll be able to see it?"

"Maybe…" Kathryn responded with a grim smile as she watched the Padawan's vitals deteriorate before her very eyes. Despite her suit's medical interface, all it was doing was slowing the virus down. Silently, she hoped that Alice and the Jedi were hurrying it along.

XXXXX

Alice, Obi-Wan, and Anakin descended the ramp and onto the surface of Iego. Strangely enough, the landing pad was empty, covered in various pieces of scrap. The planet itself was arid and warm, but not uncomfortably so.

Her attention was grabbed by the nearby metal clanking of a B1 droid shuffling towards them. She drew her Hard Light bolter, but she hesitated for a moment. Something about its movement was off… more sluggish than usual. The far more obvious difference was that its head was mounted on backwards, and it was speaking to them. "Welcome to Iego…" It sputtered out every few seconds, as if on repeat.

Anakin, in his infinite recklessness, simply charged the droid and hacked it in half with his saber. Alice watched in mild amusement as Obi-Wan called after the younger Jedi. She suddenly found herself rather concerned with the sight of several dozen of the misshapen Droids marching at her small group, their incessant droning of "Welcome to Iego" becoming rather irritating after a mere first time. With very little hesitation this time, she raised her handgun and fired at the shuffling droids while Anakin simply cut through them.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted, sighing when he realized that his words fell on deaf ears. "You're encouraging him, you know."

Alice stopped firing for a moment, simply watching Anakin hack away at the droids. "I know…" She said, firing a quick burst into a droid's leg. "I wanna see how long it takes him to realize it." Alice was rather proud of herself when she saw a small smirk cross Obi-Wan's usually all-business face.

After roughly a dozen droids were cut down by Anakin's lightsaber, understanding seemed to dawn on him. He finally stopped his slaughter, realizing that the droids were simply speaking, and doing nothing else.

"Congratulations!" Obi-Wan called out. "You singlehandedly destroyed twenty two defenseless battle droids."

Alice smirked at the Jedi's surprisingly witty comment. "Twenty three, actually." She said, gesturing to the one lying flat on the ground, missing its right leg.

Anakin smiled, but was surprised to hear someone call out from the other end of the landing pad. "Hey, what gives?" Everyone looked over, surprised to see a young boy walking past a small group of other droids. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to reprogram them?"

"You reprogrammed all of these?" Alice asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Impressive."

"You know your droids?" The boy asked.

"Better than most." Alice responded.

"Well, welcome to Iego." The boy said, gesturing around. "Might as well get comfortable… you'll… be… here…" He seemed to be distracted by something up above the Jedi and SPARTAN, causing the three of them to turn around and look towards the sky.

The slightly red-tinted sky was ablaze with small explosions from orbit, likely from the GC fleet destroying the defense grid. In the wake of the explosions, descending into the atmosphere, were dozens of Pelican XI dropships, along with a few smaller GC frigates and cargo haulers. "What is That?!" The boy asked.

"The Galactic Coalition Twelfth Light Fleet." Alice responded. "We are the Republic's ally in this conflict."

The boy seemed so stunned to see the very… ornately advanced vessels buzzing through the atmosphere, with little care for the fact that the sky was practically exploding above them. One of the frigates descended next to the landing pad, using its anti-grav systems to keep itself level with the concrete landing pad. The rear ramp descended, allowing the Sangheili Admiral that had hailed the Jedi a few minutes prior to step onto the surface of the planet, his eyes scanning over the destroyed droids with mild amusement. He strolled over, grinning internally as he saw the amazed look that the young human was giving him. "Well, I ordered the Marines to make planetfall to ensure that there were no Separatist hostiles. It appears my fears were ill-placed."

"W-What are you?" The boy asked.

"Galactic Coalition Fleet Admiral Zira'Moramee, Sangheili." The admiral responded, bowing his head slightly. "We detected signs of life on this world, but a strange lack of orbital constructs beyond a strange laser defense grid that was built into the orbiting objects of this world."

"You destroyed Droll?!" The boy asked, amazed.

"If 'Droll' was the defense grid that had you caged here, then yes." The Admiral said. "Now, before you ask me more questions, I have one for you."

"Sure, w-what is it?"

