Reminder: Please kindly note that this is a remix of angelrider13's fic titled: Resist Order 66. This has been written with her permission and blessing.
- Part 3 of 3
Of Grey, his General's beauty, and her defiance to Death
This is a break that they all need and he's grateful that his General stops them in this clearing where all things beautiful seem to reside. The trees are taller, the grass is greener, and the sky is more brilliantly blue than he's ever seen in his short short life. As he watches Styles ruffle their Commander's hair, he thinks that this is what peace must feel like.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees his General keeping watch over them all,a serene smile on her face; the sun is shining right on her and something deep within Grey swells upwards. It's a warm feeling, a comforting one, and he doesn't need to see to know that General Billaba is utterly content in this very moment. He watches her close her eyes, face ever peaceful and loving as always when she is reaching into the Force.
If this is what he's going to be fighting for, then he hopes he'll fight forever to keep his General and Commander happy and safe. The kid walks over to General Billaba and Grey comes back to himself, giving them a private moment with the Force and each other.
He flips his comms on.
Execute Order 66.
Suddenly, there is no warmth. There is only cold as he reaches for his blaster; he had laid it beside a rock not so long ago and he grabs it now. His hands are not his own as they curl around the weapon like it always belonged.
Knowledge blooms to life in his mind, sudden and all consuming. He's about to kill his General and there's nothing he can do about it.
Execute Order 66.
His hands are steady and do not shake as he steps up with his brothers as one to encircle the two Jedi in. The two Jedi who have risked their own lives for the sake of others. Their General who had died once already because if there is anything she wishes for, it is that her death is worth something. Their General who had died once because she had thought and still thinks saving Grey and his brothers was the best way to go.
The General who came back because she had said to Death: Not today.
He's dimly aware of his brothers following suit, motions mechanical as one by one, they all step into place beside him. Their weapons are all raised, every movement sure, but Grey can see in every single of his brothers' shifting eyes that trying to stop themselves is a battle they're losing.
Execute Order 66.
Their Commander is stark still next to his Master. Their Commander who is a kid, who laughs with them, who fights with them, and who is their Light, seems to not see the danger he's in; Grey wonders if the kid sees anything at all as the younger stares into the distance, transfixed.
Grey and his brothers are going to kill him and it'll be the end of all things good as they know it.
He tries to tear his eyes away as he pulls the trigger, not wanting to witness the betrayal his own body is wringing, but his head does not follow his mind and he can only watch as the shot flies straight at his General-
His General who is suddenly swinging her lightsaber and sending that shot into the dirt. There is a wild wild moment where everything is green and gracious and gorgeous as the grass flies up and frames the General-
She is pleading and her shouts ring through the clearing. Grey is amazed that he can hear her words despite the chaos of the blaster fire from his side.
It hurts. It hurts that his General needs to protect herself from them and it especially hurts when Commander Dume continues to not move at her side. General Billaba's face is one of betrayal and confusion but her actions are swift and fierce as she continues to deflect shot after shot. She says something to her Padawan and he moves from being stone to water, stepping up next to his Master to defend themselves from the onslaught.
They are doing a remarkable job but their General can see what is to come because that's the person she is. He knows her. Knows her like he knows how Order 66 is tearing the galaxy apart one seam at a time. Grey continues his fire even as General Billaba shoves her Padawan behind her. He continues his fire even as she orders the child to run. He continues to fire even as he sees it all- his Commander's hesitation, his reluctance, and his General's grim determined expression.
"Go! I'll be right behind you!"
They all know she's lying as she slashes a bolt from the air, sending several of his brothers to the floor. She's good. But she isn't good enough to fight them all.
She can't.
His hand is lead against his weapon but Grey feels himself nodding to Styles who takes aim at something beyond the General. Grey doesn't have to look to see who the other is aiming at.
"Styles, No!," His General screams, arm out, and it is an unnatural thing to hear as something bellows out from her; Style's shot flies wide and blends into the blue sky.
