Debrief: And then what happened?

CF: Well, we came back to the base and there she was. The Corporal was all like, "Hey! You're trespassing! Get out of here or we'll shoot!" and we pointed our blasters at her.

Debrief: How did she respond?

CF: She yawned. And let me tell you, it was a magnificent one; none of us could look away. That really stuck in my mind for some reason. After that, everything went to hell.

-Transcript of the debriefing of Pvt. Cole Fardreamer (classified)


30: Spiral

High Treason turned out to be the best career move Matsuyama ever made. In Kurosawa, he had a single boss who didn't have a hair-trigger temper, wasn't involved in a vicious tangle of backstabbing internal politics and wouldn't be angry because he told her the truth.

And furthermore, she actually seemed to care. Yukari and her underlings had this apathy about them that made it hard to bestir one's self to fight for them. Kurosawa, on the other hand, had a cause, and yet she still managed to avoid losing the trees for the forest.

Minamo Kurosawa was as near to the perfect commander as he had ever seen.

"We have a name," Matsuyama said triumphantly. 'We have a name, face and history. Anything you want to know about this Darth Mito, I can tell you."

"Is that so?"

"Ayumu Kasuga, a minor noble of Thyferran descent, spent most of her life on Bespin, eventually becoming the chief executive of a city called Osaka under questionable circumstances. She's 22 years old, brown hair, brown eyes, 1.6 meters tall and when not terrorizing hardened rebels enjoys painting in watercolors and long walks in secluded areas. I thought you'd be particularly interested in that last point."

"Impressive," Kurosawa allowed. "So you can answer any question about her?"

"Try me."

"What can we do about her?"

Matsuyama opened his mouth proudly… paused… shut his eyes… "Damn."

"I got the reports from Borleas. All the Imperials have to do is throw one of those annoying pinwheels and our guys break and run."

"Bloody ridiculous," Matsuyama gritted. "She's supposed to be blaster-proof and throw fireballs and fly and summon demon stormtroopers from thin air and all kinds of other crazy things. The only thing I can think of is that she's some kind of master of illusion."

"Have you been looking into anti-Sith methods?"

"Of course. But you know how it is. All these snake-oil salesmen, myths and legends… and we don't really have a good way to test what we try unless you want us to start beating up on Chiyo-chan."

"I didn't want to, but it seems we have no choice except to send her against Mito," Kurosawa sighed and rested her elbows on her desk. "I just wish that this didn't have to fall on the shoulders of a 13-year old."

"14 last week," Matsuyama corrected.

"Congratulate her for me. And then tell her she has to get rid of Ayumu Kasuga."


Ayumu sneezed.

"Bless you," the Guardsman next to her said absently. She sat at a long table in the Guardsmen's Mess, poking unenthusiastically at what might have been scrambled eggs, if rubber chickens laid eggs. A few small parts and a marble-sized gemstone were in a pile next to her tray.

The Mess was a large, grandiose room designed for a much happier age when there were enough Guardsmen to fill it. (The advent of Nochichi had thinned their population a little.) Great stone tables now stood empty, the men in their simple red day uniforms clustered near the vast room's center. Half were in shadow, the other half in a shaft of light from one of the great windows overlooking the glittering cityscape.

They weren't generally a talkative bunch, but they'd accepted her easily enough. In fact, it was almost as if their domicile had acquired a cat as she moved silently among them, a pleasant, soft presence that was easy to miss.

Ayumu wondered why these men were so uniformly grim and quiet, but she wasn't sure how to broach the subject, exactly. "What kind of a lousy Sith are you?" Nochichi asked mockingly, "Demand the answer! Tear it from their minds!"

She gasped and covered her eyes. This earned her a concerned glance or two, but they were used to such behavior out of her. A few even speculated that she was hearing voices, but not too loudly.

"Anybody catch the Shockball finals?" a guy near the end asked blandly.