"My compatriots here," He gestured to the Jedi and the SPARTAN officer. "They are looking for a specific medicinal plant here in the hopes of synthesizing a cure for a resurged disease. It is called Reeksa Root."

"Ho-ho… there's some Reeksa Root at the bottom of those ravines… I wouldn't suggest going down there, though."

"And why is that?" Moramee asked.

"The plants tend to get mad when you do. They've got some big teeth."

The Admiral nodded in half-understanding. "SPARTAN Alice, I will have a detachment of Marines rerouted to the ravine to find this Root, and they will bring it here. From there, I will have my frigate transport you back to Naboo."

"We have our own ship." Anakin said. "We can make the trip just as easily."

"The Slipstream allows us to bypass hyperspace lanes." Moramee explained as if it were the simplest fact in the universe. "It would cut travel times in half."

"The Admiral has a point, Anakin." Obi-Wan said. "It would be faster, and we could get the cure to Naboo in time to hopefully save the Senator and Ahsoka."

"I will have this plant brought here at once." Moramee said, relaying the orders through his Neural Lance. "I will notify High Admiral Lasky of your impending arrival."

"Thank you, Admiral." Obi-Wan said.

XXXXX

Kathryn sighed as she watched the last of the Clone Trooper's life that she was watching over slip away. His cells had bloated and ruptured to the point of internal bleeding, and there was nothing more that could be done beyond that point, not without contaminating the rest of Naboo.

She looked around the room, seeing that the only survivors among the infected were Ahsoka, Rex, Senator Amidala, and two of the other Clone Troopers. Ahsoka's immune system was dangerously close to failing, along with Rex and the Clones. The Senator appeared to have a bit more time, but not by much, another hour maybe before her condition mirrored that of the Padawan.

As she looked down, seeing the young Togrutan taking in labored breaths as her blood struggled to take in oxygen, she racked her brain for anything she could do to help. She had used every immuno-booster that her suit's systems could administer, and that barely slowed down the Virus at all. The few anti-viral applicants that SPARTAN armor could administer were very nearly useless. Just as she was about to propose something very very questionable, her HUD lit up, causing her to almost cheer. She actually heard Jane mutter something over their comms system. "Oh fuck… thank god."

The GCSS Unifying Light jumped into the system, showing an IFF that gave her renewed hope. Alice's IFF was aboard the Unifying Light, and she received a communication a few moments later. "Kat, what's the situation?" Alice asked.

"Ahsoka, Senator Amidala, and Captain Rex are all infected, and the situation is deteriorating." She said, practically tripping over her words. "Two other Clones are on death's door."

"Transporting the cure down to you now, Kat." Alice said.

Just in front of Kathryn, a small rift in Slipspace opened up, allowing a small vial encased in Forerunner Alloy to drop into her waiting hand. The clear liquid was attached to a chip that could be inserted into her armor's Medical Array. "Christ, cutting that one close." Kathryn said, running over to Ahsoka and deploying the small nanite injector from the palm of her right gauntlet. Ahsoka looked up to the SPARTAN with confusion as she placed her palm just above her jugular, followed by a light stinging sensation. Almost immediately, that pressure that was building up in Ahsoka's chest was fading, and she felt light-headed.

Kathryn repeated the procedure with Captain Rex, Senator Amidala, and the two other Clones. She sighed in relief as she watched all of their vitals begin stabilizing, the cellular decay halting almost immediately as the nanites began attacking the virus. Once she was done with the direct injection, she sent the command for her armor to eject the nanites into the air to start attacking the virus, causing the vial to empty into the air.

"Cure administered, requesting a quarantine team to bring us up to Infinity." She said, connecting with Infinity's command deck.

"Pelicans en-route, SPARTAN." The voice from the other end responded.

The three SPARTANs beneath the surface of Naboo let out a collective sigh. Captain Rex, one of the two conscious infected, let out a grim laugh as he felt the nanites work their magic.

XXXXX

Everything between leaving the underground facility and arriving here was a blur to Ahsoka. She remembered a short conversation with Anakin, which happened just after she was brought out of the facility by the GC's quarantine and biological warfare specialists. The next thing she knew, she was lying in one of Infinity's massive medical bays. Other than Senator Amidala, she was the only patient in this area.

