15 Years Too Long
xxx
Bail found he had overstayed his welcome. His escape is majorly derived from his unwillingness to hear anymore. Murdering the nephew of Senator Trayvis...it's too horrendous to believe. Bail recalls Trayvis on the holonet many years ago addressing the loss, and a woman coming on to say that it was her son who had his dreams snuffed by...a monster. Mon Mothma learned who the boy was to Trayvis after the mother passed. No one would ever have known that that boy was Trayvis's nephew, or the woman his sister. He was so calm and collected during his press conference, addressing the loss as the first brutality for young men and women wishing to be cadets. He fooled everyone. Guess secrets are harder to keep these days.
"Thank you for coming, Bail." Mon Mothma escorted him to the door. "I apologize that it wasn't under better circumstances."
"No need to sound merrose. This conversation needed to happen." Avoiding it would have caused disarray amongst their ranks, likely sabotage their efforts in thwarting the Empire. "Katerina has become integrated into our mission. If trust within her becomes an issue, we must foresee a means of handling the situation." By any means necessary, is what he would have said. Regardless of her origins, Katerina is Mon Mothma's family. It would be insensitive of him to rub salt in her wound with what she's feared all these years.
"She isn't even aware of what the mission is." Her resolve in this so called mission wavered knowing this could all go belly up with the Empire's Prying. "She was never meant to be part of the mission." Katerina has inadvertently been a direct link to her treasonous acts. Should anyone discover the secret of her birth, or that Mon Mothma has ties to rebels, she and everyone associated with her will follow Padme Amidala and the rest to the grave. "I guess I truly haven't learned from my mistakes." She proceeded to kick herself when she was already down. "I tried so hard to prevent our past from meeting up with our future." She was reminded of a saying from Master Yoda. Sometimes one meets their fate when trying to avoid it. Though, he said it in his funny backwards talk. "I always prayed we'd create a world where Leia and Katerina would grow up safe, and find happiness through their own means." Leia excels in the realm of politics, and Katerina was a master of machines. "That was achieved before we dragged them into our world."
"We didn't drag them, Senator." Bail touched a hand to her shoulder, tilting her chin up with the other hand. "Our world beckoned them because it has been apart of their lives as much as ours." He said with a reassuring smile. No one is at fault for their choices.
"I just wish that wasn't the case." She implored whatever deity is listening. "Is it too much to ask that our children be kept out of our fights?" Is it too much to ask that hope be allowed to prosper in this world instead of misery? Is it...too much to ask...that Mon Mothma's family not be in constant danger.
"There's nothing we can do if they wish to do so." Bail assured her. It's the way of things. "All we can hope for is the best." He's always believed that if one fights hard enough, the result one seeks will be beyond their expectations. "Katerina will be fine. Should the truth ever come to light for her, I'm sure she'll find a way to accept it."
"What if she can't?" Is Mon Mothma's biggest fear.
"That is why you're still here." He bucked her up tapping her shoulders. "You two are family. Family is there for each other." As it should be.
Bail was absolutely right. When it comes right down to it, Mon and Katerina are all each other has in this world right now. She will be there for her this time. She just hopes Katerina will let her in after all this time. "Thank you, Bail." She sighed, feeling a weight lifted. Bail found he had granted her some closure. He bowed his head, then took his leave. Mon went over to her couch, spreading herself across it in exhaustion. To think that so much can transpire in just a few short months. She was laughing at it all. "There's never been a single dull moment with you around, Katerina." And it's just how she liked it. With this new peace, she let herself drift off to sleep. Pleasant dreams would be hers. "I wonder...what sort...of...trouble...she's…" He final thoughts faded as she drifted off to sleep.
xxx
The old republic senate building stood as a beacon of progress many years ago. Those who would enter its splendorous halls would do so with their heads held high, and the utmost confidence that a decision will be made for the betterment of the future and the generations to come. And now...it's one giant battle ground.
After intercepting one of Senator Trayvis's encrypted messages, the Ghost crew raced to the old senate building to meet and rescue him. Agent Kallus and the Empire deciphered his messages and plotted an ambush when he and his rebel factions - the coveted Ghost Crew - would herd together like lambs for a slaughter. His trap was sprung beautifully. The rebels walked right in without a single forethought of caution. They were at his mercy until smoke bomb shrouded the room and laser bolts began to fly. Now the rebels are fighting for their lives and the life of their only sympathizer within the Empire. As grateful as he is for their help...he lost sight of the plot when...a familiar lance reignited before his face, and the voice and eyes of its owner...took him back to a place he couldn't escape.
A dead stormtrooper lost his blaster. Trayvis, enveloped in the tendrils of hatred and pain, grasped the blaster, bringing it up. The barrel aimed at Katerina's back, and she none the wiser as she scoured the smoke for troops. The blaster was primed, aching to spill the blood of vermin. Of THIS vermin. Trayvis's hands trembled. Not with fear, but with such ardent triumph. Patience...what a glorious virtue she is. After six years...he's finally found her. The monster that robbed his precious nephew of his life. The face of that monster was shrouded in shadow, but there is no mistaking it. It is her! He's never been more sure of anything in his life. And she was his for the taking. How fortuitous that one trooper ambushed her from the side, ramming her and making her drop her staff, and another punched her across the face to the floor. She stopped their next stomp with her hands, throwing the leg aside and launching her own kick into one's groin. The fool dropped his blaster right into her hands and she shot him square in the head. The next swung his blaster for her head. She bent back, narrowly escaping. She strafed between him and the senator. "NOW!" Trayvis screamed at himself. He squeezed the trigger. Katerina's reflexes were fast. She stooped low to sweep his feet from under him, but was stunned by the bolt hitting the trooper. She gawked shocked at Trayvis who was equally stunned. He looked like a deer in headlights. Mostly screaming at himself that he missed.
