Chapter XXIII
Oscura, Two Weeks after Order 66
Assimilator had been redeployed to subdue a Separatist holdout, meaning that the Scorchers were still manning the outpost two weeks into the new regime. To their shock, Oscura's citizens hadn't––for the most part––even cared that the Republic had suddenly become the "Galactic Empire'' overnight. Enforcing Imperial control over the world had been simple. Rays found it odd that a unit largely made up of soldiers born and raised in a lab doubted their new regime more than the citizens who were supposed to question the way it worked. Fear did strange things to the human mind.
Rays took a deep breath. He hadn't spoken to most of his troops since Order 66. Both he and Splinter had only just returned to active duty after eight days in bacta and another six in physical therapy.
"Grrrarrrgh," Gala announced Rays' presence to the rest of the captains and lieutenants gathered in the officer's barracks.
"Captain," Rays responded courteously.
Gala skipped the formalities and hugged him. Rays silently welcomed it.
"The commander has returned to duty!" Cobalt declared, saluting him. To Rays' surprise, all of the other officers followed suit.
"Guys, there's no need," Rays protested, "Please…"
"You've earned this, Rays," Nav interrupted.
Rays had no words, shock and surprise stifling his tongue. He couldn't help but muster a smile.
"What's the word?" He asked. Cobalt and Gala had managed the outpost while Rays and Splinter recovered.
"Nothing new, sir," Cobalt reported, "All's quiet, the citizens are cooperating, nothing out of the…"
"Commander!" Neville's youthful voice silenced Cobalt's report. Rays turned to see the boisterous trooper run into the room, holding a datapad.
"Sir," Neville saluted, "We just got a transmission from Coruscant."
Rays' gut lurched.
"Tell us what it is," Splinter's voice came from the edge of the room. He was sitting on his bunk, typing on his datapad.
"I'll do it," Rays gestured for Neville's pad. Once Neville handed it to him, he examined it. Surprisingly, the author – a high-ranking Moff named Tarkin – had chosen to submit his order as a letter. It read:
To Commander CC-4242,
Emperor Palpatine has reviewed all available reports regarding your disobedience of Order 66. He has agreed – despite my counsel – to waive the charges of treason for you and your unit.
An envoy from our Emperor is en route to your location, he shall arrive aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Exactor in two days. You will surrender the Jedi Kali'sto to him. Please do not disregard your orders again.
Long live the Empire.
Tarkin's words weren't explicit, but their meaning was clear: turn in Kali'sto or suffer the consequences.
The room was silent when Rays finished. Nav and Gala looked shocked. Cobalt seemed uneased. Splinter looked both regretful, but assured…
"Clear the room," Rays ordered, "I need to speak with Captain Splinter."
"Yes sir," Cobalt replied.
Gala, Cobalt, Nav, all of Rays' brothers and sisters departed. Rays sat down on the opposite bunk, facing his old friend.
"Log entry?" Rays asked.
"Yes," Splinter replied, his eyes still on his datapad.
Rays paused, watching his friend.
"I didn't tell them you shot me," Splinter said, "If that's what you're wondering."
He looked up from his datapad.
"Why?" Rays asked.
"This is what we fought for, sir," Splinter replied, refusing to budge.
Rays was silent, trying to think of the best way to say what he needed to say.
"Kali'sto's not a traitor," Rays declared.
"He hated the Republic," Splinter replied, "I doubt he'd support the Empire without Order 66. Nor would the Jedi."
"So," Rays said, "You're going to execute him anyway? After everything he's done for us? For you?" He gestured to the lightsaber hanging on Splinter's belt, which Kali'sto had taught him how to wield.
Splinter moved to his feet
"I don't like it, Commander," Splinter replied, "But it's my duty."
Rays didn't know how to respond.
"We've been through hell together, Rays," Splinter explained, "We've had to do some bad things. That's what soldiers do: we do the dirty work so everyone else can sleep at night."
Rays grew silent, unsure of how to respond. Splinter moved closer to his friend.
"I know about you and Kali'sto," he added, moving his hand to Rays' shoulder, "I'm really sorry."
Rays brushed his hand off.
"Just promise me you're doing this because it's what you really believe," Rays asked, "Not what you were programmed to do."