"Mandalore won 17-12," someone else replied. A collective groan rose among the Guardsmen, broken when one jumped onto his bench. "HA HAAA! Bam, bitches! I's gettin' paid! You owe me, and you owe me and you…"

Ayumu blinked at him. She'd never seen any of their number act quite that way before. Perhaps there was more to these gents than she had at first imagined? "That's nothing," the guy next to her (Tarvis? Something like that…) commented, noticing her reaction. "You should see him when he plays Risk."

"But why are we usually so quiet?"

"I think it's the food," he shrugged. "What are you working on, anyway?"

"Oh, this?" She picked up the gem and a small metal spindle and started poking them together. "Nochichi threw it at me and said to make a new lightsaber."

Tarvis leaned forward a little and squinted at the stone. "I thought that the technique for making those was lost."

"He said I'd figure it out."

"Huh."

"Sometimes I wonder about him…" the Captain of the Guard commented, reaching for a pitcher of orange juice, "Where he came from and why we have to listen to him, you know?"

"And whether asking too many questions will get you decapitated?" Ayumu managed to stifle her reaction that time. Don't you have anything better to be doing? Kicking puppies or something? "I wouldn't know," she replied. "He doesn't tell me anything… wait a second!"

The Captain had just finished pouring his glass of orange juice. "Huh?"

"Do that again," she said urgently. He shrugged and poured another glass. "No, no, no, the way you did before. I have to see it again!"

"Um…" he poured yet a third glass. Ayumu looked back and forth between him and the lightsaber parts for a few seconds, and just when they were sure she'd demand he pour another one, she sprang up onto the table and kissed him deeply, arching his upper back uncomfortably. "Thank you so much! You're a genius!"

She hurriedly gathered up the pieces and rushed from the room.

The Guardsmen were all staring at their Captain. He looked around, realizing that how he dealt with this sudden and startling move by the terrifying Sith would affect how the men saw him forever after. "She's a good kisser," he finally said nonchalantly, sitting down to enjoy his triple-shot.


"I thought you would appreciate this demonstration," Nochichi hovered before the Empress once more, Ayumu lost in his shadow. He was purple with amusement, which, if anything, was even more unnerving than his anger. "Our little Sithling's showing a new ability that I find rather entertaining."

"Well hurry up," Yukari said, "I have things to do."

Ayumu stepped forward and turned aside, glancing back at her master. "H-how were we going to do this again?" Nochichi responded by putting his crimson lightsaber through her head. "WAUGH!" she fell on her butt, panicked, but completely unharmed.

"What was that?" Yukari yelped, wide-eyed.

"She seems to be able to slide into another dimension for short stints." He indicated a bandage on her hand. "We tested; it never lasts more than a second, but it can still prove to be useful."

Yukari nodded slowly. It made sense that this girl would have the power to be not quite there… "Okay, I'm amused. Now get outta here, I have… uh… briefs to work on."

"I've seen your schedule," Nochichi replied, even more brightly purple. "Sleep well, my Empress."


'Through your head?" Tarvis asked incredulously. He and Ayumu walked across one of the Imperial Palace's many roofs, enjoying a breeze that managed to thin the omnipresent smog a bit.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I don' know how I'm learnin' ta do these things, it's just happenin'. Y'know that Force Shriek bit I do?" Ayumu's accent was creeping back, betraying how at ease she felt. Of all this aloof and stoic bunch, Tarvis was the closest she had to a friend.

"Sure."

"We found out it makes somethin' called Topocrine blow up. I don' even know what it is, 'cept that it sounds like somethin' you rub on your chest for a cold…"

Tarvis chuckled. "They use it for energy, I think. But it's, like, unstable so they only use it for small things that need a lot of power. Welding torches, artificial limbs, things like that."

Ayumu stopped and stared at him. "Art-? Y'don't say."

"Well, I could be wrong."

A few minutes passed in amiable silence.

"Say, there was somethin' I bin meanin' to ask you," Ayumu's voice was a hesitant.

"Shoot."

"Well… what happened t'all you guys?"

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry?"

She hopped up onto the wall, easily dangling her feet over a seventy-meter drop. Tarvis winced slightly, but didn't say anything for fear of startling her over the edge. "You… the Guardsmen… y'all 're so, so grim. Well, I mean, y'know how ta have fun an' stuff, but still…"

"Do you know how we became Imperial Guardsmen?"