"Uhh...Nice shot…" Trayvis swallowed a massive lump, lost for words. Katerina had a bead of sweat running down her brow. Had she not ducked when hse did...he could have hit her. That was a dead on shot. Her brow knit seeing him shake. Why would a rebel sympathizer shake? he should be used to kills by now. "WATCH OUT!" She launched from a crouch, tackling Trayvis. Two troopers missed their shots. Katerina rolled forward off Trayvis, drawing her pistols and shoving them at their necks. The bolts blew out the back, and the two crumbled. Trayvis watched her in awe and terror. Nearly flawless in her attacks, and ruthless in her executions. Katerina hissed hearing more troops. "Kanan! It's getting real cramped in here!" She shouted, picking up Trayvis and her staff.
"Agreed! Time to get the Senator out of here!" Kanan ordered.
"Follow us!" Ezra encouraged Trayvis. He and Kanan took point, deflecting all incoming shots. Zeb and Hera covered the sides, returning fire in any given direction, and Katerina took the rear and basobred the shots in her staff.
Sabine was following on top, leaping and shooting in perfect sync. She really cleared the way for them. Once she saw her friends escape out the door, she joined them on the ground and provided extra cover fire. There gap was set to her liking. So, to commemorate the occasion, she left one of her special presents charged and ready for the Empire. She hopes they like it. It packs a nice punch. She ran for her life. That beeping was getting higher and faster. She was going too fast. She got outside but wasn't going to be able to clear the door. Thankfully Zeb and Katerina were right there and yanked her to the side between them. The huge explosion rocked the building. Shrapnel and smoke brushed Zeb's fur, and the embers of Sabine's successful exits floated into the air. Zeb laughed at how amazing that exit and save were.
"Um, Zeb Dear, we can't laugh yet." Katerina hated to be a downer, but their ride was gone. Really killed the mood.
"Was really hoping that shuttle would be here!" Hera said with a blend of sarcasm in her tone.
"Funny how things never go as planned for us!" Katerina hissed. She really needs to start betting on how things never go according to plan.
An Imperial Tri-Wing ascended, locking on its targets. "And that's not the ride we're looking for!" Kanan said, urging everyone to run.
"I'd love to have it though." Katerina was sparkling, drooling at how beautiful that ship was. She closed her eyes, mewling at the humming. "You can just hear the finish of the carbon fossil engine."
"Will you stop daydreaming and come on!" Zeb tossed her over his shoulder, making a break for their sewer entrance. Hera was returning fire when the Imps fired, but she knew damn well it wasn't going to make a dent.
Sabine remotely opened the hatch. Trayvis's stomach flipped when the raw sewage stench blew up in her face. "You want me to go in THERE?!" He'd rather get shot.
"It's not so bad once you get used to the smell." Ezra tried to comfort him.
"You never get used to the smell." Zeb joked, setting Katerina down.
"I did." Katerina boasted.
"You're not normal." He flicked her forehead.
"Says the oversized feline." She punched his stomach.
"FOCUS!" Kanan exclaimed. He mustered some weird strength because he grabbed Katerina and Zeb and threw them inside. There were screams, then a crazy...then silence. Kanan was quickly regretting his decision.
"YOU...SUCK...JARRUS!" Zeb roared. Kanan suddenly felt much better. Ezra and Sabine punched him. Then laser bolts were shrieking past their heads and the good feeling was gone. Kallus rejoined the party. Kanan and Ezra mounted the defense, swatting Kallus and the trooper's shots away from their friends. There was no time for caution. Everyone flew inside and road the ladder down. Kanan and Ezra back away, deflecting every shot, and then finally jumped inside. Sabine used her remote again to close the hatch. Kallus tired to get in one final shot, but missed and had the hatch shut in his face. Kanan was about to run when Zeb and Katerina punched him. "You...suck!" Zeb fumed, then they ran with Katerina behind him. Kanan shrugged it off to Hera with a smile. He calls that progress.
xxx
Kallus stomped on the hatch in fury. Always so close and then he loses them. "Get this open!" He commanded the troops. "I want troops at every exit in the lower city!" The troops split up, repeating orders and giving warning of rebels underground. Kallus returned to the senate building to check up on Minister Tua. Make sure she wasn't shaken but the explosive exit of their quarry. He was a little shocked to see her just standing there...taking in the scene. "Minister? Are you well?" He asked with moderate concern.
"Agent Kallus…" She addressed him with her hands behind her back, turning her head slightly to flash a cat like grin at him, "Be so kind as to tell me what you see?" She flourished a hand to the audience hall.
Kallus arched a bewildered brow, unsure what her intentions were. He shrugged his shoulders and humored her. He meandered beside her. There was still residual smoke from the plethora of bombs, but it had thinned enough for him to see the bodies riddled about. "I see wasted man power that we have to replace."
"Do use your eyes and not you military expertise!" Tua snapped. His closed mindedness is the very reason he loses these rebels constantly. "Look again! See what I am seeing that I know has not been seen elsewhere!" Kallus rolled his eyes, taking another look. He really wasn't seeing anything other than dead bodies! Dead...dismembered...bodies...wait. Kallus's face slackened in amazement. Tua snickered under her breath. "Good. You see it." She boasted, strutting to the bodies with their heads removed, and limbs barely attached by thin strands of flesh. "Our rebels do not kill wantonly. But when they do, it is either merciful body shots or accidental." She tapped a body with her foot. "These were purposeful, calculated, unwavering, and cold. The true marks of a professional killer. Or, at the very least, one who has killed before."