In that same moment, Grey takes aim and shoots. He knows it connects when the coldness that had been seeping into his soul crawls deeper into his brain.
General Billaba goes down, a gasp on her lips. Her lightsaber lands gently on the grass beside her. It is this moment when she lays stone still that he feels something besides ice. Instead, there is fury frothing forward because how dare something make him hurt the one person who had treated him as human and not a clone. In one second and the next, his blaster is on the floor next to the lightsaber as he drops next to his General.
The shooting ceases and its as if it's a new dawn as his brothers look at their hands and weapons for the first time in a long time. One by one, the sound of blasters hit the grass. There is absolute silence until a brother kneels beside Grey.
"Is… is she…?"
Grey doesn't hear the end of the question as he puts a trembling finger on the General's neck. He's dimly aware of her blood soaking into the grass below and knows that her robes are ruined. Everything is muted as he searches, searches, searches… and is rewarded with a faint pulse.
His General lives.
His brain catches up before his heart does and Grey finds himself barking out orders. "Big-Mouth, secure the perimeter. Soot, gather the troops. Styles, help me. Her legs-"
"What about Commander Dume," someone asks in the distance and it makes Grey pause as he shifts his hands away from his General.
"We can't," he responses, and if his voice cracks a little, nobody mentions it. "We can't go near him. Not like this."
His brothers' murmurs melt away into the background as he focuses back on his General, trying not to think of the youngling who brings contentment to his General, who brings sweetness to his brothers, and who brings happiness to them all. A dull ache beats anew in his chest and head, but the soldier pushes it down with a vengeance. Instead, he cradles his General's head as Styles staunches the bleeding and carefully helps to maneuver her onto her back. Grey pulls the remains of her bloody cloak around her, tucking her arms into her sleeves, and pulling the hood up over her head so that her face is now obscured.
He takes her lightsaber, clicks it shut, and hooks it to her belt where it belongs, before scooping his General up into his arms. The lightsaber sways gently as he gets up from the ground; Styles' steady hands are the only thing keeping Grey and their General afloat. Under their brothers' watchful gaze, the two of them get her to the gunship.
Grey takes a seat next to his General, one hand wrapped around her wrist to feel the slow but stable pulse that anchors him to the present.
In one moment and the next, all evidence that there were any troops is gone as, one by one, gunships lift into the air and are borne away by the wind. The only thing left is the blood that lights a story of tragedy among the beauty of Kaller.
As the gunships land onto the cruiser, Grey can only wonder where they go from here as his comm blossoms to life. He's being pulled in all directions but up as he reports to someone he's never seen before but knows he must to distract from the fact that Styles is discreetly unloading their General from the gunship to the medbay. He spends the rest of the debrief with his fists clenched tight and ignores his knuckles popping from the pressure.
When it's done, he stalks off the bridge, sureness in every step he takes even as his heart is wavering the closer he gets to the medbay. He wonders if this is what hoping is like; it's like he's drowning in lukewarm water and he's not sure if he's strong enough to crawl to the surface. But he must as his brothers flock and fall into step behind him. The halls outside the medbay are crowded. He should find a problem with this but right now, he can think of nothing but the still figure inside. His brothers who had fallen behind him go to stand in line with the others and Grey would find this action endearing if it weren't for the fact that they all have the same expression on their faces- equal parts horror and exhaustion line every crevice of their faces.
They say nothing but their eyes speak for them, and it is those eyes he feels on his back as the door to the medbay slides shut. He is alone with only his General and suddenly, abruptly, he realizes that this is the first time in a long time that it's just the two of them.
She floats in a bacta tank, her hair impossibly long, and it takes a moment for him to see that it's because her braids have come undone. He thinks she looks beautiful even if she is unconscious before he wishes he could just turn around and walk away because he's the reason she's in the tank in the first place.
She is here because of him and he feels the ache from before surge forward. He blinks and he no longer sees the winking stars outside the window, no longer feels the cold grey medbay floor, no longer hears the humming of the machines keeping his General alive. He only sees his General, beauty and grace and utterly dead, as she tumbles into the gracious green grass in Kaller and never moves again.