"No…"

"When we started training, we were each assigned a partner. We trained together for years, we and our brothers. Hiking the volcanic plains of Ryloth, sparring with Valerians, resisting torture and starvation…"

Ayumu noticed that Tarvis was uncomfortably close behind her. "We had to kill them. For our final test, each pair would have to fight to the death before the Emperor as an ultimate show of loyalty."

She gasped. "Th-that's horrible! But what does it- what does it prove?"

"It proves that we'll do anything by his command. And now by the command of his daughter... You see why our outlooks aren't as sunny as they might be."

"But…" Ayumu's eyes swam. "It's so… so…"

"Do you have a problem?"

When Tarvis flinched and turned towards the voice, Ayumu realized it wasn't just in her head. Darth Nochichi floated behind them, cloak billowing in the breeze that had been so pleasant until just a moment ago.

"Yes! Yes, I do!" Ayumu plucked up her courage and stood on the ledge facing him. "The Empire's a horrible, barbaric… uh…" Nochichi had changed his color to a swirling mass of purple and red. "It's the most…"

The Sith Lord pressed into her, making her teeter uncomfortably. "Do you have any other problems?"

"N-no," she replied meekly.

"And what are you doing up here?" he asked, turning towards Tarvis. "With her?"

"I, uh, I like walking up here."

"And I like walking up here, too!"

"Who frickin' asked you?" The force of his yell almost put her over the side.

"I have a girlfriend back home, if that's what you're concerned about, Lord No…" the Guardsman started.

"I'm disappointed to hear this sort of talk out of you, Ayumu. I had come to offer a reward for your performance on Borleas… I suppose it wouldn't be sporting to deprive you of it now. If you wish, you will be allowed to visit your family on Thyferra."

"What? R-really?"

"You're looking a gift Ronto in the mouth. Leave before I change my mind."

As Ayumu entered the West Hangar, an unfriendly pair of eyes fell on her back. Turning, she saw one of the Brothers leaning against a wall nearby, watching her with a nasty smirk. It was the eldest, a tall, cruel-faced fellow with long hair of that hideous orange-red.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly.

The loathsome creature turned on his heel and left, giving her the distinct impression that she was the butt of some awful joke that he was in on. But there would be time enough to worry about that lot later…


"Why are you always brooding?"

Chiyo jerked in surprise, causing Maya to jump from her lap and turn an irritated circle on the carpet. He hissed what was surely catspeak for "I was just getting comfortable, you stupid lump!"

Miru hopped the back of the couch next to her and cuffed her gently. "Seriously, I don't know if I've heard you laugh since we got here!"

Yuka walked around the other side and sat on the arm. "But she doesn't have the eyebrows to brood, you know? I'd say she was pouting… or maybe, uh…"

"Moping?"

"Yeah, perfect! Moping. I think-" then she noticed Maya and lost her train of thought. With a squeal, Yuka all but tackled the Sand Panther, rubbing his ears vigorously and making kissy sounds in his face. Chiyo and Miru both cringed back, expecting their friend to be cut to ribbons, but Maya's only reaction was to lick her face and then sprawl heavily into her lap with a gravelly purr.

"How does she do that?" Miru asked.

Chiyo grinned a little. "Natural charisma?"

"She smiled!" Miru cried in mock surprise. "It's the end of the galaxy! Hit the deck!"

"Oh, come on, I haven't been that bad, have I?"

"Worse," Yuka replied, scratching Maya's belly.

"Well, we wouldn't know," Miru amended, "We never see you, after all."

"…oh." Chiyo averted her eyes. "Sorry. I've had a lot on my mind."

"We noticed. And you haven't said a word about any of this to anyone, have you? Chiyo-chan, you're being stupid again…"

The prodigy sighed deeply. "I'd rather not share. And to be honest, Miru, if I did, you'd wish I hadn't."

"Yuka, is that a challenge?"

"I think it is, Miru."