Kallus was in awe that he hadn't noticed this before Tua. Her entire breakdown of the scene was accurate to a T! The brutality displayed here has never been reported before now. Never witnessed. The rebels he chases always knock their foes unconscious. Death tolls were on the nonexistent side. None of the rebels have the stomach for killing, but will not hesitate if it is their life of the Empire's Troops' lives. There's only one who comes to mind that could pull off this level of ruthlessness. "The clone mechanic." He purred.
Tua's smile split ear to ear. "It seems our girl is giving in to her prime objective."
"Kill all enemies." Kallus chuckled, walking back outside. She's coming unhinged, and soon the holistic, moral driven rebels he seeks will austorcize her from their ranks. The setting sunlight washed over him in this triumph. "The Inquisitor will be pleased." Kallus's career progression will be giddy as well.
xxx
The crew and Trayvis were sprinting for the lower city. They aren't fools. Kallus will get that hatch open, and have troops at every exit. Or worse, he'll seal them in there. They need to move fast. Hard to do when Trayvis kept stopping every five seconds. The man had no stamina.
"Please wait...I'm coming...I…" He was slouching to the wall, barely able to stand.
"Ezra, hold up!" Hera urged him. The whole crew stopped, wanting to know what the issue is now.
"Sorry, Senator! We just really wanna get out of here as fast as we can!" Ezra tried to be sympathetic, but they were on a time crunch.
"I am the one who should apologize, my boy…" Trayvis whimpered in his heavy breaths. "I have been pursued...but...NEVER...in a place such as this." His whining really grated on the ears. Hera was scrunching her face at him. Katerina noticed it, and red flags were planting.
"Figured you'd be used to running from the Empire." Kanan stated.
"I've never come this close to capture before!" He snarled. And he would remind the boy that he's not as young as he used to be.
"Never something I thought I'd hear from a Rebel Sympathizer." Katerina remarked, folding her arms. "At least we know you can handle a gun." She stroked her head, checking for missing hairs. Trayvis bowed his head at the compliment. Do not speak to me, murderer! Speaking of close calls, the troops are getting faster. They found Trayvis and the Ghost crew and opened fire. Laser bolts are much louder in enclosed spaces. Hera and Katerina dragged Trayvis one way with Ezra deflecting bolts for them. They took cover in an adjacent tunnel. Zeb and Sabine went into the tunnel across from them with Kanan covering their hides. There were too many troops and too little of space to mount a stand. They have to keep running until they're cleared.
"We'll draw them away!" Kanan confirmed with Ezra and Katerina. "Get Specter two and Trayvis to the hatch!" He hates having to split up, but it's their best shot.
"Wait, how will you find us?!" Ezra feared.
"I can smell you, remember?!" Sabine so cleverly quipped. Ezra was flustered by her response.
"Think of something clever to say later!" Hera snarled. Katerina had to pull him so that they could run. They were able to divert to another tunnel and vanish. The rouse worked because the troops went for Kanan's team.
xxx
Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb could hear them on their tails. The plan was working. They just needed to make sure it stays that way, and that they don't get turned around. Sabine wasn't entirely sure which way they were going, but knew it was the right way if they weren't running into guys shooting at them. Zeb would linger a ways to return fire, then get right back with the others. He's really hating being stuck down there.
"Riina seems to be warming back up to you." Sabine remarked between pants.
"Looks that way." Kanan responded. She's punching him again, communicating. That's a good sign. His expression held doubt, however. "I'm just worried this clone thing is affecting her worse than we thought." He lowered his head.
"How do you mean?!" Zeb growled. What other reason has Kanan dug up to doubt Katerina?
"You can't tell me you haven't seen it!" Kanan stressed, slowing down into a walk. "Zeb, she's killing these guys! And she isn't hesitating!" He can't be the only one who's seen her lay the troops out. Sabine shrunk with dread. It's kind of been bothering her too. Katerina...hasn't been the same since the news.
"She's told you she's killed before! Why are you acting so surprised?!" Zeb hissed.
"Why aren't you?!" Kanan's irritatingly amazed how calm Zeb is about this.
"Because she's told me this story before!" He exclaimed impatiently. "A while ago when we went to Pantora! Katerina told me everything!" Kanan gaped hurt. She confided in HIM? Their trip to Pantora was when Katerina barely joined them. It's been that long that her faith in him was that shakey? Has it really been 15 years too long? "Yes, I'm shocked to see her kill, and yes it makes me sick to how easy it is for her." When she starts enjoying herself is when he'll be really worried. "But I'd rather she kill them than they kill her!"
"Zeb, she's out of control." Kanan begged him to see that. This whole thing is turning her into something she isn't. Sabine, again, remained silent.
"Not yet she isn't!" He refuses to believe that. He has to hold out faith that Katerina will keep what modicum of control she has. If she was really out of control, she would have killed everyone. She left them in their run. Katerina...is only lashing out because she's hurt. He won't be delusional and pretend she isn't slipping. But he won't give up on her. "And why are you being so surprised? You're the one who labeled her a killer in the first place." He shot back right into Kanan's core. He leaned into his face, and said in a baritone murmur, "Isn't that what your clones did?" Kanan was shattered, lost for breath. Zeb harshly nudged Kanan, returning to their escape. Sabine wrestled between following Zeb...and making sure Kanan didn't fall over.
"Kanan, we've gotta move!" Sabine urged him, running after Zeb.
