A/N: This chapter's pretty intense...just another warning. It does get a bit better after this, though!
Chapter Twelve: Fragile Things
For what felt like the thousandth time that day, Milo wished that Weave was there. Not that he himself wasn't useful with the Wayfarer, but his brother's practical knowledge far exceeded his own. Presently, Milo and Traxis were crowded inside the engine compartment, sorting through a multitude of wires and circuits and attempting to work out the issue with the dampers.
It was not going well.
Several sparks flew from beneath the hydrospanner in Trax's grip and he uttered a swift curse in Mando'a as he snatched his hand back. The tool clattered to the floor and he grumbled as he bent to retrieve it. "This is why I prefer blasters."
"No need to delve into the psychology behind that," Crest replied from his vantage point above them. "Need any more tools?"
"You need a swift kick in the shebs." Traxis swore as he dropped the spanner again.
Milo sighed. "Actually, yeah. I think Weave had a magnetic grip or something in our room for this kind of scenario. Care to take a look?"
As the bald clone nodded and slipped off, Milo glanced at his brother. "I wish Weave was here."
"Me too." Traxis frowned at the tool in his hand. "He's the one who knows about all this nonsense."
There was a question on the tip of Milo's tongue, but he was uncertain whether or not to voice it. Finally he cleared his throat. "Do you really think that the general will be able to save him and the captain?"
At this, the scarred clone looked down. "I want to. But..." He frowned. "I want to," he said again, meeting Milo's eyes. "I really do."
"Check this out." Crest's voice made them both look up to see their brother holding up a pair of slender greaves and gauntlets made of tawny plastoid. "Found it under his bunk."
Milo tilted his head. "They're too small for us..." His eyes widened; they all seemed to reach the same conclusion at once.
Crest studied the armor. "It's for the boss. It must be. Cap's been saying forever that he's going to get her some proper armor...I guess Weave took the initiative." He took a deep breath. "I suppose I should let her know. If she's planning on going to the narglatch's den, she'll probably want some gear." He tossed the magnetic strip to Milo before lifting his comm.
However, before he could call her, the Jedi appeared before him. "An asteroid belt." At Crest's look she clarified. "Stone said something about an asteroid belt. We're on the right track...but..." She frowned and put a hand to her head. "Something's wrong. Crest...can you look into that? I know it's a long shot."
"Sure thing. I'm kind of useless right now anyway."
"Now?" Traxis' utterance made Milo grin to himself.
The dark-haired Jedi nodded, though her eyes slid to the items beneath Crest's arm. "What's all that?"
"Er..." Crest paused. "Found it in Weave's bunk. It's too small for any of us."
She stilled, though after a moment she nodded. "I see. Look, I'll be down in a few minutes, but I need to speak with Luminara again. How's the ship coming?" Crest angled the comm so that she could see the other two clones.
"Stubborn and temperamental," Traxis called amidst more clattering. "And I don't want to hear it, baldy."
Despite himself, Milo smiled again. "We're about done, I think."
The Jedi nodded. It was difficult to read her expression through the hologram, but he thought that she looked sad for a moment, though it passed. "Thanks, guys. I'll see you soon."
As soon as she ended the transmission with Crest, Kalinda hurried to Luminara's quarters, pausing only to announce her presence with the chime at the door. Though she figured the Jedi Master could sense her, it was the polite thing to do. Once the door slid open, she entered the room to find the Mirialan woman rising to her feet after what appeared to be a mediation session. "What is it?"
"He's gone. I can't sense him any longer." Kali began pacing across the room. "Ventress is there as well. If she's realized that he's Force-sensitive..." A shudder passed through her body, and she could not hold still.
Luminara put a hand on her arm, effectively stopping the dark-haired woman. "You must not give into your fear, Kalinda. You must keep your focus." Kali could feel that the Jedi Master was attempting to send her calming energy, a small thing in the wake of her concern for Stone and the others.
