One Wong Step
So a few things have happened while I was gone. Sofia the First ended, and if you're following me you know I have three stories on it. I've been getting overtime, helping mom find a job and both parents to qualify for buying a house. And the new Spiderman came out and I was working tirelessly to beat it. 91%, but I still beat it. And it got me all inspired to keep writing. I hit a rut, hard.
xxx
For the better part of a week...no...it's gone past a week. No matter! For longer than anyone should have to, and even longer still to accept that a particular group's all seeing eyes can be blind, Kallus was flipping through data pad after data pad...after data pad. Searching high and low, scouring every dark crevice of the net to come to some fathomable conclusion as to how he never knew of Senator Gall Trayvis private agenda. He paced the holding cell of the cruiser he manned, wandering in unnerving circles around the man in question at the table. Kallus had everything on Trayvis. Information on his family, when he became senator, his favorite foods and places to dine, even that he is preferably left handed. He uses his right for any obscure reason. NO MATTER! Kallus has gone through hours of data, and the ten pads it came on, trying to ascertain how it is that the Senator in Exile of many years was really working as an agent for the Empire this entire time. Tagging and bagging all who would see the Empire destroyed and quashing any hopes of ending their rule. The ISB is supposed to be the leading armada on information. Nothing was out of their reach, none of their ears were deaf to whispers, and their eyes saw everything. Until this past week. Incredible...and unsettling.
Trayvis must have told them the same story so many times, adding in little, idiosyncratic details here and there. Overall, it was the same story...and he was growing wearisome telling it. After so many days in holding whilst his tale was confirmed, Trayvis has become quite adept at wearing a mask of indifference. A marvelous improvement over his sniveling form from his first arrival. Pleading to not be hurt, assuring the Troopers he was on their side, begging for his life. It was pathetic. He knew not what to expect upon his capture by the Empire after those Rebels...and their murderous mechanic left him wounded and injured in the tunnels. It was unknown to millions, including fellow Imperials, on what Trayvis's prime directive was. He explained in greuling detail, after being subjected to physical and psychological torturing, that his task of capturing insurgents was given to him by Governor Pryce herself. It did not take much convincing on her part. He already wanted rabble like the one that took his nephew and sister to be brought to justice. Plotting this long term coup, abandoning his station and living in rubbish...that was the hard part. But worth it to see the rebels, and that mechanic, destroyed. Now that he has the face of the one who stole from him, he will see her suffer.
Minister Tua was pressed to a wall, stroking her chin with a hardset glower on her brow. She was there when Trayvis was exiled. A child by Imperial standards, but she understood everything that had gone down. Precisely why she worked hard, kept her nose down, and her hand in every cookie jar in order to be where she is. To think this whole time he's been an agent for their side the whole time. Suddenly she feels less guilty about not coming to his defense. She reviewed the information provided to her from Trayvis about their rebels. It wasn't much more, nothing really compared to what they have, but it does shed light on a couple of the members. The Juvenile Jedi whose parents were famous for their messages to the galaxy of hope and a brighter future without the Empire. Then there's the girl who they know to be a clone...who is also responsible for the death of his family. This group continues to impress her.
Tua's thoughts were interrupted by a Trooper entering the room. Kallus and Trayvis turned to him. She held out her hand, receiving an important data pad. He whispered in her ear, summarizing what she would see on the pad. Tua thanked him and sent him on his way. "Good news, Senator," Tua used the title very loosely as she handed the pad to Kallus, "Your story does indeed check out. Governor Pryce has backed you, and...thanks you for your service." No amount of training could discipline her to hide her disgust at someone of this...low station being trusted by a woman glorious enough to be Empress.
"Please relay my gratitude to the Governor." Trayvis slyly requested, obscuring that he was drinking up her envy.
Kallus, with this confirmation, acquiesced sorting for what he missed and accepted the truth. He set the pads down, shaking his head with a self deriding chuckle. "To think, this whole time, you've been operating under a guise to lure insurgents." And neither he, nor his agents, nor likely the Inquisitor, knew of this.
"And you will find, Agent Kallus," Trayvis rose, fixing his uniform with a haughty pop of his collar, "That I have done so with greater efficiency than you and your motley crew." He so arrogantly grinned to him and Tua. They both gave him glares that should remind him that he isn't an instated senator at the moment. No one will flinch if he dies. "My success in the field is moot for the time being. There is a matter I need dealt with now." He declared. He took the data pada from Tua with the rebels on it and brought Katerina's picture to full view. To his chagrin, but not to Tua or Kallus's surprise, there was nothing more than a few lines on her. Self inserted by Kallus and others from what little details they could gather. "This vermin here."