"Yeah...yeah...I'm...I'm coming." He mumbled. Clones...were bred...to kill. If she and Zeb are telling the truth, and she's killed before - he refuses to accept it - then that would mean her dormancy ended because...of him. Could it be...because of me...she's killing?
xxx
It was getting really quiet in those tunnels. Kanan's diversion worked. Hera and Katerina didn't relax their guard much. Every so often they'd catch the distant and distinct shirek of trooper fire. It wasn't getting closer, but it could before they have a chance to blink.
"You're so well organized!" Trayvis marveled. "To have evaded the Empire as you have you must have quite the support system!" This small, merry band have done more in a short couple of hours than what an army has done in a day. "Good funding, powerful allies…" They must have something that the Empire doesn't.
"No. This is it." Ezra burst his skeptical bubble. "We're all there is."
"You can't be serious…" Trayvis remarked astonished.
"We're very serious." Katerina added with a note of pride. "And it doesn't hurt we all come with our own special brand of skills." Trayvis was uneasy by the glow in her eyes.
"I hope we can learn from you, Senator." Ezra pressed on. "Your transmissions have already kept us going."
"Just to know someone else is out there has meant a lot." Hera added sincerely.
There might not be anyone out there for long. Hera and company hit their first snag in these tunnels. They came to a wide junction with a massive industrial fan blocking their only exit out of there. There are a number of these fans throughout the system, proving power in areas throughout the capital. Unfortunately for the city, those are going to need to be dealt with in order for them to survive. Katerina, Ezra, and Hera jumped down, landing with their usual grace. Trayvis came falling down like Chopper when he doesn't notice a flight of stairs. Katerina was seriously trying to figure out how this guy has been running from the Empire all this time. He has no stamina, his coordination is worse than that Representative Binks guy's, and he's just really pitiful. Hera must be wondering the same thing. She hasn't stopped eyeballing the Senator since they entered the tunnels. Whatever the reasons, they will have to wait. That fan is causing them serious problems.
"How do you suppose we get past that?" Hera pondered.
"We can try to cut the power." Ezra suggested.
"Sounds like my cue." Katerina bent and cracked her fingers. She and Ezra meandered for the fan.
Hera turned to Trayvis, flipping her pistol with the barrel at her. "Watch our backs." She asked of him. Trayvis took the pistol like it was a foreign object. He nodded graciously to her, glad to be trusted with this task.
"Hold up, Hera, let me see that." Katerina rushed back over, borrowing the gun. She turned around, fiddling with the thing. "It's making a funny noise." It took her only a couple of second. "There. It should be perfect." She handed it back to Trayvis. He curled his lips in. Katerina and Hera went to go join Ezra. He looked confused about how to get the panel open.
"That's far enough." Trayvis rumbled ominously. He raised the pistol and squeezed the trigger. the bolt went right through Katerina's left shoulder. She screamed in agony, dropping to her knees and clutching at it. Hera and Ezra squared to their feet, gaping in horror. "We're not going anywhere." Trayvis declared with a grin, relieving Kateria of her weapons.
"RIINA!" Hera cried.
"SENATOR?!" Ezra shouted confused. "What are you doing?!" He shot Katerina! Why would he do that?! He was taking steps closer to understand.
"Stay right where you are or she dies!" Trayvis aimed the gun for her head this time. He might just kill her anyway. Hera and Ezra didn't move. They kept their hands where he could see them. "Put your saber down, Boy. NOW!" He ordered.
Ezra, still reeling from this turn of events, pulled his saber off his belt and tossed it to the ground. This made no sense. Why would he betray them after they rescued him. Unless...it was...never a rescue. A horrible reality washed to Ezra's imploding mind. Trayvis wasn't in danger. He was part of it. "You're...you're with the Empire?!" Ezra's voice cracked.
"Obviously!" Katerina snarled, rolling onto her butt. She forgot how much laser wounds hurt.
"But all of your transmissions," Hera sounded hurt, "The planets you visited…" He's visited so many planets, "How did word not get out about you?!" How has he fooled everyone for so long.
"Because no one ever knew. Not even my own droids." That's how deep the secret went. Droids are obligated by their programming to report everything they see and hear. Their data banks would have been hacked and his work would have been finished. Every secret exposed. "Insurgents are not arrested. They're identified and watched." He let a small chuckle slip. "The troublesome ones have...accidents...after I'm gone." Katerina and Hera hissed through gritted teeth. He fooled them.
Rapid footsteps grew louder in the the tunnel behind them. Kanan, Zeb, and Sabine arrived to the tunnel, staggering to a halt and staring in dismay. "What's going on here?!" Kanan demanded to know.
"STAY BACK OR SHE DIES!" Trayvis said for the last time. He will not warn anyone again. Zeb and Kanan felt like they passed out. They don't know what the Hell is happening. Sabine directed their attention to Katerina's shoulder, proving that Trayvis meant what he said about shooting her. "Throw your weapons down! Now!" He ordered. The three resisted the order, knowing that they can take him. Hera shook her head, begging them to do as he said. As much as it killed them, a saber and three guns hit the floor, and Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb stayed up in the tunnel. "Good." Trayvis purred. He had them all at his mercy. He turned back to Katerina. Her face was flushed with sweat and pain. "You should die anyway, monster!" He snarled venomously. "I'll spin this like an accident just like the rest." Katerina glared at him, rasping heavily to numb the pain. Monster? Does he know?! It's not possible.
"But you're not...a traitor!" Ezra found his voice again, but it was cracking as he tired to grasp this. Trayvis...Trayvis spoke out AGAINST the Empire for years! He...he was...like them! He hates the Empire! "You're a voice of freedom! A light in the darkness! LIKE MY PARENTS!" He blurted.