"I always paid attention to your speeches, Rays. I know this is true. We need the Empire."
Rays had much more he wanted to say, but he knew that Splinter wouldn't listen. Instead, he simply walked away.
Today, the detention level was guarded by trooper CT-112/519 and Volunteer Llena Rildye—nicknamed Vac and Rib respectively—who were chatting, clearly unworried about their prisoner.
"Vac, Rib," Rays said as he approached them.
"Sir!" Rib responded.
"I've been authorized to oversee the prisoner's interrogation," Rays explained.
"Understood sir," Rib encouraged him, nodding.
Vac opened the cell doors. Kali'sto sat within, his clothes slightly dirty, but his face was clean and he was still energized. Thankfully, the detention area had a multi-layered transparisteel ceiling, allowing for natural illumination.
"Rays," Kali'sto smiled wearily as the cell door sealed and Rays sat down next to his partner.
"Hey Kallie," Rays couldn't return Kali'sto's smile.
"Are your troops holding up?"
"They're conflicted, I think," Rays replied.
"Splinter?"
"Splinter's healing up, still won't talk to anyone."
"Gala?"
"She and Nav want to come down and break down this door," Kali'sto chuckled weakly in response to this.
Rays again tried to smile, but couldn't, "I told them I'd give the matter some thought."
Kali'sto's smile vanished.
"The Empire is coming, aren't they?"
"Day after tomorrow, actually."
Rays remained silent before adding, "I don't think they'll change their protocols for you."
It had only been weeks, but the Empire's policies were clear: any surviving Jedi and/or accomplice was a corpse-in-waiting.
"It's not as simple as just breaking me out," Kali'sto observed, "Is it?"
It took several moments for Rays to admit his dilemma.
"I can't just leave everyone else behind," he reluctantly explained, "We'll all be charged with treason if you aren't turned in. And...I don't know if they'll be willing to turn their backs on everything we've ever known for you. Or even for me."
"I understand, Rays," Kali'sto responded.
"I'm still working on a plan, though," Rays replied, "I'm going to get you out of here. I promise."
Kali'sto did not look reassured. Instead, he grew quiet, before softly saying,
"I've had a long time to think about this, Rays. And…I am willing to do what I have to do."
"What do you…." Rays felt his eyes welling up as he realized what Kali'sto meant.
"No," Rays declared.
"My escape will lead to your death," Kali'sto replied, "The Empire will kill you and possibly all of your troops if I live."
"No!" Rays shook his head.
"Your troops all deserve the chance to live their lives in peace."
"Don't make me do this, Kallie!"
"Rays!" Kali'sto shouted, "I don't want to die. But if I don't, you all will."
Kali'sto tightly grasped his hand.
"Rays, Palpatine murdered the entire Jedi Order at once. We can't hope to fight them, not on our own, not now. You committed treason by sparing me. If you prove your loyalty to them, you'll have a much better chance of escaping their reach."
Rays was silent, his tactical mind analyzing Kali'sto's plan. It could potentially work. With the Empire offering him even a slightly greater degree of trust, Rays could plan a desertion later, possibly organize a takeover of an Imperial vessel, strip it of its transponders, and escape into the Outer Rim or something.
"You could all go into hiding. Find that uninhabited planet, build some tree-cities, finally learn how to play smash-ball," Kali'sto tried to assure him, "I have dedicated everything to this family, to those poor soldiers who were denied a real life. I am willing to die for you all."
For several minutes, Rays said nothing. His world had crashed down around him yet again.
"I'll always be with you Rays," Kali'sto assured him, even as tears, emerald-green, were streaking down his own face as well, "You will still be alive when I am dead. You will remember me, so I will be eternal."
Rays didn't say anything, not responding to the Mandalorian tenet Kali'sto had paraphrased.
"I'll always be a part of you, Rays. You all deserve the chance to live your lives to the fullest. Please, don't throw that away for me."
Rays was silent, as a numb, grim acceptance finally started to take hold.
He nodded.
"I love you," Rays admitted.
"I love you as well, Rays," Kali'sto responded tenderly.
Rays looked into the beautiful multicolored eyes of his lover.
"Mhi solus tome," Rays began, "Mhi solus dar'tome. Mhi me'duni an, mhi ba'jure verde."
We are one together, we are one when parted, we will share all, we will raise warriors.
