Few more chapters until the end! :`-) *Epilogue is going to happen btw.
Heroes (Final pt10)
The price for heroism is often sacrifice
Previously…
Trench had just deadlocked the entire facility and was informing Dooku of the situation here. Dooku assured Trench he will deal with the clones, and warned him that things were going to get very loud very soon.
Steele heard the conversation barely, due to the ingested listener inside Trench. He quietly swore and called up another person. "Alright, General. You're up now."
As soon as she heard that, Aliyah kicked off the lid to her crate and emerged, lightsaber in hand. She cut down any droid unlucky enough to witness her unboxing and rushed to the first deadlocked door, sticking her lightsaber through it, and proceeded to cut a large hole.
It was her job to free everyone from this deadlocked building. She had a limited amount of time while Trench was preoccupied with the majority of her legion out front.
The battle and subsequent cacophony of everyone's communicators occurred, and Aliyah dashed from hall to hall, freeing her trapped clone teams, and ensuring the safety of the doctors they were escorting. She never stopped fearing what was happening outside though. Especially when it came time for the 'act'.
It took a lot of convincing for her to agree to this plan. A whole night of rehearsals, Dr. Elav's tests with the nano-transformation tech, and giving up her tunic, robes, and boots for Ahsoka to use to complete her look. But now, she could see why this was necessary.
Aliyah reached Dogma's team and cut them their freedom through the deadlocked exit door. Now all she had to do, was get to Kal and Dr. Elav, before anything else happened…
"Dr. Elav and Kal are still in the OR!" Dogma shouted to Aliyah. "You remember the route that was laid out last night right?"
Aliyah nodded fervently. "Yes I do! Now go! Go!"
Dogma exited the building and Aliyah ran back down the halls towards the centre of the facility. She remembered the path to the operating room. Then suddenly, she felt the whole place begin to shake violently.
Outside in the terrain, the legion noticed something strange happening to the facility. The building was shifting and transforming. Its parts were all rearranging in a timely and precise fashion until the facility that once stood before them resembled a transport ship. It slowly began to take-off off the ground.
Steele could hardly believe it. "No way."
~ O O O ~
Trench turned around before he got too far down to the operating room. He returned to the control room and authorized the final line of escape in case of emergencies like this. As soon as the command was confirmed, the entire building transformed into its ship form. Trench set the mode to autopilot and set the location for Dooku's palace on Raxus.
He sped down to the OR again. "Let's see how much Count Dooku favours you now, Dr. Elav…once we return with the clone you're so adamant on saving…"
The facility-ship began gaining altitude.
Steele made the remaining legion outside to make their way back to the forest and around to where the ex-Separatists were. He hoped they could potentially use their ships to chase after Trench if need be. The droids ceased to battle upon seeing that their Admiral was taking off without them.
Inside the building, Aliyah felt the place rising. She instantly understood the direness of the situation and was filled with a mix of emotions. Why…? Why!?
Before she knew it, Aliyah gripped her lightsaber tighter than ever. She barrelled down the hall almost recklessly. Every step fueled her rising emotions even more.
Trench's feelings and emotions were also growing intense as he neared the OR. He reached there before the Jedi and entered the room. On the other side, Dr. Elav stood up from tending to a barely stirring Kal, who was laid against the wall. Trench felt his anger suddenly take a back seat. He spoke to the doctor dangerously calmly. Almost like he couldn't fathom why he decided to suicidally betray him.
"Why, doctor?" Trench asked. He knew of the entire research team's treachery when he saw the surveillance footage. "Why did you do this?"
"It is my duty. I had to," said Dr. Elav plainly.
"No!" Trench insisted. "Your duty is to me! To Count Dooku, to the Separatists!" Dr. Elav looked away. But Trench was still in shock. "I don't get it…why did you do this?"
Dr. Elav squeezed the surgical drill in his hand. He knew it was likely he was going to meet his fate. "Well, unfortunately…that's not something easily done by folks like me. You work with droids, you use them efficiently and you use them well, but I work with people…my duty is to them."
That answer was everything Trench did not want to hear.
In a flash, he was in front of Dr. Elav and shoved him violently aside, attempting to claim custody of the clone subject.
"NO!" Dr. Elav shouted.