"Parents?" Trayvis scoffed. The boy must be rotted on sewage fumes. "No one has spoken out against the Empire on Lothal since…" An epiphany from long ago came to him. There were people who spoke out, sounded just like this boy. "Since the Bridger Transmissions…" Oh ho, it has been so long. "I remember them. The original voices of freedom…" He hummed. Funny how someone so young...no. Not funny. Just phantoms of the past finding a new way to step on the future's toes through a proxy. Trayvis put it all together. "You're their son!"
From around the tunnel it was seen. It was felt. Ezra was succumbing to his grief. The pain at having learned that a voice he believed so wholeheartedly in, held zero doubts in since his first transmission, was nothing more than a traitor. A sellout seeking to line his own pockets and create a better life for himself. He's so ready an willing to offer up anyone and everyone to the Empire in order to better his career. Whatever will be left of it when Ezra gets through with him. But even with that common motive, even knowing that the sole reason anyone kisses up to the Empire is to secure a twisted future...Ezra can't understand...why anyone would willingly eliminate those who want to fight back. Remove those who bring a sense of peace to those who despise the Empire.
"WHY?!" Ezra sobbed. His heart was breaking. "WHY!" He barked more aggressively. He demanded to know. He had the right to know. Why tarnish what his parents worked so hard to do? Why decimate that one light left in this universe?
"I joined the Empire! Like your parents should have!" Trayvis insisted gruffly, bidding Ezra see it from his point of view. "For their lives and for you - they should have joined." They would have lived, Ezra wouldn't be an orphan running around sewers, and their lives would be all the better for it. Instead they chose the fool's route, and it cost them their lives. "Your parents were very brave, but very foolish!" Zeb, Sabine, and Katerina wanted to rip this guy's head off. "Where are they now?" He hummed, driving the knife deeper in Ezra's despair. "Where are your parents after all their efforts?" Ezra was screaming in his head for trayvis to stop. He doesn't want to hear it anymore. "I'll tell you, my boy! THEY'RE GONE!" Ezra put his hands to his ear, sobbing loudly and dropping to his knees. Hera went to him, hugging him close. Kanan lowered his head, smashing a hand over his eyes. Zeb and Sabine are going to enjoy tearing his head off.
And with that, it was enough. "And so the mask comes off." Katerina announced, climbing back onto her feet. The shift in altitude caused her shoulder to throb. "Was wondering how long it would be before you stopped pretending!" She snapped.
"What did you say?" Trayvis hissed, putting the gun back on her. Ezra, who had managed to quell his sobbing, gawked at Katerina baffled like the rest of the crew. Except for Hera.
Katerina bit her lip, suppressing the strobing pounding in her shoulder. This was going to smart tomorrow. "I wasn't too sure when you became a miraculous marksman back at the senate building." Which she is now convinced was meant for her. "But I knew something was off when Hera kept giving you her stink eye." Trayvis looked to Hera, who he was realizing was the only one not entirely shocked by this turn of events. "She has a knack for seeing through people, and I'm not so stupid that I didn't realize you were aiming at me in the senate building."
"He what?!" Zeb barked in dismay. Trayvis tried to shoot her? Kanan and the other's felt their stomachs churn.
"Wait...you both knew?" Sabine piped up, really losing the plot here.
"He tired to get us to surrender!" That was the first hint to Hera that he wasn't who he seemed to be. Rebels never surrender, not even when guns are at their heads. "He wasn't tired when he stopped. He was waiting for Kallus to catch up!" He was able to get up and run when the lasers fired again. Almost outran them. "And he wanted our secrets." All of those probing questions about their support and who else is part of their crew. If he were a true rebel sympathizer, he would know that that information would never be given. "I didn't want to believe it." She moped.
"Not to mention he hasn't stopped glaring at me since the Republic Building!" Katerina spat, growling at the burning swirling in her shoulder. "I may not be a Jedi...but I recognize unbridled rage when I see it." She's being consumed by her own from long ago at this very moment. The second closest she's come to death while defying the Empire...was with Trayvis. To think she nearly went down in history as the clone who got killed by a pathetic senator. "You weren't aiming for those troops. You were aiming for me. I just happen to have fast reflexes."
Trayis clenched his fingers into a fist. His growling confirmed Hera and Ezra's worst nightmare. He did try to kill her. "If you knew something was off then why journey this far?" Trayvis snarled impatiently. This made no sense.
"Because Ezra had faith in you and we weren't about to disappoint him!" Katerina exclaimed. She turned to Ezra apologetically. "The kid learns the hard way that no one is who they pretend to be." Ezra, Kanan, and the others got a sick feeling it wasn't just Trayvis she was talking about.
Trayvis inhaled hotly through his nose, taking two more steps closer to Katerina. "You would know all about that, wouldn't you, MURDERER!" He kicked in her knee. She yelped and dropped to the floor on one knee.
"Murderer?!" Sabine gasped.
"What are you talking about?! Riina isn't a murderer!" Ezra protested. Hera and Kanan swallowed large lumps, while Zeb felt his heart pounding.
Trayvis really had to take a good look and in order to believe what he was hearing. The protests, the doubts, the sheer ignorance wafting from this motley crew was...hilarious. He threw his head back and howled with laughter, holding his stomach. He was going to cry this was so hilarious. "You really have them fooled, don't you?!" His laughter faded into a hateful snarl. He shot her in the thigh. She clutched at it, howling in agony. Zeb roared at the the top of his lungs, about to pounce. Sabine and Kanan had to keep him back. He might kill Katerina if they got too close. Though they were seriously worried by how Hera wasn't too concerned. "Lying to your fellow rebels." Trayvis clicked his tongue, wagging his finger at the naughty liar. "How shameful. Then again, your kind aren't capable of shame, are you?!"