But even so, she was a Jedi. She nodded; after glancing around she sat on the edge of the bunk and took several deep breaths as Luminara sat beside her. After several moments, Kalinda met the other woman's eyes. "What are we doing, Lu?" She watched as Luminara's forehead creased, though she did not respond as Kali continued. "I mean the Jedi. What are we doing?"
"Could you clarify?"
Kali rubbed her forehead. "Master Windu has said that we are peace-keepers, not soldiers. We were never supposed to become as involved in this war as we have been...but look at us." She gestured to the ship. "Leading ground assaults, planning battles...is that what peace-keepers do?"
Luminara shook her head. "This war was thrust upon the galaxy and it is our duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Would you have others die so that you could stay safe?"
"Of course not, but it's more than that." Kali frowned and hugged her arms to her sides as she looked at the Mirialan Jedi. "I worry what the true cost of this war will be...what the true cost to the Jedi Order has already been."
"In what regard?" Luminara's tone was nothing besides calm, though Kali could tell that she was listening to and considering every word.
Kalinda was silent for a moment. At first her thoughts were with a young boy on Kamino, though they soon drifted closer to home. Weave made me armor...I know he did. I wonder if Stone asked him to, as he's mentioned it before. They're all so considerate, so kind. They all deserve so much more. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "I know you're going to say that I'm too attached," she said, lifting her eyes to the other woman. "And you're right, I suppose. My heart is so wrapped up with them, I can't remain as detached as I should. But..." Her eyes closed again. "It's wrong to use them in this way."
Luminara took a deep breath, a signal to Kali that she was collecting her thoughts. "I understand what you mean," she said at last. "It pains me a great deal to see them fall, but it is ultimately for the greater good. You must understand that." She placed a hand on Kali's arm. "It was a terrible choice that the Council made, but a necessary one, especially considering the safety of the rest of the Republic."
There was silence for a few moments before Kali shook her head; when she spoke, her voice held a cautious edge. "What if it was the wrong choice? " Her words with Ventress' on Caradoc came back to her and she closed her eyes, briefly. "They deserve better. They deserve more."
She hesitated. "Kali, I do agree with you: they do not deserve their fates...but war would have come regardless, so the Council did the only thing that they could have done." As she spoke, Luminara lifted her fingers as if the gesture alone could quell the other woman's doubt. "At the end of all things, our lives are insignificant next to the population of the entire galaxy."
It was then that Kali's comlink began to chirp, so she swiped at her eyes as Milo's image appeared before her. "What's up, Mi?"
She could feel his excitement even through the hologram. "We found it."
In the worst possible way, Stonewall was snapped out of his attempt to reach Kali through the Force, his eyes opening to see the pale-skinned face of Asajj Ventress as she smiled at him. To either side, he could feel his brothers' fear and anger towards the darksider, but he refused to give way to either even as he felt her mind reach out to his, probing, questing. He threw up his mental wall and held her eyes, noting with no small amount of satisfaction that they narrowed in frustration.
The sound of her sabers being ignited made everyone – himself included – start. The blades hummed almost hungrily as she held them to either side of his face, causing his vision to be awash in crimson. He could feel their heat on his cheeks, smell the faint singing of the hair that he hadn't had a chance to shave as the energy beams rested centimeters above his skin. Her face was close to his and when she spoke, her voice blended with the sound of the sabers.
"You seem familiar. Have we met before?"
I shot you, harpy. After Basrah, after you tortured Kali. The memory was painful and he didn't need the distraction, so after a few moments of debate he decided that it was better to keep silent. Stonewall took a breath and continued to meet her gaze, noting the anger that he could see welling within her at his quiescence.
But she merely laughed after a moment and stepped away from him, deactivating her sabers and shaking her head as though he were a misbehaving child. "Keep your silence, then. I have other ways to occupy myself." She smiled and sauntered towards Tackle, who visibly tensed, pulling back in his bonds as she approached. "Another brave soldier of the Republic." She ran a hand across Tackle's shoulders and he winced. "So strong. So certain." She cast Stonewall a knowing look before one of her sabers was ignited again, the blade aimed at Tackle's heart. "Why is it that you can use the Force?"
