"I hope I remembered everything I had to do," Gaya confessed. "I just have this feeling I forgot something important."
"No, you didn't," Jaina assured her. "This is going to be great. This is the coolest thing any friend of mine has ever done."
She looked at the other two, dutifully trudging along with them, just a step behind them on the narrow walkway. She wondered if either of them really understood what this event- a rally by the Diversity Alliance outside the local Sector Hall during the school board meeting- would mean to the people who conceived it, the people who attended- and, of course, to Gaya. She realized she would have to try again to explain the concept of civil disobedience to Linxo when they got back to the Temple that evening. Raised in a small, close-knit community in which, aside from a traditional matriarchy, there was very little centralized leadership, Linxo didn't understand the need for people to take their complaints to the streets. For the Anzati, expressing dissent to one's leaders was as simple as opening one's mouth (or in the Anzatis' case, forming words and concepts in your mind and transmitting them to those present).
As for Cody…she knew there was no point even trying to make him understand what all this was about. It wasn't even as if a part of him didn't understand why people would do this- he understood, Jaina knew. But like others of his…well, why not call it "species"? That was what it was. Like others of his species, Cody was uncomfortable with the concept of questioning authority, even when it wasn't him doing the questioning. Especially then. It was no surprise, Jaina mused- he'd been bred to be essentially cannon fodder or riot police, and neither one required a sense of independence or much critical thinking. Jaina reflected that this was why she was so uncomfortable around Cody, why something about his mere presence irked her slightly. It wasn't that he ever seemed to have a problem with Jaina's own penchant for rebellion, but she never knew if he might start to have one. He was an enforcer of the system; she was its enemy. Like Master Bane (the Second, of course). Like her parents, back before they'd gotten so damn bourgeois.
She wondered why he had agreed so readily to come with them, as soon as Gaya had invited him.
Oh. Wait. As soon as Gaya had invited him. Jaina's jaw dropped as comprehension dawned. A second later, she felt a grin spread across her face. Well, good for Gaya. She hoped her friend could figure it out. It was funny- she hadn't known clones could feel things like that for people.
Linxo stuck close by Jaina as they walked through the city, gripping her hand tightly. "Feeling overwhelmed?" Jaina whispered to her.
Linxo tried to smile. Just a little, she replied to her girlfriend. She still wasn't used to this crush of people, even after living on Coruscant for a year at the Temple. She knew it would be worse when they got to the rally. To distract herself, she observed the city. She liked to imagine Coruscant as one of the giant-tree forests on other worlds she'd learned about, with its buildings as massive trunks growing from deep below her, up almost farther than she could see. She didn't mind that. And she thought that, despite the crowds, she could live permanently on Coruscant someday. She had a secret dream of finding an apartment with Jaina, in one of the scenic neighborhoods where fewer people walked. But close to the Opera House. Bane and Skywalker had taken some of both their apprentices on a 'field trip' there, for extra credit in their literature classes, and there Linxo had first dreamed of performing on its stage. But she would never tell anyone that. Her family needed her to become a New Sith and advocate for them in the Republic. She knew she couldn't abandon them.
The grounds opened up before them; Gaya gasped. There were more beings than she had ever seen together at once before. The air was loud and warm with their speech and body heat and energy. Most of them carried some kind of placard with a pro-KD pride slogan on it. Most were homemade signs on durasheets, or flags or banners of cloth. A few had gotten more modern, holding up lightweight plasma-screen digital message boards, or even- in the case of the truly technologically gifted- carrying around small holoprojectors that cast the message in the space above their heads.
People with Krandyn's did not often come together, especially not in large, overwhelming groups, Gaya knew. But they were also, as a rule, extremely persistent, and when they resolved to do something, they would do it. Now, she could feel that resolve, and felt cultural pride overtake her anxiety.
They all felt impressed by the organization of it. The center of the grounds had been rigged with a platform and sound equipment, with space around it for standing and camping. Around the edge of the space were canvas tents, where, Gaya explained, water and food would be distributed, as well as literature about the event.
"Have you ever been to one of these before?" Jaina asked her as they sat down.
Gaya shook her head. "No, but I'd like to go to others. Not just for this. I like the energy. I like bringing the issue out to the streets, where people can't ignore it."
"This one came out great," Jaina assured her. "I mean, look how many people came. Great job." It was true- around their area, others had set up chairs, blankets, or tarps, or were simply standing, facing the platform, where a testimonial was being projected.
Gaya grinned. "I didn't do very much. I just ran some errands for the volunteers that have been with the DA longer. But I learned to do some things with organization and stuff."
"Well, Linxo and I are going to get us all some water," Jaina announced, and Gaya watched the girls move off toward one of the tarp canopies, leaving her alone with Cody.
He shifted. Gaya took a deep breath. "Jaina says you don't like stuff like this. Rallies, I mean. I'm sorry if this is making you uncomfortable."
He shook his head. "That's all right. I'm becoming more comfortable with it. I have to be." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I've been researching my own kind, too. All these troops are becoming dissatisfied with the Empire. It started back with Order 66, but it's never been resolved. Master Bane has sources within the Imperial Army, and according to them there is some debate over what to do."
"But I thought…" Gaya struggled to find a non-offensive way to say it. "Well, I thought…I thought you guys couldn't do things like that. I thought…they say you can't."
"We used to think so too. And we're prone to taking orders, and it is difficult to go against the group or disobey authority. But we're sentient beings, which means free will must exist. So we…they are talking." He looked around. "This really isn't bad at all. It's not even disrupting traffic or bothering people or anything."