"OKAY!" She's had enough for the day. "I've been running around all day with zero sleep, dodging bullets, mucking through sewers, and now I've been shot twice." That's not even the worst part of the day either. "You really need to drop the cryptics because I seriously have zero clue what you're talking about right now!"
"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" He kicked her across the face. Ezra tried to charge, but Hera stopped him. "It was all over the cosmos what you had done!" Katerina cupped at her cheek. Trayvis has a mean kick. He split her cheek open. "What you stole from me?! HOW YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"
"Stole from you?! Ruined your life?!" She wiped off the blood on her shirt. "I didn't even know you existed until now!"
Trayvis's rage was exploding out of his ears. Blood was trickling from biting the inside of his cheek so hard. This child has to be fibbing! There is no possible means she could have forgotten what she's done. As hard as it was for him to accept it, Trayvis inevitably saw in her eyes that that she truly had no recollection of her evil deeds. "It appears your depravity goes so deep you don't bother to recall the destruction you've wrought!" He reached inside his shirt. Everyone braced for a bomb or second gun. He pulled out a small projector. He activated it and then threw it at her feet. A holographic image of a young Trayvis, a young woman...and a young boy...appeared. Katerina went pale as the moon. She was starting to shake at the image of the boy. The boy she killed six years ago. The woman with him...was familiar. "I see you recognize the boy. His name was Anderson! Age 13, the first of ten chosen to be made the next generation of cultivated Stormtroopers...and my beloved Nephew!" Hera, Kanan, Zeb, Ezra, and Sabine had their jaws hitting the floor. The boy in that image was the first of the Stormtrooper Cadets. Worse...he was Trayvis's nephew...AND KATERINA KILLED HIM? "Just two nights after his inauguration into those prestigious ranks…" Under normal circumstances, Katerina would make some sarcastic remark about how unceremonious the word prestigious is becoming. Trayvis was having a melt down, so she let him continue with his tirade, "Just TWO...DAYS...after having made his mother - my little sister - and late father proud…" He jerked the gun to stress his point, bobbing it between her black heart and unconscionable skull, "You killed him!"
Kanan didn't mean to slap his hand so hard to the tunnel wall that it sounded like he collapsed. But he really would have. Gripping at his chest in short breaths, he was losing his balance. "She...she what?" He rasped. The denial he wrapped himself in...it was coming undone.
"Now I remember you." Katerina moaned. It was coming back to her. She does know that woman...and she remembers Trayvis as well. "You were all over the holo-net. You called this woman Narissa Harlow." Talked about her like she was an acquaintance.
"Her real name was Anna Trayvis! Narissa was her middle name!" It had a lovely ring, and she was a lovely person. "We wanted to run politics separately, and be free of prejudice. But after you killed Anderson...she decided she didn't want to live ever again." For the first time...Katerina's eyes sparked with horror. "That's right. Because of you…" His voice cracked, tears stinging his eyes, "She took her own life. YOU...took two people from me in one felled swoop!" Trayvis took another look, and it was just absolutely delicious to see the confusion and fear emanating from this motley crew. "I see you all are aware of her crimes." He chuckled darkly, returning his glare to Katerina.
"Not this one." Katerina corrected him. If he's going to taunt them, he's going to do it right. "I told them I've killed...just not who." Somehow...for some reason...she had to preserve the illusion they've wrapped her in. To prevent them from seeing the monster within. Never considering she splattering that effort to the street like the bodies of those clones. A half smile stretched a corner of her lip. "Not that...they would have believed me." She was...laughing. Little chirps of a giggle. Trayvis was enraged that she could laugh...she's...LAUGHING AT HIM! Kanan, Hera, and the others...grew more concerned that she'd lost her mind. "See," She flopped to her butt. She can't sit on her knee anymore. Too exerting, "According to this kind hearted band of morons, Trayvis," Sabine and Zeb rolled their eyes, "I'm not capable of murder. Even after everything they've seen…" She trailed off ominously. After all they've seen...they refuse to believe. They're either naive...or just stupid. "Funny how people let you down."
Trayvis stomped on her wounded leg. She suppressed a yell, but the pain was making her writhe. Still not as bad as when the Inquisitor stabbed her. "Since you're interested in jokes, here's a punchline. I was there that night!" He screamed, his body shaking as his control wavered. "The night Anderson died, I was there!" He twisted his foot, savoring her suffering. Let the pain he's wallowed in sink into her. What she feels in that leg is nothing compared to what he's suffered through. NOTHING! "Just a month after Anderson's passing, Anna, my beloved sister, took her own life!" He pointed in a general direction. "She dove off that very Republic Building, leaving a message that says she had nothing left to lose!" Hera, Sabine, and Ezra gasped with hands to their chests. Zeb and Kanan lowered their heads. "Yet she left so much behind!"
"Not really. The Empire's been destroying it." Katerina so callously remarked. No one blamed Trayvis for kicking her in the face again.
"SHE LEFT ME! SHE LEFT OUR YOUNGER BROTHER! SHE LEFT US!" The heartache he's been tormented by was finally coming out, and there was no stopping it. "We tried to console her, but what you did broke her and she...she…" She does what most do when they're too broken to wake up the next morning. She let herself fall...until a surface stopped the plummet. From there...she was joined with her family.
"How do you even know it was her?!" Kanan challenged him. It was really painful how deluded he was being. Katerina really can't stomach it. "It's been six years! You could have the wrong person!"