Stonewall felt Blink, Gree and Weave's attention slide to him, though he only had eyes for Ventress. "I don't know."
Her eyes narrowed and the blade moved closer to Tackle's chest even as he pressed himself farther back. "You're a bad liar, little soldier. Tell me."
Tackle's fear was tangible in the Force for all that the clone remained silent. Stonewall's eyes closed. "I don't know how or why. All I know is that I can." He took a deep breath. "It's the truth."
She studied him for several long moments before lifting her saber from Tackle's heart; the clone sagged in his bonds with relief as she moved back over to Stonewall. "You're remarkably adept at hiding from me," she said to him. "How did that come to be? Did you simply wake up one morning and realize that you had the gift of the Force?" The hilt of her saber was still in her hand and she toyed with it for a few moments as she studied him.
I can't tell her about Kali. All it would do is give her leverage, more power over the Jedi. But if I don't tell her, she may very well kill every one of my brothers. He swallowed. It was growing warmer in the room and he could feel sweat beading at his forehead. "It was sudden," he said at last. "But I can't explain it any better than that."
It was not the answer that she wanted.
Within an instant, both of her sabers were ignited. She stood directly before him, arms extended on either side of her so that the blades were leveled against Gree and Weave's throats. "Your 'brothers' are commonplace," she whispered, close to his face. "If I kill them all right now it would be a small matter to acquire more within the hour. But you are special. Perhaps I should take you for my Master? You would be wasted on the Kaminoan fool."
There's one thing we can agree on, anyway. Stonewall tried to close his mind to the fear in his brothers' minds as he looked at her.
"Just tell her." Blink's voice was hoarse. "Tell her whatever she wants to know. Just make it stop." Ventress' head inclined in the direction of his brother, but she made no reply, instead boring her eyes into Stonewall's.
"You have no power," he said at last. "None. Unless we give it to you." He was not sure where the words had come from, but they seemed to strike something within her as her eyes narrowed again.
However, she smiled at him in the next moment and when she spoke her tone was mocking. "Did the Force tell you that? Or perhaps your Jedigeneral?" Her eyes widened and he knew that his eyes had given something away. "The Jedi. Of course. That's where we know one another." She let out a giggle of delight and brought her sabers back to her side, deactivating and clipping them to her belt in one fluid motion even as she ran another cold hand along the side of his face. "The Jedi that I held on my ship...it was well over a year ago now, wasn't it?"
The blow happened so fast he didn't have time to react until he could see lights dancing before his eyes. Something warm trickled down the side of his face, but he kept quiet even as she struck him again. "The weak, dark-haired Jedi with her little Force-shield. I remember now." Ventress examined her hands almost absently while she spoke, as if checking for damage. "But I wonder what the connection is between you?"
She looked up – as if startled – then glanced at Blink, who shrank away from her gaze. Stonewall could feel her actions in the Force; she was searching his brother's mind. Finding nothing, she moved to Weave, who stared at her but kept his silence. For a moment everything was quiet, but she smiled and let out another chuckle. "Thank you, my brave soldier," she said as Weave's gaze lowered. She looked at Stonewall again and he felt chilled by her smile. "Perhaps Creon will have some more Force-users for his research." She did not spare any of the clones another look as she strode out of the room.
When the doors shut again, Stonewall turned to Weave, who looked stricken. "What did she learn?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes still closed. "I'm so sorry."
Luminara watched the dark-haired woman's demeanor change in an instant. "You found Perdax?"
One of her men answered in the affirmative. "Based on your information and the Captain's mention of the asteroids, we learned that it's near the Varonat system. I've sent the coordinates to the helm already. We should be there within about ten hours."
"Good work...?"