"The mechanic known as Katerina Dume. What of her?" Kallus arched a brow.
"This so called mechanic…" Grief glossed his eyes, rage shaking his voice, "This monster...took my nephew and sister from me six years ago!" Their jaws dropped, and their eyes went wide. Disbelief is what befall Katerina's photo when they looked at her. "Do not let her features deceive you. As you well know she is more than she appears." Tua and Kallus have the bruises to prove it. Not to mention they know she isn't exactly human. "Anderson was felled by her, and my sister later took her own life too stricken by grief." He jabbed a virulent finger on her image, frothing at the mouth. "That was all HER!"
Tua took the data pad, grasping it in both hands for fear it would slip."So this girl, right here, is responsible for the deaths of your nephew and sister all those years ago." SHe said with more awe than as an inquiry. Tua understands that the rebels can be ruthless at times. But to be responsible for the death of two people. "Do not confuse me for an advocate, but none of them seem the type to rob children of their lives."
"I thought so too, Minister." Kallus purred delighted, licking his lips hungrily. "But I have multiple bodies with electrical wounds being taken to the morgue as we speak." Tua was gripped with horror. Electrical wounds. Like the weapon she wields. She glanced at Katerina's image again, those aquamarine orbs of hers looking more morbid by the second. She holds more secrets than meets the eye.
Trayvis snatched the pad from her. "This vile wretch robbed me of everything! Robbed my poor loved ones of their futures!" He threw the pad. It flew like a dart. Kallus effortlessly moved to the side, watching it shatter on the wall. Tua was irritated because they are expensive, while Kallus didn't care because they have dozens of them in stock. "I will have her suffer for what she's done! I want to see her writhe!"
Kallus and Tua were taken aback by the bloodlust in his eyes, and the venom spewing from his words. The feeble man they manhandled in here just days ago was completely cleaved. Now there stands a broken man with nothing more to lose than his rights to justice. Justice he is willing to achieve by any means...regardless of morality. And they loved it. They excused themselves for a moment, wishing to make another call, leaving Trayvis a ravenous dog for vengeance. The perfect animal for their purposes.
Upon entering their communications room, Kallus activated all nullifying security measures to ensure they had the utmost privacy. Once secure, Tua raised the Inquisitor on the Holonet, a pleased smirk on her face.
"By your expression, I trust there is remarkable news." The doubt in his tone was oozing. He wasn't hiding how tedious he finds her call to be.
"Inquisitor, it appears Senator Trayvis has ulterior motives that served our purposes." Tua announced with her hands behind her back. Her chest was puffed like she'd just won a medal. Might as well if things go as she's planned. "As it turns out, he's been snuffing out insurgent groups for years while in a false exile. And…" This has to be her favorite part, "Our little clone mechanic is responsible for the death of his family many years ago."
"Is that right? Most interesting." Perhaps he was a bit hasty in his judgement. To think the Senator and Mechanic are both so duplicitous. He's beginning to get excited.
"Are you en route back to the cruiser?" Kallus inquired.
"Not quite yet." He erected a finger, his head turning as if something had caught his attention. he was just getting a to go order of the Chandrila Cuisine. Kallus and Tua were shocked. They didn't think he ate. "I sense Senator Mon Mothma wasn't being very forthcoming with me. I'm waiting for her lies to spill for all to see."
Kallus and Tua resembled ravenous wolves when their grins stretched ear to ear. To think they will be eliminating saboteurs within their very senate. How many more, they wonder, play loyal while aiding their enemies. "Very well. I'll leave you to it." Tua permitted and ended the call. "Hmm…"
"What is it?"
"Chandrila…" The planet their currently disbanded Mechanic calls home. This might play in their favor to get all of the rebels in one swoop. "Supply Master Lyst is en route for a supply pick up, correct?"
"Yes…" Kallus checked shipping manifests on his data pad. Lysta was within the top ten searches due to his impeccable retrieval and distribution of supplies. "He should be landing in an hour."
