ANAKIN'S P.O.V.
Between Twitch's scowl and the fury emanating from her, I can tell she's fed up with the mercenary. I'd sensed her irritation burst into flaming anger all the way from the cockpit.
No wonder she gave me that look. Rex had thought of acting like a jerk and insensitive slob, and he's clearly doing a good job of it. I hope Twitch can forgive him by the time this is all over. Right now, Dytin even sleeps like a different person.
If inanimate objects could cry, I'm pretty sure Twitch's weapons would be doing so. They've clearly already had the cleaning of a lifetime, but she's scrubbing them again. I motion for us to step outside. In the hallway, her tense shoulders loosen slightly.
"Sir, with all due respect, I may kill Dytin before we even find Opress." I grimace. Her voice is rough, as though it hasn't been used for eons.
"I know it's tough working with him. He's a lot different from the soldiers you're used to dealing with." Giving her the news about Rex and then dumping her with the incognito Captain who's acting like a jerk is cruel irony.
Rex is disguised to root out a few possible moles, though, so he must remain hidden. She nods absently. I sense her mood become melancholy and quiet. I can guess what she's thinking. "I miss Rex too. We'll get Savage for it." A slight flicker of anger burns in her at the mention of Opress. Who can blame the young girl? That monster deserves to die.
"I'm trying not to think about it." She rasps. Her transfer had thrown the Captain off balance, which is no easy feat. It was good to see Rex fight with someone watching his back. He deserves a friend that close.
"Well, I'm going to need your street smarts to track down Opress. We're changing ships on Naboo, then we go from there." She brightens a little at the prospect of taking the lead.
"If we're looking for his location, I have a contact on Naboo. He lives in the bad part of Theed." Um...okay. Now I'm sure it was a good idea to bring her along. Now I just have to be sure she won't kill Rex...
§ § §
TWITCH'S P.O.V.
I slink down the alleyway, treading a well-remembered path to a small hut thrown together by a clearly homeless person. Anakin and Dytin follow. I knock on the frame. A groan comes, then a rough looking man in his early twenties stumbles out. I can smell alcohol on his breath. He looks at me and grins.
"Kid!"
"Plyke. You were at the pub last night, weren't you?"
"Maybe. Who're you're friends?" I look at them from over my shoulder.
"We're looking for a man named Savage Opress. Heard any good rumours about him?" Plyke puts a hand in his hip and tilts his head.
"I don't know. I'm really foggy." I sigh and fish a couple credits out of my holster. His eyes light up. "Ohhh, Savage. Now I remember." I roll my eyes as I hand him the currency. "Yeah. Last I heard, he started a bar fight on Tatooine. Go to the Desert Ice if you want fresher meat." I cock my head and look past Plyke. Two very peeved looking Rodians are advancing.
"You didn't happen to upset anyone last night..." I murmur. The man turns and a nervous expression flashes over his face.
"Uh, lend a guy a hand?"
"Should we be expecting anyone else?" I growl.
"I don't know. I can't remember exactly everything I did last night." The Rodians draw guns.
"Whatever you did, you should try not doing it." I mutter.
"You know I can't think that hard on mornings." He protests.
"Do you ever think?" I grunt as the first shot rings out. I block it and go for my guns.
"Twitch." Skywalker warns. I stun both Rodians quickly.
"Since when do you only stun?" Plyke asks.
"Since I'm not allowed to kill civvies." I reply.
"I'm not even going to ask. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to relocate my shack until people stop trying to kill me." I nod.
"Thanks, Plyke. Word of advice; stop getting too drunk to think." He scowls and looks back at my companions.
"Careful with her. Her tongue is sharper than those fancy blades she fights with." We leave.
"You have the nicest friends." Dytin teases.
"I can bet you have some nice ones." I grumble.
§ § §
The Desert Ice is just what you'd expect of a bar: loud, crowded and hostile if you're an outsider. Skywalker leads the way to the bartender. He turns.
"What can I do ya for?" He asks.
"I hear you've had a few fights on your hands. A big man with horns?" The General says.
"Oh, don't get me started on him. He tore up the entire place! And a few of my customers." I wince. Yep. Savage was here.
"Any idea where he went?" Dytin demands.
"He said something about killing some guy. A senator called... Um... Hmmm." He gropes for a name. I toy with a credit and watch his face. A hungry light enters his eyes. I hand it to him. "Uh, uh, oh yeah. Senator Orn Free Taa." The massive blue Twi'lek senator. I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose. Guard duty. Bite me.