A fight ensued between the two. They knocked over the equipment table and all sorts of surgical tools clatter to the floor. The struggle continued. Miraculously, Dr. Elav managed to injure Trench in the arm with his drill. Trench reacted aggressively, and picked up a scalpel from the ground and slashed the doctor across the abdomen.
"URGH!" Dr. Elav slowly stumbled backwards, hitting the wall and then the floor as blood seeped out of his wound. Trench towered over him.
"Count Dooku may want you alive, but that doesn't mean he needs you whole!" He lifted the scalpel above the Twi'lek. "GAH!"
Suddenly, Trench felt a stabbing pain in his shoulder. He barely made out the sight of his clone subject on his back, stabbing him with a pair of operating scissors. Kal had awoken at last and chose violence. He repeatedly stabbed Trench in the back as the latter tried to shake him off. Each wound was sharp but shallow, due to the biologically tough skin of Trench's species. But that didn't make things less painful for Trench.
Kal eventually attempted to land a hit in one of Trench's eyes and Trench used this chance to throw the clone off of him. Kal hits the ground hard and barely managed to get back to his feet. Trench raised his arm, about to knock the lights out of the clone. Count Dooku only needed the clone intact, not unhurt.
Dr. Elav cried out. "Admiral no! NO! Admiral!"
CRASH!
The seal to the transparent wall suddenly went flying off, nearly hitting Trench in the face. Through the smoke and dust, Aliyah jumped in, looking absolutely livid. She locked her sight on the Admiral.
"Hrgh!" Never had she ever felt so much rage poured into a single moment.
Trench was stunned for a second, then immediately reacted to the situation by reaching for his blaster. Aliyah didn't give him the chance to arm himself, and immediately threw Trench against the far side of the room using the Force. The wall dented upon impact.
"General!" Kal was shocked and elated at the sight of Aliyah finally here. They really did come for him.
He refocused on Dr. Elav, and quickly used this moment to patch him as best he could.
Trench had no time to recover from the throw before he was picked up and thrown again to another side of the room. The blood from his wounds smeared across any surface he came in contact with.
Aliyah did not stop. She repeated this over and over and over again…destroying much of the room and all kinds of operating equipment and machines that were once pristine and shiny. Even from the sidelines, Kal and Dr. Elav were getting concerned over the Jedi's unorthodox display of brutality. The ship rose higher in the sky and the one-sided fight continued.
All of Aliyah's anger, her fears, and her frustration had far exceeded what she could possibly handle. She was losing herself.
Trench was thrown into a large surgical-assist machine. Aliyah glowered at him and continued the abuse. "You have any idea!? How much you almost took from me!?"
Her dip to insanity happened as soon as she entered the room, she was already losing it then. The sight of Trench nearly laying a hand on Kal was enough to remind her of the consequences of a failed rescue. And she was not going to let Plo or any of her soldiers fulfill Palpatine's need for silence with their lives. Compass already did, and Coal's group paid with their succumbing to the order. She threw Trench around more violently than ever. Her anger was at its pinnacle.
Somehow still functioning, Trench attempted to draw his weapon a second time, but Aliyah kicked the blaster away. She sliced it in half with her lightsaber before turning her weapon towards the unarmed Admiral, ready to end things here and now.
But then, Aliyah's borrowed comm began to beep.
Down on the ground, Steele was trying to contact her. Needing to know where Trench's destination was going to be. "C'mon…pick up, general…pick up!"
Aliyah didn't pick up. She wasn't in her right mind yet. But the interruption from the call was enough to snap her out of the rampage and suddenly recall a memory from not too long ago.
"But when it comes to myself, I come first—I respect myself first. Is it so difficult to accept, that self-value can be a remedy to darkness?"
That's what she said to the Council. Her final words to the Council at her last hearing. Slowly but surely, Aliyah's emotions ceased. And she came to terms with what had just happened.
But Trench took advantage of this moment. He shoved Aliyah while she was in momentary relapse, and bolted towards the broke-in wall of the observation room. He disappeared down a hidden escape chute, leaving Aliyah, Kal, and Dr. Elav are utterly shocked.