"Excellent." Tua clapped then skipped off back for the holding cells. Kallus followed her, well out of the loop on what has her so happy. She barged into the room, nearly startling Trayvis out of his seat. "Senator Trayvis," She cooed, smoothing a hand to the back of his chair, "You are not above a little revenge, are you?" She crooned with a very devious glimmer in her eye.
xxx
The Inquisitor put his communicator away, returning the forearm to his knee. He was knelt to rooftop ledge, a pair of high zoom binoculars narrowed to a fascinating woman in terrible distress on her balcony. It made him smile. "What, oh what, secrets do you hold?"
xxx
Every morning she's been finding herself on her balcony, lurching halfway over the railing to that deathly drop into rush hour traffic. If she's lucky she'll perish from a heart attack before hitting the bottom or splattering to anyone's vehicle. STOP IT! She cursed herself for such sinful thoughts. She isn't going to throw herself off the balcony. Besides, if she squeezed her mimosa any harder the glass would shred an artery and make her pass out. Anything is preferable to standing here, being ravaged by dread, and churning at the thought of Stormtroopers breaking into her home to arrest her at any given moment. It's okay! You're going to be okay! Is she lying to herself...or does she really believe she'll be okay?
She's shaking. She can't stop shaking. Why won't she stop shaking? They don't know anything, she relentlessly told herself. They have no proof! It's all speculation! Nothing can be proven. She cupped a hand to the thick bandage to the side of her neck. The burning prickling sensation send her whirling in hysteria, knotting her stomach.
xxx
Flashback a couple of days ago
The blood that pounded in her ears grew louder as her heart raced at hyper speed. The terror radiated from her every quivering pore was nectar to the piercing golden eyes of The Inquisitor. The lightsaber at the side of her neck wasn't right on her skin, but the searing heat was causing it to blister. Her nerves buzzed to the brink of making her go numb. A lightness was causing her to be dizzy. She prayed she wasn't spinning or about to faint. She had to remain firm, tall, and confident in the face of the outlandish accusations that had just been thrown at her. And to refrain from wincing at the saber teasing a molten demise. Between the panic begging her to flee, being accused of treason, and the lightsaber mere inches from removing her head, that was a very tall order.
"Show me your evidence!" The Inquisitor's wrist, in his shock, went lax, the saber easing from her neck. She frightened even herself with the sudden bark.
"Excuse me?" The Inquisitor rumbled irate, moving the saber back into place.
Mon Mothma found her footing again. She took in several deep breaths, minimizing the buzzing but not the shakes. "You're making a pretty outlandish claim against me! I am going to assume you have proof, some form of evidence, or even an image to prove I am a supporter of rebels!" She was cursing herself for every word that shook. Her nerves were failing her faster than the system.
The Inquisitor snickered at her defiance. "Further obstinacne and resistance merely confirms your guilt." He purred.
"Apparently you and others like you are so used to people cowering that you don't know ironclad innocence when you see it!" She challenged him again. Many live in constant fear every single day of their lives that they forgot how to speak up for themselves. "Under...Chandrila law - law the Empire still allows into play," She would stress, causing the Inquisitor's brow to furrow, "You are to present me with proof of my treason. And the treason of those at Mothma's Garage. From which I will either acquiesce to what is clearly an unsanctioned investigation," Considering, from her observation of her hallway, that there are no Stormtroopers or any officials to formally charge her, "Or demand you remove yourself from this premises!" To harden her stance on the matter she took two steps closer and traveled the saber's length, craning her neck to keep her glare with his.
The Inquisitor ogled her impassively, brow raised with mild intrigue by her idiotic yet brave approach. He looked her dead in the eye, searching for the smallest shimmer of weakness, to see her resolve waver. He saw her fear quite clearly...but she wasn't backing down. He smirked at her valor in this circumstance, rather impressed she would stand up to him. Despite knowing full well what he speaks of. Still, he humored her. He extinguished his lightsaber, and paused briefly, scanning for a sign of relief or relaxation in her posture. Mon Mothma was good. She didn't lower her guard for a second.
"Kendril M. Mothma - he was your cousin, yes?" The Inquisitor cut to the chase whilst being patronizing.
"He was. Why?" The edge in her tone assured him she was in no mood for his games.
The Inquisitor used his holoprojector to materialize an image of Katerina. he scanned her hard for the smallest twitch. Mon Mothma prayed by his disappointed grunt that she kept it together. Her stomach was doing flips. "This young lady part of the rebel insurgents who have been assaulting our Empire. We believe she is also related to the Jedi in her company."
"I hear there are two Jedi with them." She casually maintained the conversation.
"You are well informed." He bowed his head.
"Not so informed as to why you think this girl is significant to me." She shooed a dismissive hand. Although she really wishes she could caress the image, gush over how much Katerina had grown. She looked beautiful.