§ § §
"You're sure he won't attack me here?" The Senator frets.
"On Coruscant? No." I reply bluntly. Dytin and I are to remain glued to Taa's side. No wonder the guy is scared. His guards fight each other as much as they do any actual threats.
"Don't worry. Nothing's gonna get past us." Dytin says. I have to give him credit for saying 'us' and not 'me'. Maybe there's hope for him yet.
"And if they do, we'll shoot them in the back." I add. The Senator sighs pitifully and walks to the door. Some boring meeting between the Senate we have to attend. At the repulsorpod, I get on beside Orn.
"I should go, kid." Dytin gripes.
"You can't block blaster fire. Stay here and stay quiet. You're still in danger of being skinned." He presses his lips together angrily and leans against the wall. We take our place and the meeting begins.
It starts out slowly, then snowballs into a huge argument about trying to end the war peacefully with diplomacy. I don't know what to make of this. Senator Amidala is insisting it's possible. Senator Taa exclaims that he will have nothing to do with Separatist scum.
All I know is that you can try, but there is no way to talk down Count Dooku. The voices continue shouting for minutes. Maybe I should have let Dytin come up here instead.
Eventually, a headache springs up and I'm sorely tempted to say my piece. I bite my tongue and pin it between my incisor teeth. Nope. Dytin probably would speak his mind. A loud shot goes off.
I instinctively shove Orn sideways. A red bolt hits his arm. He cries out in pain and terror as he teeters on the edge of the repulsorpod. I pull him back on and draw my guns, pointing at the nearest vent. Taa sits down and whimpers. Ugh. At least Amidala knows how to take care of herself. No more bolts fly. I quickly turn on my comm.
"I need security to lock down the building and search the vents now." I say. I see Dytin turn and run to alert the security guards. Everyone is screaming and yelling in panic. I grab the pod's mic and turn it on. I use my most authoritative tone and begin talking. "Everybody remain calm and dock your repulsorpods. The emergency doors are going to close soon, and it will be safer for you in here than scattering around." Only a few Senators seem to hear and heed me. Amidala starts ordering them in similar ways. Eventually, we get everyone in place. My comm is beeping.
"Dytin, I'm surrounded by panicking civvies. What's going on over there?" I growl.
"Opress. We need some backup, if you don't mind!" I look at Taa.
"Stay put and stay calm." I order. He clutches his arm. I go through the door just as it closes. I start running down a hallway in the direction Dytin had gone. We collide and I sit down from the impact.
"He's coming this way and he is very kriffed off." The mercenary grunts. I unsheathe my arm-blades. No acrobatics now, lest I end up cut in half. The Sith barrels towards we. Dytin takes a few shots before I engage.
"Find a Jedi." I yell at him. No argument. Just obedience.
§ § §
I've been barely staying alive for I don't know how long. Dytin better be going quickly. That hopeless feeling like the one I'd felt while sparring with Skywalker sets in. I'm out of my depth level and sinking fast.
"You've improved, child. I admit you are brave." He growls.
"I admit, I didn't expect you to try killing Taa in the Senate building, much less on Coruscant." I retort.
"I'm bold." He says with a vicious light in his eyes.
"And I plan on skinning you for killing Rex." I reply, glaring at him. He sneers.
"Who was Rex? I've killed a lot of people." I refresh my attacks with new vigour, going on the offensive.
"Blue marked armour, Plytunon."
"You got close to a clone? That's pretty stupid." He taunts.
"It's kinda stupid to fight me when I'm angry, too. Especially after downgrading my dead friend." I get a cut on his elbow. He looks at it in amazement before roaring with anger. I have to go on the defensive. One little cut and he's angry. Sensitive sleemo.
I duck and see a charred piece of hair lying on the floor. HEY! I glare at him and start stepping up my attacks. I begin shouting a string of insults in my mind, hoping he'll pick it up.
You thick, idiotic, shabuir. Sleemo, kriffing, fekking—
The insults get increasingly worse. He may not understand Mando'a, but I'm pretty sure he'll get the memo.
JETAR MADLE! I screech mentally.
He growls and kicks. I block, nearly cutting off his foot if he had been but a second slower.
§ § §
KLAIREN'S P.O.V.