"I can assure you, My Boy, I have the right person!" He has never been more confident about anything in his life. "I can still see it...smell it...feel that night air…" He was no longer standing in a tunnel, but that wood where it would house his Nephew for the rest of time. "The Lazareth Reservoir of the Tamboo Forest on Chandrila." Katerina's widening eyes confirmed his suspicions. He did see her. That forest isn't recommended on tourist traps. He had to have seen her. "I never saw your face. Not clearly." He admitted, that's where his hesitation crept in. "But I remember your eyes, your laugh, and that weapon." Katerina touched her staff. "When I saw you fight, that's when I was certain." In other words, Katerina gave herself away. Trayvis touched the side of his head. "You're not the only one who can put two and two together." Took him long enough. Katerina had enough time to forget all about him and his sister. The nephew...not so much. "For six years I scoured for you! Then when rebels began rearing their heads…"
"You figured I was one of them. So you began luring rebels and selling them out." The, she was guessing, after a while, turning in those who would destroy what he's worked hard to build up from the ashes of the old republic seemed to give him a new purpose in life. Ratting on anyone who so much as looked at Stormtroopers the wrong way, and eliminating any who would dare to even raise a finger at them. Katerina shook her head. "You're no less a murderer than I am." She called him as she saw him. She glared up at him defiantly. "The difference is, you don't have the stomach to kill them yourself. You send others to do it for you." Like so many in the Empire do. She snickered cruelly, "Maybe if you had put on the armor instead of playing politics," She leaned in, licking her lips of his sweet misery, "Your nephew and sister would still be alive."
"KATERINA!" Zeb screamed at her in dismay, unable to believe she just said that.
"Don't you dare…"
"A kid had no business playing soldier! Real combat isn't like their simulators!"
"You-will-be-SILENT!" Trayvis warned her with a shaking hand. HIs finger was inches from pulling the trigger again. "To be honest, I did the universe a favor." She leaned back, lavishing in his wavering fortitude. "And I would do it again in a heartbeat." She purred.
Trayvis refused to listen to her insidious gospel any longer. "I hope the fires of where you go burn you for all eternity!" His finger tightened.
"NOO!" The crew begged, except for Hera. Trayvis squeezed the trigger...but nothing happened. The trigger wasn't clicking. It was stuck. Sparks fizzled from the barrel. Trayvis furiously smacked at the gun, screaming profanities for the shawdy contraption to work.
Katerina was cackling loudly, moving onto her one good knee. "Oh yeah. Sorry about that." She showed him a small pin. There's a neat failsafe for Hera's model of blaster. Removing the charger pin, these pistols will fire twice and then seize up. "You only get two shots at me!" She shot to the foot of her one good leg. Ignoring the searing pain of the other, Katerina threw the full weight of her wounded leg up. The brunt of her foot collided with Trayvis's neck, sending him flying to the crook of the floor and wall. He would have a nice knot on his head when he wakes up. There was horror exuding from the Ghost Crew, eliminating the stench of the sewer entirely. No one knew how to react other than being stunned. Katerina growled at the stinging, holding her shoulder and leg. She was going to regret these decisions later. Hera and Ezra rushed to her side, looping her arms to their shoulders and helping her up. Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb jumped down. Sabine got Katerina's weapons, then stopped a few feet away. She was...intimidated. Too unnerved to get closer to Katerina. She was huffing and puffing raspily, dripping in sweat. Her face was flushed. "Now you know...the...horrible truth." She strained to choke out. "So tell me," When she raised her head, her wirey bangs dangled twisted in front of her piercing, glowing glare. Kanan the sole receiver of that soul ravaging stare, "Are you still not convinced?"
Kanan wasn't able to answer. Muffled barked orders were getting louder from the tunnels. The ever persistent stormtroopers were getting closer. "We'll talk about this later! We need to stop this fan and get out of here!"
"What will keep our friends from following us?!" Sabine questioned him.
"We stop it just long enough to get through!" Kanan stressed. "Cover me!" He marched up to that obnoxiously large fan, not impressed with it in the least. He would make it bend for him...and then he'll address his next roadblock. Katerina was set to the floor, here weapons given back to her. She had both her guns ready. Hera, Sabine, Zeb, and Ezra formed a barrier to Kanan. No one was getting through. Kanan raised his hand. The force was beckoned to him, imbuing him with strength. The force flowed from the tips of his fingers, weaving itself into the fan's mechanisms. The blades were gradually slowing, screeching as they fought to keep up momentum. The stormtroopers proved to be faster.
In two of the upper tunnels, stormtroopers and Kallus arrived and immediately opened fire. Ezra flung his saber in a dire effort to deflect their own bolts right back at them, missing every time. Hera kept low and near Katerina, the two covering one another as they tried to hit Kallus in the right tunnel. He kept just out of the way enough to avoid getting shot. Sabine and Zeb aimed for the guys in the left tunnel, really wishing they'd come a little closer. Kanan was straining himself to the brink, pumping the force into the obstinate fan with all his might. It just didn't want to slow down, but his friends were counting on him. He curled his fingers, strangling the circuits and crushing the gears. The blades were pulsing coming to a slow rotation. That was as good as it was going to get.
"Let's go rebels!" Hera urged.