"I have it on good authority that this girl was Kendril's right hand man, and inheritor of his business." He progressed. "I also know that you frequented the workshop." Neither of which were a secret, yet the first one could land her at the chopping block. "Not to mention," A push of a button brought a file into view beside her image, thick black blocks and a blinking red outline on it, "Her entire history, save for what we've added," He pointed to the minute bits of information they've gathered. Mon Mothma hid her ease at a crucial bit of information missing, "Is blocked from view. It was approved by a member of our senate." He drew her attention to the seal. "And seeing as we know she is closely related with the Jedi, and you were an associate of theirs before their passing, and she was your Cousin's closest confidant…" The Inquisitor closed the projector, putting it away, "I have to wonder, Senator," He put a hand to her doorway, casting a suffocating shadow as he leaned in close, "How does this not make any of your traitors?" He cooed. Mon Mothma heart was beating rapidly. Nausea was creeping on her. "Members of the occupation have aided her and the rebels in the past. And considering their network of connections, they must be getting help from high above." She...she can't breathe! The room is spinning. NO! NO she...she won't waver now! He has nothing! It's not proof! That's what she has to keep telling herself. None of this is proof! This pressure on her...she knows it! It's what Jedi...or any brand of force wielder...uses to coerce a confession. "Nothing left to say, Senator? Are you admitting to your guilt?" He taunted.
Mon Mothma exhaled raspily, bearing her teeth. the spark in her eyes troubled the Inquisitor. "You call any of this evidence?" She shook, partially from rage and fright. The Inquisitor raised a brow. She's putting up a better fight than he anticipated. "This is speculation at its purest with no basis for mistrust toward me, nor rock solid proof of the betrayal you accuse me or others of!" He has nothing! And she isn't going to be bullied into admitting that there is. So long as she denies "Nothing you have said, and nothing I have answered will convince anyone in the senate, let alone the Emperor or Governor, that I have fallen into bed with this parasite!" May the spirits above forgive her for this is necessary. A good thing Katerina will never learn of this encounter. "This girl, anyone that worked for Kendril, I don't know their names, their faces, or even if they existed." Even the Inquisitor has to know that a Senator would have no reason to fraternize with anyone beneath her station other than her cousin. He HAS to. "My only connection to these garages was my cousin. Now that he is gone I have less to worry about, and less family." She put a mournful edge to her words, hoping for sympathy, in spite of him not having any. The Inquisitor furrowed his brow, growling inwardly. Mon Mothma saw the victory was hers and stepped back inside her home. "Now, if you are done, I still have a vacation to enjoy and you are cutting into it. Please leave." Without another word, and before he could protest, Mon Mothma slammed the door in his face and retreated into her home.
Flashback End
xxx
Mon raced for her nearest bin, vomiting feverishly at the very memory of the encounter. How close she had come to being killed, having no one there to protect her. The thought of it all being over had her lurched over the bin for several spells. On the final heave her body caved, dropping her to her knees. She choked on her bile, gasping desperately for air. She pressed the ball of her palm to her head, tears running down her face as more of that day played on her terror.
She had to wait for him to leave. She had to make sure The Inquisitor was gone. To see him disappear down the corridor from her security camera...before she had broken down crying that day. She went into the bathroom and threw up, trying her hardest not to scream.
"How far have their investigations gone to have brought him to my doorstep?!" How many more are underway without approval? With that on her mind, how much longer will it be before he crafts false proof and brings her to an inquisition? She meandered back to the railing, ignoring the glass she dropped, and lurched over the edge. "I made a mistake!" She cursed herself. She doesn't just mean with the redaction. She knows she gave something up to The Inquisitor! That's why she can't shake this feeling like she's being watched. She screwed up...but where? What did she say that would condemn her?
Mon Mothma was so consumed with her thoughts she she was unawares of the shadow casting to her. "Really can't beat a view like this." Mon Mothma yelped at the top of her lungs, throwing herself down in hysteria. She pushed up on a palm, frothing at the mouth in fury of the intruder. Shock...and mild glee cooled her rage as she gazed upon Katerina. She was perched to the railing with one leg dangling off the side, and the other propped to support her arm. She was expressionless in the face...and very beat up. "Hello, Mon." She said with an equal lack of emotion...yet the irritation was evident in her tone. Mon Mothma, in her frazzled state, did recognize it.
"Katerina?!" She squeaked her name as if she was a ghost come back from the dead. Not that she thought she was dead just...she didn't expect her-ARE THOSE BULLET WOUNDS?! "My...goodness…look-" She rushed over to her, hands hovering at the fresh wound in her shoulder, and the exposed one from the hole in her pants. Then...THOSE BRUISES! "LOOK AT YOU!" Katerina was indifferent to her motherly pat down, though did roll her eyes. Mon Mothma was so horrified that she couldn't articulate how frightened she was at the idea of what she's been up to this whole time. Even though she knows EXACTLY what Katerina's been up to. She felt healed fractures, found welts from her healed burns and scars. "You look so beat up! Your arm...your leg!" She lifted her shirt before Katerina was able to come out of her thoughts. She cringed at Mon's gasp finding the sealed hole in her stomach. What made it worse is she knows exit wounds when she sees them. "What is this?!" She found the entrance immediately.