"It's Milo," Kali replied, glancing at Luminara. "She's right, Milo. Thank you...all of you. You're all getting medals once we get back to the Core." The relief was evident in her voice.
Milo shook his head. "As long as we get our brothers back, that's enough for me. The Wayfarer's ready to go as well, General."
"Kalinda." Her voice was firm and she winked at Luminara, who shook her head. I will never understand her.
The clone paused, then nodded. "The ship's ready to go...Kalinda."
"Thank you," she replied. "I'll let you know the next step as soon as we do. Give the others a hug for me, okay?" Without waiting for his reply she ended the communication, took a deep breath, and looked at Luminara. "Any ideas?"
The Mirialan Jedi stood and began to walk around the room, her hands before her. "We have three objectives: to apprehend Ventress, Creon Dai, and to rescue our men – if we can. The wisest course of action would be a stealth mission, but given the size of this vessel, I doubt that will be possible."
"If I can get aboard, I can use my shield to keep out of sight." Kalinda had also risen, the two women were facing each other as they spoke.
"Milo said that your ship is functional again, correct?"
Kalinda nodded, her eyes meeting Luminara's. "If there was enough of a distraction, I might be able to sneak by...it's not a very military-looking craft, after all. One might even mistake it for a piece of junk, if one was not paying enough attention." She grinned as Luminara nodded.
"I think that I can manage a distraction," the Jedi Master replied, a faint smile curving her face. "Though I cannot guarantee any length of time for you aboard the station. But Ventress..." She frowned. "Ventress is too formidable of an opponent for you to handle on your own, Kalinda."
"We don't have many other options," Kali replied. "This is your ship; you've been tracking her movements. It makes sense that you would be the one to confront her."
The Jedi Master was quiet for several moments before she looked at Kalinda again. "You realize that she may have already killed them?"
Kali's eyes closed for a moment and she nodded. "I know. I want to believe that I would know if he were dead, but I can't assume anything any more. But still, I have to act as if he's still alive. In any case, Creon Dai is there, and it's my mission to bring him into custody." She met Luminara's gaze. "I know it's not an ideal situation."
"Are they ever?" The two women shared a smile before Kalinda nodded to her comlink. Luminara sighed. "I suppose I can come to your rescue at the last minute, should events come to that."
Kalinda smiled. "Well, some things don't change, I guess." She raised her comm and called her men. "Hey guys? We've got a plan."
Before Stonewall could reply, the door opened and the Kaminoan stepped into the room again, his eyes on the clones. Weave felt his stomach twist at the look in the captain's eyes, though the sensation paled as he watched Creon approach him, several more of the medical-grade droids in his wake. The Kaminoan glanced at the clone captain and gave a long-suffering sigh before he nodded to Weave. "This one. Bring him to the table." The droids moved to him; he could feel the straps loosening on his body and wondered if there was any way that he could get out of this. But they injected him with something – he tried to identify it, to no avail – and he felt his limbs grow dull and heavy even as he was unbound, lifted and carried across the room.
Weave's mouth opened as he tried to form words but no sound came out. They placed him on the long table and shone the lights in his eyes. He squinted, tried to turn his head, but he couldn't move, he could hardly breathe. He tried to shout, he tried to struggle. But it was like fighting the pull of a tide, facing a massive onslaught of storm winds and lightning; he was helpless as Creon Dai leaned over him. Part of his brain knew that he was panicking, but he couldn't stop. Weave tried to breathe but his lungs weren't working right and his throat was sore as if he'd been shouting, though he didn't recall doing so. There was a dull sensation against his forehead and he shut his eyes against the incredibly strong light.
And then he felt strength filling him, a calm that broke through the cloud of panic and fear in his mind and allowed him to breathe. It was almost like he had stepped out of his own body for the sake of his sanity. He remembered how to feign quietude. He had done it before, though he realized that he didn't have to, now. He was calm. It was not an act. Somehow. His heartbeat slowed to a crawl, but he was not afraid any longer.
The worst was happening and there was nothing he could do.