"Fine then, hit me." Miru stood, arms akimbo, and thrust her chest out. "Let's go. C'mon, Chiyo-chan. Bring it on!"

"That wasn't a…" Chiyo covered her eyes. "You've been spending too much time around Ms. Kagura." Miru took a light glove out of her pocket and slapped the Jedi's face with it.

"Okay, fine. Here goes: I've found out that I'm some kind of freakish human/Eddorian hybrid created specifically to become the ultimate Sith, and that the Eddorian genes come from Darth Nochichi, who plans to kill me if he can't twist me to the Dark Side. My Aunt, Uncle and Master Sakaki are dead. Now Kurosawa wants to send me out to slaughter all kinds of Imperials, starting with a woman who's being forced to fight me by voices in her head." She drew a deep breath. "And my arm got cut off. I'm a little put out."

The two girls stared at her for a few seconds. "Holy crap." Miru finally said. After a few more seconds, Maya made a sound of protest and Yuka remembered herself, returning to her belly-scratching duties.

"So, uh…" Chiyo put a hand to the back of her head. "How… how are you two doing?"

"Boy, this is awkward," Miru said. "What can we say now?"

"We could make fun of her hair," Yuka suggested.

"You mean like how having it all short without the pigtails makes her look like a boy?"

"Well, an effeminate boy with big, pretty eyes, but that's what I was thinking."

"Good idea. Let's mock her until she feels better."

Chiyo looked back and forth between them strangely. Before either could ask what was wrong, though, she gave a sharp, unpracticed laugh. "What would I ever do without you guys?"


Sleep should have come quickly that night. The prodigy stretched out on her bed, eyes drifting shut to the reassuring hum of the Katana's engines. Maya climbed on and curled up next to her; for a creature that supposedly hated physical contact, he was getting pretty cuddly.

Just as Morpheus was about to take her, though, she heard a faint, distant voice.

Chiyo-chan!

Her eyes snapped open. Could it be? Kamineko-sama? Is that you?

You damn well better believe it. I need you to come back to Dagobah.

Chiyo smiled slightly, deliberately putting her hands behind her head. I thought that you weren't going to help me any more.

Who said anything about helping you, you selfish little bitch? I'm calling you because I don't want to die alone!

She was dressed and out the door in a minute flat.


Nothing felt more familiar and comforting to Ayumu than the warm, moist wind of her home world. Swathed in cerulean and seafoam, she wended her way slowly across the long bridges and soaring walkways, enjoying the bright colors and sweet air for all she was worth.

Before I drop in on my parents, I'll say hi to Grandmother, she decided happily, descending towards the city's cemetery. It was beginning to dawn on her that something was wrong, however. Where were all the pedestrians? There weren't even that many vehicles about. She had never heard the city so quiet.

Crunch, crunch, crunch! A dark shape rushed through the foliage nearby. Ayumu was used to the sound of a Vratix jumping, but she didn't catch the thrum of his wings. Unnerved, she picked up her pace, jumping down from walkway to walkway.

Finally her slippered feet sank into the soft, loamy soil of the cemetery. It was much larger than it used to be. Ayumu moved through the stones as she had so many times in the past, coming to a stop at Grandmother Kasuga's grave.

Time stopped.

There was a new marker next to it, much simpler and more workmanlike, just like the man who rested beneath it. "Uncle?" Ayumu sank to her knees before the new marker, disbelieving. Others were there, now that she was looking. Other Kasugas.

Her cousin Arata. Nephew Daichi. Her sister. The city's silence took on new meaning to her; it was a war. The Rebels were fighting a war of extermination!

Suddenly, Nochichi saying to "visit her family" took on terrible new meaning.

Something thudded heavily into the loam behind her. Of course the return of a Baroness would not go unnoticed. She turned slowly, surrounded by the thumps of black-painted Vratix coming down all around her.

The leader of the Rebels was eight feet tall, carapace pitted and cracked in battle, wicked claws gleaming in sullen sunlight. As she regarded him, his hideous mouthparts twisted in a way that approximated a smile.

She smiled back.