Sabine cut her blasters and jumped through. Hera went through next, leaving Ezra to take point and guard their exit. Zeb knelt and had Katerina flop to his back. He was mindful of her leg, and rose slowly. He smiled at having his light angel on his back, then was saddened when she buried her face in his shoulder. Like she...couldn't bear to look at him. His heart sank. He leapt the fan then Ezra and Kanan went through. As Trayvis began to stir, Ezra lingered to let the senator see the wrath he his wrought upon his head. Because one way or another, Ezra will make this monster pay. Until then, he took off after his friends, leaving Trayvis, Kallus, and the troopers to lick their wounds. This was another failure on their belts. At the very least, Kallus can walk away knowing they have one advantage on the rebels. It's just a matter of waiting.
xxx
The rebels returned to the hatch they entered in from, grabbed Chopper and suffered through is tirades about having to wait for them so long. Teammates are supposed to be happy to see each other. Leave it to Chopper to be more angry than glad. Before the troops could even strap on their helmets, the Ghost Crew was already on their way back to the Ghost, and would be ready to fight another day.
There are off days for the rebels. Everyone has them. They don't always win, or they miss their mark by a grand margin. It's never dampened their spirits. They suck it up and swear by themselves to do better on their next job. It's how they've become the best in the first place. This time...would be a little more arduous to recover from. Someone who placed himself upon the pedestal as a rebel's biggest advocate turned out to be another pawn of the Empire. Wearing a mask to earn the trust of those fighting the good fight, and then selling them out. It was an enormous betrayal for them, leaving them feeling alone in their efforts. Was there really no one on their side? Are they fighting the Empire with no support from anyone? If that's the case, why are they even fighting in the first place? Everything they seem to know or believe is turning into a lie. The bubble they've placed themselves in was so large they didn't even realize they were in it. Everytime they fight they believed they were making a difference. Instead they were dropping themselves and others into the hands of Trayvis and the Empire. If they can be so easily duped like they were, what's to say their next ally won't be another plant? Vizago, Lando...Grim...they could all be plants. Hell, the Ghost itself could be a plant. Katerina...could be...
It was late. They needed to get some rest. Hera and Ezra were licking their wounds outside on the ramp. They so desperately wanted to believe in Trayvis, now they are facing the crash that came from that high. Sabine and Chopper went to go tinker with some weird project they haven't started to take their minds off things. Kanan was on his way to his room to meditate about how they were going to come back from this failure. He heard loud groans and grunts coming from Zeb and Ezra's room. The door was open. He peered inside from the side, spotting Zeb wrapping up Katerina's leg. He saw bandages around her chest and shoulder from under her shirt. From her cursing, he deduced she looked a lot worse than she felt.
"You really are a baby, you know?" Zeb teased.
"Shut up, asshole!" She threw he head back. The cleanser on the wound was killing her.
"I see you're doing well." Kanan partly joked. His heart wasn't really in it.
"You can shut up too!" She warned him. Just wait. By tomorrow, she was going to kick both of their asses.
Kanan tried to laugh along with Zeb in order to brush off what had transpired today. He wasn't able to. This pressure in his chest...it made him want to weep. The girl he's looking at now...he can't stop himself from seeing the miasmic shadow of the inner monster looming behind her. It's form overflowing with a noxious aura, leering at him with hollow aquarine orbs. He took a half step back, terror stricken him when it smiled. He squeezed his eyes closed, shaking his head. The figure was gone...but the energy remained. Has it really been so long that...that Kanan can't even recognize the person sitting in front of him? The person...who isn't even a real person?
"Katerina…" He entered the room, looming over her. She glanced to him with wincing eyes, uneased by his serious expression. Zeb felt his hairs stand on end by his grim tone. He wrapped up wrapping Katerina's leg. This was going to get awkward. "What Trayvis said…" Zeb and Katerina exhaled frustrated through their nostrils, closing their eyes, "It...it isn't true, is it?" Katerina took her leg back, using Zeb as a crutch to stand. "You didn't-"
"Caleb…" She raised a hand to his face. She really can't stomach any more of his denial. "It's time to acknowledge that it's been 15 years." The proof has been thrown in his face all day. Trayvis confirmed as much. "Neither you, me, Trayvis, nor anyone else are who we pretend to be. Or who we used to be." The final shard broke in Kanan. His spirit mangled, shredded to ribbons. She was right...and it hurt. "It's time to live with it, Caleb." She lengthed her staff, using it as a support to hobble back to her room. "I have." She said before closing herself into her room. Kanan wandered aimlessly out of Zeb's room. He glanced back at the Lasat, praying there was some way for this to be made better. To erase what he's seen, heard, and experienced so they can come back stronger tomorrow. Zeb bowed his head with regret...and closed the door. There was nothing he or anyone could do. It is what it is. Nothing was going to change it, or make things go back to the way they were.
Kanan shut himself in his room, locking the door. He smashed a hand to his face, biting hard on his lower lip. Live with it? Live with IT?! NO! He isn't going to live with it. In fact, he's going to do what he should have done from the start. Today was...so eye opening that he was continuously blinded by it. What he witnessed Katerina do, how she so effortlessly and without hesitation killed Stormtroopers tonight...he can't stop the thin threads from fastening into a noose to choke this perception he put around his sister. A girl who would never willingly harm or kill another unless absolutely necessary. Who would cringe at roadkill and weep for dead bugs. A girl who he knew hated the spread of violence and misery. That whole maze of fragile illusions just shattered and crumbled around him, leaving nothing left but a shell emitting a toxic aura of pent up rage and sorrow. A demon who flawlessly ends lives and seems to show no remorse. She killed troopers tonight...she murdered a boy...caused his mother to commit suicide...and was able to laugh about it. Taking his saber in his hand, he ignited the blue blade. A new drive burned in his eyes. "If i can't run from my past, neither can you." She's going to answer to him...even if he has to beat it out of her.
To be continued.