I can sense a torrent of anger just up the hall. It is not from the Sith, though. Skywalker runs next to me. According to Dytin, he left to get us almost an hour ago. Twitch is somehow still alive.
When we round the corner, I see that she is also on the offensive in a duel with Opress. A cut gleams on the monster's arm. Not only has the child held out, she has also injured the Sith and is attacking full force.
"You were right. She can take care of herself." I concede before charging Savage. He has to hold off all three of us now, and another cut appears on his leg. I hadn't even seen Twitch do that. The red lightsaber falls and he raises his hands.
"Fine, you win. This time." He says, glowering.
§ § §
TWITCH'S P.O.V.
Dytin stands beside me as the Jedi cuff and walk away with the Sith. Once they're out of sight, my trembling legs give out and I collapse. The mercenary catches me and we sit down. I'm panting and covered in sweat.
"Okay, that was impressive." He admits.
"I thank you for finding Jedi. And what took so long?" He chuckles.
"You are a little spitfire, aren't you? When security locked down the building, I had to get out. They didn't appreciate that. And then there was the whole matter of finding the Jedi." I nod and lie on my back, still heaving in air.
"Well, good job. Oh, yeah. Taa is probably passed out from that wound by now."
"Come on." He helps me up and we go to the door. Just on time, the lockdown ends. I cut a strip of fabric off the Senator's robe and wrap it around his arm. He comes to and groans.
"Of all the terrible security..." He wails. I'm tempted to be unnecessarily rough as I bind his wound, but do my job and do it quickly.
"Terribly sorry I stopped that bolt from going through your heart. Next time, I won't shove you out of the way." I snap. He mutters something about pain and misery. Like he has any right to complain when people out there are dying to protect him and Coruscant. My expression must be murderous, because Dytin puts a hand on my shoulder.
"Easy, sweetheart. Save those faces for Dooku." I look at him with a halfhearted scowl and help the Senator to his feet. Between the two of us, we get him to a medical room. The droid gets to work and we wait.
§ § §
With Savage in custody, we get to rest. I lay on my bed and wipe my gauntlets with a cloth. I hear a knock.
"Come in." Ghynna opens the door. I stand up and salute.
"At ease." She says. I stand tall, though blood is rushing to my head and I feel dizzy.
"Anything I can help with, General?" I ask.
"Do you miss the 501st?" She asks suddenly. It's so out of place, I stand with my lips parted.
"Uh, um...ma'am?" I reply uncertainly.
"You heard me. Do you?"
"Sometimes." I admit. "It'll smooth out once I adjust." I add quickly.
"What about it do you miss?" She asks. I struggle to remain steady. Complaining isn't on clones' to do list. Ever.
"Everyone I know is there." It sounds like a pretty lame reason out loud.
"Continue."
"I—uh, ma'am, um..." She isn't steady like Fisto or relaxed like Skywalker. I don't feel like I can open up to her. The fact is, I don't know her enough to speak accordingly. She hasn't been near us. I give up trying to put what I want into words and helplessly stand there, emotions roiling around.
§ § §
KLAIREN'S P.O.V.
The confusion and apprehension is coming off Twitch in waves. I can sense she doesn't know what to say and how to say it. A deep sense of loneliness coupled with longing is tumbling around.
She looks embarrassed at her lack of words. Another feeling is blooming; regret. She regrets something and wants it to not be true. Sadness follows. It seems like every emotion that could cause her unhappiness is stepping up, then backing down for the next one. In a minute I can get a good sense of how she feels and what she can't say. Like the soldiers she works with, she is opposed to complaint and is willing to accept her lot.
"You fought well against Opress." The flash of fury at the Sith's name adds to my overall picture of her thoughts.
"Thank you, General." Now I can tell she is tentative about how to proceed.
"How long have you fought with those gauntlets?" Relief at the subject glows.
"About fourteen months." She answers.
"Where did you get them?"
"These ones are new. The old ones...broke about a month ago."
"What are they made of?" I'm curious after seeing them deflect a lightsaber.
"I believe it was phrik." She answers.
"A very rare material." I recall the report Keeli had made, and then the private discussion of details afterwards. He had mentioned how Twitch had verbally sparred with Fives and apparently enjoyed it, but he hadn't made it sound like anything important. I nodded in decision. "I must go. Relax. You've earned it." She salutes with a small, nervous smile and I leave the room.
A.N. ~ I'm posting Chapter Thirty Nine ASAP. Please review, positive and negative.