Like everything in Mandalorian culture, it was simple and straight to the point, no need for veils or suits or any of that osik. If Kali'sto repeated the vow, then by Mandalorian law, Rays could call Kali'sto his husband. Rays doubted anyone would recognize its legitimacy when applied to two non-Mandalorians, but it was something.
Kali'sto smiled sadly.
"Mhi solus tome," Kali'sto began, "Mhi solus dar'tome. Mhi me'duni an, mhi ba'jure verde."
Rays nodded, still unable to smile.
Kali'sto leaned in and kissed Rays tenderly, letting the moment last as long as it could before the end.
Two Days Later. 0609 Galactic Standard Time...
Rays' least favorite part before every battle: waiting. The dread before the battle began, the endless planning and reviews in his mind, the constant doubts: without a focus, a distraction, waiting was torture for a mind as active as his…
"They're on approach now, Commander," Trooper Zaks reported from the comm tower.
"Thanks, Zaks," Rays responded.
He stood at attention atop the landing pad with three full platoons of troopers. No one was speaking. Everything felt lifeless. Even the sky was grey, obscured by a layer of clouds. The only sound was the wind howling, and the ever-increasing roar of the shuttle's engines…
"Commander," Nav's voice echoed in Rays' ear through comms, "I'm sorry."
Rays didn't respond. He looked up.
The shuttle was a regal Theta-class––with a slim compartment, round cockpit, and great, long wings––but like everything else around Rays, it had been drained of its vitality, any hint of color replaced with a stark, uniform grey.
The shuttle folded its wings as it slowly landed, Rays was close enough to feel the thud of its landing gear upon the platform beneath his feet. He kept himself at attention as the shuttle's forward hatch opened up, and the principal occupant disembarked.
Rays forced himself to breathe slowly, resisting the urge to draw his pistol. In their first battle, the Scorchers had faced down swarms of Geonosians. On K'rim and Troxar, numerous predators. Rays and his men had even found themselves hunted by General Grievous in multiple battles on Gentes and Kaikelius. Yet...this thing scared him.
It was the strange, unnatural sound: the mechanized suck and blow that could only be a machine's way of breathing. That was what unnerved Rays, making his subconscious wonder what nightmarish visage lay hidden beneath the black, skull-like helmet.
"Commander Rays," Darth Vader spoke in a deep baritone.
Surprised that Vader referred to him by his name rather than his number, Rays quickly responded.
"Lord Vader."
If Vader detected any hint of fear in his voice, he gave no sign of it.
"You have disobeyed a direct order from the Emperor himself."
"I did what I thought was most logical, sir," Rays explained, "I believed the Emperor would want to understand as much as he could about the coup. So, I decided to spare a Jedi for him to interrogate."
"The Emperor has all the information he needs, Commander. Your actions were unnecessary, and could have cost the lives of your troops."
"How does he know that all the Jedi were involved…?"
"We found the information when we destroyed the Jedi Temple, Commander. Every Jedi, including your prisoner, is guilty of treason."
"I wasn't given enough intel, sir. I didn't know any of this."
Vader slowly approached Rays as he spoke.
"I saw an opportunity to gather more information; information that would be an asset to the Empire," Rays insisted in a professional, matter-of-fact tone, "So I took it."
"At one time, I would have admired your willingness to challenge your superiors. In this case, you are lucky your objective succeeded."
Vader stared directly into Rays' visor. Rays didn't say anything, he just stood at attention, concealing his fear and rage behind a facade of professionalism.
"Under normal circumstances, the punishment for committing treason would be execution," Vader explained, "But the Emperor finds value in your skillset. You have gathered beings from around the galaxy and forged them into an elite unit. Armies such as yours may represent the future of the Empire. We will spare you and your unit if you learn the value of obedience."
Rays' mind focused on the analytics, ignoring the emotional side of what Vader was saying. From what he could tell, Vader wasn't lying. Kali'sto's plan was working. He had a way out, a chance to save his troops.
"Thank you, my lord," Rays replied, narrowly preventing himself from sobbing.
"I am here to oversee the execution of the Jedi Kali'sto. I urge you to follow any order I ask of you, Commander Rays."
Swallowing his pain, Rays forced himself to comply.
"Yes sir."