~ O O O ~
With his wounds and current situation, Trench decided to prioritize himself and his knowledge. He slid out of the chute and stumbled back to the control room, activating the self-destruct procedure of the facility-ship. As soon as it was initiated, he hurried to the transport pods. The ship began imploding on itself as Trench flew away in his small spherical starcraft. It immediately began its accelerating descent down the sky.
Aliyah, Kal, and Dr. Elav all felt the effects of being inside a falling ship at once. They held onto anything they could grab, in order to stay balanced. It was not looking good for them.
Out on the ground, the legion and their allies spot the ship falling out of the sky, as did all the droids. The left-behind metal army gathered beneath the spot of where the facility once lay, hoping to signal their Admiral to come back for them.
Steele attempted to call Aliyah again. No answer. He attempted to call Dr. Elav. Also no answer. "Kriff!"
He was feeling an incoming anxiety wave. And so did everyone else.
Inside the falling ship, the three OR occupants knew they were in a bad situation. Kal clung to a bar on the wall Dr. Elav was lying against. He looked at his Jedi General in deep—yet pained—gratitude.
"General…I just want to say…in case we don't make it…I'm thankful that y'all came for me! I really am!"
Aliyah grunted in stubborn determination to Kal's confession. "We ARE going to make it! Just. Let me think for a sec—AH!"
Another internal explosion occurred somewhere in the ship. Everyone was nearly knocked off-balance again. Kal shielded Dr. Elav with his body. The still wounded Twi'lek doctor coughed, and grunted something through laboured breaths.
"The…transport pods…" said Dr. Elav.
Kal looked at him closely. "What?"
"Trench used them once," Dr. Elav further explained, "for retrieving…heavy lab equipment…" He winced and groaned in pain. "They're along the same halls as the side exits…"
Aliyah's dim face brightened by a watt. "We can use them to get out!"
Kal instantly nodded in agreement. There was still some hope after all. He turned back around and immediately proceeded to pull Dr. Elav upright, much to the Twi'lek's shock. "C'mon doctor!" Kal insisted. "You're not gonna die here either! General help me with him!"
Before Dr. Elav could protest, Aliyah scrambled over and wrapped her arms around the other side of the injured doctor, helping him stand. She had Kal help her get Dr. Elav onto her back, as she was the most physically-fit, out of the three of them right now. The three stumbled out of the room and Kal held Aliyah steady, it was hard enough to balance in a fast-descending ship—even more so while carrying an injured. They made their way to the transport pods.
All around the ship, chaos was not in shortage. Things were falling apart, engines blew up, and the ship suddenly tilted, shifting everyone's center of gravity. Kal had to catch a nearly tipped-over Aliyah when that happened. Every second passing by just brought them closer to imminent death and for the first time in Aliyah's life, she felt genuinely scared. The fear of death, of not being in control of those she's responsible for, was never so emitted so strongly until now.
They reached the line of emergency flyer pods and Aliyah put Dr. Elav down to help Kal with getting one opened. The ship was reaching dangerously low altitudes now.
"Argh! C'mon!" Aliyah and Kal forced a pod door to finally open. Kal immediately went in and turned on the autopilot controls to fly a smooth descent.
"You first, doctor." Kal got back out and helped Dr. Elav stand up. He walked him towards the pod entrance, gently pushing him inside.
BOOM!
The ship's internal main engine finally blew up, sending a violent shockwave throughout the ship. Kal and Aliyah were thrown back to the hallway while Dr. Elav was thrown into the transport pod. The shaking caused the spherical starcraft to detach itself and fly off, leaving Kal and Aliyah inside the ship as it entered its last stretch towards the ground.
The ship sped towards the rocky terrain, aiming towards the majority of droids left behind in Trench's escape. The clankers didn't realize until it was too late.
"Ahh! Let's get outta here!"
The ship crashed.
Most of the droids were crushed and the ground shook up to the range of a klik from the crash point. As soon as all the dust and noise ceased to exist, Steele was the first one out of the forest. He saw the burning wreckage of ruined building parts before him.
Breathing suddenly became damn-near impossible.
Steele threw off all his comms and rushed out towards the crash. Everyone else wasted no time to follow.
~ O O O ~
Anakin managed to get permission to pay Plo Koon a visit. It was a few days since the 304th were sent off to rescue Kal and no one had heard back from them since. It was getting highly stress-inducing. Everyone knew Plo's current fate lied on whether or not Kal was returned safely.