With a snarl, he grabs the biobed and hurls it away from him. It slams into the wall and onto the ground with a crash that shakes him back to the present. His breathing is harsh and his muscles are wound tight. He's not sure how long he stands frozen in the dark until a warm hand lands on his shoulder. He doesn't need to turn to know it's Styles. The callouses and steady warmth give him away. Grey also doesn't need to turn to know who else is in the room as Big-Mouth walks up to their General, his lips a thin thin line.
"You alright, Grey?" Soot asks softly. "We heard a crash."
Grey isn't aware he had stopped breathing until this moment; he releases a breath and closes his eyes. He's not okay. Not even close. But he must because without their General, without their Commander, he's the highest ranking officer here. His brothers are looking to him for answers he doesn't have. But he shows nothing as he opens his eyes.
"Fine," he says shortly. Then, there is nothing left to say as the four of them watch their General's hair swirl around her and try not to feel the weight on their shoulders chipping away at their souls. The four of them are their General's limbs and Grey thinks that this is the moment they all realize they are nothing without their Head. It's always been the four of them, the last ones of General Billaba's first battalion.
"Alright," Grey says at last. "Styles, you're with me. We're getting the General out of here. Have the droids start the evac."
Styles nods and leaves without a word.
"You're sure about this?" Soot asks. Big-Mouth does not move from his position in front of the tank but his concern and anger is still palpable even from this distance.
Grey can only answer with a grim thin smile. "No. But she can't stay here." What is left unspoken but understood is that he will not leave her either.
Big-Mouth finally turns, displeasure now a permanent marker on his face, and Soot shifts minutely, brow furrowing. "Where will you go?"
"Someplace warm, perhaps," Grey responds and tries not to think of his General in the cold cold tank. Tries not to think of the impossible scenario where she doesn't wake up.
"And what do you want us to do?"
"What she would want us to do." He knows he needs not say anything else. The four of them had already spent far too many dark long nights discussing the inevitable. By now, their thoughts are one and the same.
"We have to survive. We have to live until we see one another again. And when we do, we will find those responsible for this and we will make them burn."
Then, there is nothing but silence as Styles reenters with two medical droids. Grey blinks once, twice, loses count, and finds himself in the Starfighter with Styles, their General safely secured in the back. The Cruiser is a star in the distance as the Starfighter zooms forward into open space.
The ship is quiet. Grey is in no mood to talk and Styles has said nothing since Kaller and the Fall. The only sounds are the medical droids' occasional humming as they move from machine to machine. The two droids are the only ones in their battalion to escape with their memories intact; all the others had had their minds wiped.
No one can know she lives.
Next to Grey, Styles stares straight ahead and does not move. The only sign of his brother's emotions is the white white knuckles around the controllers and Grey wonders at how terrible the galaxy has to be to make his stoic brother paralyzed. Wonders at how they can protect their General and keep her safe when the galaxy is being shrouded in darkness right now.
He moves for the first time in a long time from his seat and towards the back where his General floats; Styles continues his watch over their journey and Grey appreciates the silent strength the other invokes. Grey takes a seat in front of his General, back straight, legs crossed, just the way he had seen her sit not so long ago on another planet far far away. His hands rest on his knees, palm up. He breathes.
In. Out. In. Out.
One beat, then two, passes where Grey tries not to think about long swirling hair and a calm soothing smile. Instead, he prays to any and all deities that they hear his silent prayers. He thinks of a new hope as he feels a presence that tugs at his soul, something soft and gentle and oh so familiar...
He surfaces from the deep to meet Styles' questioning eyes and smiles. "I think everything's going to be okay."
Lightyears away on another Starfighter, their small young Commander thinks he hears something in the Force and smiles, coming to the same conclusion.
A/N
Guess who's back? It's me. I've been away trying to figure out my life and the answer is no, I still have not figured it out yet. But I'm been trying to slowly getting back into writing so here you go~
Hope you enjoy :)
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