Gaya grinned again. Cody's degree of empathy with random citizens never ceased to happily surprise her. Despite being rational, he thought of the many by instinct, rather than the few, or even himself. She wished she was more like that.
She decided it was time to ask a question. She was aware of the damage it could do, but she had to ask; she had to know. "Cody, if we have time after we check back in to the Temple, and if the masters let us go back out and it's not too late or anything…do you want to go out somewhere with me? Like, to a cinema or a café or something?" She wished Jaina would come back with the water; her throat felt dry. "I've got some money, if you don't," she added, mostly to fill the silence. "It's okay."
He was quiet for a while, so long that she started to feel nauseous with the anxiety of waiting. At last, he replied slowly, "No, Gaya…but thanks. I like being your friend. I don't want to ruin that." He didn't look at her.
She waited for the pain; it didn't seem to come. Instead, she felt nothing. There was only a numbness in her chest. "That's okay. That's what I thought. No problem."
He looked, she thought, like he wanted to say something. But he didn't. She felt a tap on the shoulder. It was one of the DA interns, who smiled at her. "Come on up to the panel, Gaya. They're introducing the people who made this happen. You should be up there with us."
Gaya searched for a socially appropriate response; suddenly she felt even slower than usual. "Are you sure? I didn't do that much…and I haven't been with the Alliance very long…"
"Of course we are; come on! You don't mind if I steal her, do you?" the intern asked Cody, who also seemed utterly without a response.
Gaya had a dim recollection that when a girl was rejected, she was supposed to want to do things like eat sucrose-heavy food and stay in bed with crappy romance novels or holofilms. Right now, the sucrose, her old poison, sounded only marginally appealing; the romantic tales not at all. What she really wanted was to go home- either to her mother's apartment above the Kimorra tavern, or to the Temple, for rest and a few private moments with either of the Masters Bane; both women knew how to comfort her, each in her own way. Since neither of those were options right now, though, she decided what she most wanted was to be as far away from Cody as possible. "Okay, let's go," she told the intern, trying to smile.
She marveled once more at the size and diversity of the crowd- she heard several non-Basic languages and dialects being spoken- as she followed the chipper intern- who did not have KD or any neurological differences, but was merely a sympathetic "normal" person, which probably accounted for her social ease and cheeriness- through it. They climbed onto the sound platform and Gaya took her place at the end of the line of DA members, interns, and volunteers. A small voice amplifier was being passed from person to person; she started mentally preparing what she would say when it reached her.
At the nearest edge of the crowd, she noticed a few police vehicles and officers standing casually, watching the proceedings. As she watched, one ducked down into his speeder, presumably to hear some transmitted message on his com. "Why are there police here?" she whispered to the intern, whose dim Force-signature she could recognize easily, but whose name always escaped her.
"Making sure we don't cause any disturbances." For once, her guide sounded less than chipper.
"We're not doing anything wrong, though. Under the constitution, we have a right to free assembly."
"In theory. We still had to have a permit for this, which has to be granted by the city, and we have to stay within the area specified on it."
The officers had begun to weave their way through the crowd. Gaya wondered idly who they were looking for, and what they would do when they found him or her. "So in theory," she whispered, "The city could deny us a permit, and then we couldn't protest."
The intern looked preoccupied. "I suppose so."
So we really don't have the right to assemble freely at all, thought Gaya, vowing to ponder this and decide if she was outraged about it later. Below them, the police had reached the platform and were pulling themselves up. The member making his speech was cut off as the crowd's attentive hush splintered into murmurs of unease.
The officer who seemed to be in charge addressed the assembled members. "We're looking for a young human female named Gaya Viviani. I have orders to escort her down to the precinct, where she is wanted for questioning in relation to an open investigation."
"What kind of investigation?" asked one of the members.
The officer folded his arms, as if his answer was being dragged from him. "Homicide."
Gaya thought briefly of running, but decided that was stupid. They would catch her eventually, and anyway she hadn't actually done anything- or, to her knowledge, seen anything done. Except to those two kidnappers back on Tatooine, of course. And that had been months ago, on another planet, and they'd been outlaws, and anyway Bane the First's killings were never looked into. "Um, I'm Gaya Viviani," she called out, trying to sound helpful.
The officer nodded. "We're going to need you to come with us, Miss Viviani."
"Um, okay, but why? Who's dead?" For a horrible two seconds, she thought it might be her mother. But no, they would have told her that straight away, she reassured herself. The same would be true if they had found Ardan's body.
"We need you to come with us," he repeated.
The member who had asked about the investigation, another face and Force signature Gaya was familiar with but could not yet pair with a name, said, "Then let her introduce herself, before she goes."
"Sir, she needs to-"
"If you were arresting her," the being interrupted, briefly but effectively fixing his stare on the officer, "You would have given her her rights. She doesn't technically have to go anywhere with you at all. So before she does, you can let her do this."
He put the amplifier into Gaya's hand. Hesitantly, she held it up. The crowd was silent, but seemed to hum with anticipation. She tried to recall what the other members had started with. Hadn't most of them just given their names and occupations? She could feel the officer's impatience.
She opened her mouth. For a moment, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to speak, but then the words began to come, as the protesters, members, and reporters looked on (one reporter having the foresight to record the scene holographically, to be shown later as an unexpectedly popular filler story on the HoloNet news broadcast), and as the officer and one of his colleagues began to hustle her off the stage.
"My name is Gaya Viviani," she announced into the amplifier. "And I'm an apprentice to the New Sith Order."