He entered Plo's holding cell. "Master Plo? How are you doing?"
"I…I don't know, to be honest," Plo answered. "I was feeling fine earlier today, but now…I feel a bit unwell.
Anakin was immediately concerned. "What do you mean unwell? Are you feeling sick? Should I go get a doctor?"
Plo shook his head before clutching it with his hand. "A disturbance in the Force. I think something may have happened to Aliyah."
Despite Plo's seemingly calm, cool, and collected facade, Anakin could feel the buried sense of dread coming from beneath.
~ O O O ~
A cloaked and hooded Palpatine stood in his office. He was waiting anxiously for something, anything, from Dooku. He was on edge since the 'smashing' incident with the 304th commander. But apparently from what Trench last reported, the clone succumbed to the order and took out Jedi Knight Korentayer. Palpatine wasn't ready to declare 'victory' just yet.
Dooku's call came in at last and Palpatine answered. "Finally. Has Trench discovered the purpose of the chip yet?"
"There has been a bit of an incident," said Dooku.
Palpatine felt a sting in his psyche. "Explain yourself."
"Trench has lost the clone subject and the entire facility," Dooku answered. "Apparently, there has been a deception during the attack, and the legion didn't succumb to the protocol after all. Trench is coming towards me right now with heavy injuries. He may be able to explain better once he is healed."
"But the clones, the commander especially, are all unaffected?" Palpatine asked again. He could care less about Trench's current state of injury.
"I assume so, yes," Dooku confirmed. "Other than the first group of clones who landed there, the rest of them are very much unaffected."
Palpatine hid his frustrations well. He hated it whenever things did not go according to plan. "How much does Trench know? Can I still go forward with giving him Order 66?"
"He's discovered the chip at the very least," said Dooku. He knew that despite asking, Palpatine did not want him to make the final decision, but rather just spew everything he knew. "His leading doctor, Rol Elav, was supposed to have arrived at conclusions before the attack started. But it seems like the doctor has gained sympathy for the clone and sided with the incoming legion." Palpatine shook his head at that turn of events. Dooku knew he messed up with Rol Elav. "What do you think, Master? Shall we pin all blame of the Jedi downfall on him?"
"No," said Palpatine at once. "He needs to arrive at the conclusion of Order 66 himself. Otherwise things could very well lead back to me."
The plan was to have Trench eventually discover Order 66 and the linkage to CT-7701's inhibitor chip. That way, Dooku can give him the extra push needed to discover how to trigger this order in all clones, thus launching the Great Jedi Purge.
Trench would be blamed for everything that followed and the Republic would have no choice but to grant Palpatine more power in this state of emergency. Having just lost their army's loyalty and their Jedi warriors, everyone would be desperate for Palpatine to get them out of this, and Palpatine would deliver…with the aid of a vengeful Anakin Skywalker by his side.
However that plan was out the window now. Palpatine's new main concern was keeping the order secretive, he needed the 304th's silence, but in a way that wouldn't trace back to him.
Dooku carefully asked, "Shall I try expanding the radius of effect and transmission strength again?"
Palpatine shook his head. "The battle is over. They'll have likely removed all their communicators at this point. They're not going to fall for the same trick again."
"Then how about I send in reinforcements to 'take care' of them?" Dooku suggested. "I can say it was under the order of Trench, who came back bloodied and injured from an unwarranted attack by the Republic."
"How much of your Separatist Parliament know about this experiment?" Palpatine asked. Dooku didn't reply, which answered his own previous question. Palpatine was upset. "I don't want the topic of inhibitor chips being more widespread than it already is. Trench said he 'lost' the clone subject. What does he mean by that?"
"He left the clone, the Jedi, and Dr. Elav inside the self-destructing facility. I assume he means the clone should be dead."
At last, Palpatine smiled. Now this. This was something he could use. "Find a way to observe the legion's activities on the Moon. And confirm to me whether or not CT-7701 truly is dead."
~ O O O ~
Back on the Moon, the surviving clones, Ahsoka, and ex-Separatists surrounded the crash site. They took care of any surviving droid from the crash, and surrounded the wreckage, shouting the names of the three victims they were looking for.