The four doctors in the room were incredibly nice as they were doing their utmost to accommodate, as far as she knew, the first Togrutan on a GC warship for medical reasons. Three of the doctors were humans, while the other was a very strange creature. It seemed to hover above the ground, and had various tentacles and appendages coming from its central body. One of the other doctors had explained the creature to Ahsoka. It was a Huragok, essentially a biological supercomputer. It seemed to do very little beyond float there and occasionally work with the doctors, but they were apparently highly social to those who could understand them. In a way, the pair of black dots that it had for eyes on its snake-like head made it rather cute when you disregarded the fact it was essentially a floating ball of flesh and tentacles.

Ahsoka looked at herself in the slight reflection that some of the medical equipment gave off. The color was starting to return to her face, her blood vessels were less pronounced, and she could already feel her strength returning. Thankfully, the doctors said that she and Senator Amidala would make a complete recovery within a few days, now that these nanoscopic machines were killing the virus off for her. The idea that there were machines smaller than cells that could cure virtually any disease so long as they understood its genetics was truly amazing, and a testament to just how… blindingly advanced GC technology was.

Ahsoka simply sighed as she looked around the room. She was so mind-numbingly bored. As fun as it was to watch doctors type away on terminals, talk in medical-speak, or watch the Huragok drone and click in its own language that only the doctors could understand, Ahsoka wanted something other to do than just stare at the ceiling.

As if to answer her silent pleas, the door to the med bay slid open, the silent, low signaling noise cluing her in. She looked over, surprised to see that Anakin was joined by Kathryn. Anakin was still in his normal armored robes, while Kathryn looked markedly different than Ahsoka was used to. Instead of her gel layered bodysuit that was worn beneath her MJOLNIR Mk. IV GEN-7, she simply wore civilian clothes. At least, Ahsoka assumed that they were civilian clothes.

Her shirt was an almost shiny silver color, and ran all the way down the length of her arms, stopping just before the wrists. It left a bit of her midriff exposed. Covering some of the shirt was a black leather jacket. She wore a pair of black, fabric pants and a pair of black slip-on shoes. Her deep-red hair, usually tied back in a tight bun on her head, was left to fall past her shoulders. She looked like she had just gotten out of the shower. Ahsoka let a small smile cross her face as she saw the SPARTAN in a much more laid-back demeanor.

Anakin walked over to her, a small smile on his face. "Hey Snips…" He said, kneeling down a bit so he wasn't standing over her. "You did a fantastic job today."

"All thanks to your training, Master." Ahsoka said, her voice still sounding a bit weary.

A small, devilish grin replaced the smile on Anakin's face. "Yeah… you're right. I probably do deserve most of the credit." At that, Ahsoka gave a playful eye-roll. Anakin's tone shifted to a far more serious one. "But definitely not all of it."

"It's a good thing I know you don't mean everything you say, Skyguy." Ahsoka responded.

Anakin smiled again. "She gonna be okay, doc?" He asked, catching one of the medical officer's attention.

"She, and Senator Amidala, are expected to make a full recovery within the week." The medic said, swiveling around in her chair that was suspended a few inches from the ground by an anti-grav system. "Until then, they're on bed-rest with minimal physical exertion."

"Am I going to be stuck in here the whole time?" Ahsoka asked, earning a small smile from the medic.

"Probably…" She admitted. "Despite Infinity's size, we don't have the space to spare right now, with all of the personnel that are based here from all over the fleet."

"It's not so bad." One of the other medics said from across the room. "At least Bubbles here is always entertaining to watch."

"His name is Bubbles?" Ahsoka asked, a smile on her face.

"Yep." The medic said, looking to the Huragok, which simply made a few popping noises as it cocked its elongated neck in a questioning manner. "That's why."

Ahsoka let out a light laugh, seeing the medic enter into some kind of debate with Bubbles. Anakin watched with an amused smirk on his face, and Kathryn simply looked on, barely holding back a laugh. After a moment, Anakin looked back down to his Padawan. "Well… get some rest, Snips. We're going to Ryloth in a few days, and the GC's apparently packing a full fleet for assistance."

"That thing over Christophsis wasn't a full fleet?" Ahsoka asked, brow cocked questioningly.

"Our full Battle Fleets are usually twice that size." Kathryn explained. "We… Well, we have a lot of ships."

"No kidding…" Anakin commented. "Get some rest, Ahsoka."