"GENERAL! GENERAL!"
"KAL!"
"DR. ELAV!"
"IF ANY OF YOU ARE ALIVE! PLEASE GIVE US A SIGN!"
Even the rescued research team doctors participated in the search. Everyone had removed their communication devices and left them back in the forest. Eventually, Steele and a couple others spot a pod-shaped craft on the ground not too far from the crash site.
He and a few of his soldiers go in to pry the door open. They find a bleeding Dr. Elav inside.
"Dr. Elav!" Steele exclaimed at the sight.
Dr. Elav looked up lazily. "Commander…"
Steele and two other clones enter to get Dr. Elav up and out. "You're injured," Steele remarked.
Dr. Elav nodded. "Just a surface laceration, but kriff does it hurt!"
"Get a few medics over here!" Steele shouted to the other soldiers standing outside.
Dr. Elav was taken out and a whole team of medics immediately tended to his abdominal wound. The research team was especially tearful at seeing their lead doctor safe and sound. They thank Elav profusely for helping secure their freedom from working under Trench, as well as the clone soldiers and Separatist Personnel who escorted them to safety.
Once the thank-yous were over and Dr. Elav was more properly patched, Steele asked the hard question. "Kal and General Korentayer," he asked the doctor, "where were they when the ship crashed?"
Dr. Elav became pale-faced and sullen-eyed. "They were supposed to have gotten in with me…" He looked beyond Steele and towards the smoking wreckage of the facility.
The search continued. This time with more intensity. Everyone was scouring every angle, climbing onto any stable part of the ruins, looking for signs of where Kal or Aliyah may be buried underneath. Ahsoka was especially trying hard. She focused on the wreckage as a whole, and attempted to sense any signs of life within it.
In a small pocket beneath the mass of metal and material, Kal finally regained consciousness. He groaned and stirred. "Uh…"
Kal attempted to move a little and was met with incredible pain. Eventually, he saw why: both of his legs were heavily crushed under a layer of debris. He turned sick a the sight and nearly cried out. Then suddenly, he heard loud commotions coming from outside.
"KAL? KAL! GENERAL! IF YOU CAN, PLEASE GIVE US A SIGN! GIVE US ANYTHING TO LET US KNOW YOU'RE ALIVE!"
He realized his legion were searching for his general and him. With a new sense of determination, Kal bit back the pain and shouted as loud as he could.
"Guys…! Guys! I'M OVER HERE! COMMANDER, I'M OVER HERE!"
Steele instantly heard the shouting. He and Ahsoka rushed towards the source, along with everyone else. Kal continued shouting until he could hear footsteps outside where he lay.
Steele pointed at a small gap in the wreckage. "Here! I hear him right here!"
The whole area was a mess of metal beams and broken pieces, all piled up together in a way that looked very dangerously unstable.
Ahsoka was careful not to go too close. She nodded in confirmation. "I can sense him!"
Everyone began shouting a mile-a-minute. Bombarding Kal with questions and elations over finally finding him, albeit in a horrible horrible circumstance.
Kal lied back down, panting breathlessly. There was still some hope. He sighed in relief.
Not too far from where Kal lay in his air pocket, Aliyah finally opened her eyes too, gasping and coughing repeatedly, buried heavily beneath the wreckage.
Next time on The Clone's Hero, 'why's it always me…that gets put into these 'fun' dilemmas?'
Review responses~
MisterStarWarsFans: And the Oscar for best acting goes to...pretty much everyone in on the plan from previous chapter. XD
A/N. Just received my 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccine today! I am now fully vaccinated! YAY! Here's to hoping for a back to normalcy soon. Next couple of chapters should be released timely, and I might consider returning to my regular 4-day update schedule. My sister's been discharged from the hospital for about 2 weeks now so she and my mom's back home.
Thank you to those of you who wished her get-well. She's improving slowly but surely and is going to receive outpatient treatment. Also, thank you for those who gave congrats on my Microsoft internship. It is a pretty big deal for me, as a computer science student, so I'm very elated to receive such an offer. :)
Next chapter is something I've been looking forward to release. That's pretty much all I have to say now!
Don't forget to fav, follow, or review if you can! Until the next time we meet. ~MiraLake