"Thanks, Skyguy." Ahsoka said, smiling as Anakin walked over to check on Padme.

"Feeling better, partner?" Kathryn said as she walked over, kneeling down. Due to her height, at a kneel, she was about eye-level with Ahsoka.

"Thanks to you and Alice, yes." Ahsoka said, shifting slightly to face the SPARTAN.

"We're just doing our jobs." Kathryn said, smiling. "It… It hurt to see you in that much pain."

Ahsoka smiled again. "Well, I'm alright…" After a moment, she spoke up again. "What happened to Vindi?"

"He won't be a problem anymore…" Kathryn answered, her response sounding rather final.

"Is he in one of your prisons?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah…" Kathryn responded with some hesitation.

"They already sentenced him?" She asked.

"The GC War Crimes Court proceedings are generally quick and decisive." Kathryn explained. "He received… full life with no possible reduction in sentence."

Ahsoka nodded in understanding, looking to switch the topic towards a… less war-related one. After a few minutes of pleasant silence, her eyes drifted to the SPARTAN again. "I didn't know your hair was that long…" Ahsoka said, earning a small smile from the SPARTAN. "I've never seen a human with that hair color."

"Red hair's pretty rare nowadays." Kathryn responded, running a hand through her still-damp hair. "I don't know if the gene for it even exists for humans in this galaxy."

"They let you keep it that long?" Ahsoka asked.

"Only if I keep it in a bun whenever I'm on-duty." She responded. "I love my hair too much to cut it."

Ahsoka laughed. "Man… this is so much better than staring at the ceiling."

Kathryn smiled. "I know what you mean… waiting for clearance to go back out is brutal." After a moment, a thought hit Kathryn. "Luckily for you… you're on a city in space. If my… professional diagnosis says you're good to be up and about tomorrow night, I'll show you the Central Decks."

"The Central Decks?" Ahsoka asked.

"The civilian center of Infinity." Kathryn responded. "A ship this huge can't function without a civilian population, so Decks 150 to 200 are the 'city' part. Restaurants, theaters, clubs, stores, apartments, all that fun stuff. Soldiers spend weekends on the Decks, some of us even living in apartments instead of the Barracks."

"Wait… you mean there's people who aren't soldiers on this ship?"

"They've got to be here for a ship like this to function." Kathryn continued explaining. "Hard to run a 55 kilometer long ship with just soldiers. We start to go a bit stir-crazy when all there is to do is drills, drills, drills, and more drills. And since the Infinity-classes aren't dedicated warships, civilians are cleared to be on them."

"How many people are on here?"

"About… a hundred and fifty thousand navy crewmen and two hundred-fifty thousand civvies are on board right now." Ahsoka's eyes went wide at that.

"There are colonies with smaller populations than that!"

"Those colonies are probably smaller than the ship, too." Kathryn added with a smile. "It's not really dangerous, we haven't ever lost an Infinity-class in the three hundred years we've had them in service."

"So long as it's safe, I guess…" Ahsoka agreed.

"Not many safer places in the universe." Kathryn said.

"Well, I'll look forward to being on my feet again." Ahsoka smiled. "Sounds like fun."

A/N:

It's finally back! After over 3 months of hiatus, this is once again being updated semi-regularly.

As usual, I appreciate all of the favs, follows, and reviews, and I do my best to respond to all of them. I really appreciate all of you guys for sticking through my weird update schedule. It annoys me almost as much as it must annoy you guys.

So here, you got to see a bit of the GC's darker side, with Vindi getting composed and all.

Sidenote: Battlefield 1 Beta is pretty snazzy. Runs pretty well, even on my laptop. Much like all of the other battlefield games, super well-optimized. I'm pulling a consistent 60 FPS on ultra in 1440p on my desktop. If this is how good the beta runs, the game's gonna be awesome.

Sidenote Two: For anyone who doesn't know, I freaking love Star Citizen. I watched the Gamescom footage for Star Citizen, and that is just about the hypest shit I've ever seen. There isn't any instancing, everything looked seamless, and the planets are straight up beautiful! Pretty much right after I finished watching it, I had to go fly my Hornet around for a while. This is easily the most excited I've been for a game in years, and it looks like Roberts is delivering on every promise that he's made so far.

Thanks again everyone. See you in the next chapter!

-TallYapflip