Katerina wiggled feverently away, skipping away on the railing out of her reach. "Occupational hazards." She scoffed, pulling her shirt down. She furrowed her brow, praying Mon doesn't ask further.
Mon Mothma blinked somberly, woe elongating her face. She gazed scared upon the clearly wrung out young woman. Her cheeks were so sunken the bones can be seen. Those rings under her eyes, when was the last time she slept? Mon placed a hand on the railing, using it as a cautionary balance to approach her. Katerina was flinching on her every step closer, like a scared animal. When Mon Mothma got close enough to touch her cheek, Katerina would have fallen had she not stabilized herself. Mon Mothma accepted that Katerina didn't want to look at her and kept on checking her out. "What happened to you? Are you alright?" She fussed with Katerina's wiry, frizzed out hair, heart sinking when a few strands came out on her fingers. It was dry, brittle. Kind of like her. "What have you been up to?!" She began tenderly, placing a hand on her knee, then became frantic.
"The first two coincide with one another, and will make your head spin off its shoulders." Mon Mothma took her word for it and let the matter die. For now. Katerina slipped onto the balcony, fixing her disheveled self up. She took her hair out of the messy bun, letting the brown tresses fall neatly to her shoulders. She's kept her hair up so long that she was as surprised by Mon seeing it had grown to the middle of her back. How has she put up with this much hair for so long? She'll eek in horror at the split ends later. "As to what I've been doing," The malicious croon in her tone, coupled with the dark shimmer of her glare had Mon appropriately on the defensive, "I'm sure Bail filled you in." She purred darkly.
Mon went pale, and Katerina saw it. "What do you mean?" Impressive she was able to choke it out, if not a little shaky.
Katerina, for the first time in what should be forever, threw her head back with a strangled laugh. Her hands balled as fists when she lurched forward slightly. Menacing low laughs coaxed Mon to take a few steps back. "Mon, I swear, you and Ken must really have a low opinion of me." She licked her dry lips, approaching Mon with a twisted smile. "Because for some reason you both think I'm stupid when you PLAY at stupid!" Mon's mistake was moving a chair in her way because Katerina just picked it up with one hand a threw it clear off the balcony. Gods help the poor sucker it hits. Her smile was no more. "You know exactly what I've been doing these past months! AND," Mon was scared into a lounge chair, trapped there when Katerina roughly grasped the arms. She leaned in, her long hair enclosing a terrified Mon Mothma in her lair, "I'm certain you know one other thing too."
"What...what...would that be?" She scared. She's really scared. She can't move. The sweat running down her body was enviable. She wished she could run.
Just so she doesn't get the funny idea to play her for an idiot a third time, Katerina put a hand to Mon's neck and gave it a little squeeze. Is it wrong she likes the feel of their veins pulsating at her fingertips? She's pretty sure it is...but it feels so good right now. "How long did you think I'd go before learning that I was created from a bottle?!"
xxx
"Mothma's Garage?" Lyst scoffed at the obviously low brow occupation of the peasantry. The lack of creativity in the name just adds volume to the common folks' inferiority. "What sort of place is this?" He asked with disinterest, signing the last of his shipping data before his landing in five minutes.
"It is a very sophisticated repair shop for all manner of vehicles." Kallus voiced his admiration for the establishment, shocking Tua and Lyst. Kallus is able to give credit where it is due. This place survived two or three attacks from the Empire and, going off the charts he's received, their business just continues to boom. "From speeders to battle cruisers, they do it all." He found an interesting tidbit where it housed homeless during a siege on Chandrila. Pirates from Florum and their associates attacked, and the numerous garage locations housed those who lost their homes and families. It almost touches his vacant little heart.
"Mothma…?" Tua piped up, tapping her chin. "Any relation to Senator Mon Mothma?"
"Very astute observation, Minister." Kallus snidely complimented. He brought on a projection of the portly, muscular man. Tua was astonished by his size. He seems like he'd be scary in person. "Kendril M. Mothma is the late cousin of our beloved Senator Mon Mothma. Died from a seizure." tua had to nod with remorse. That is a terrible way to go.
"What importance is this place to us?" Lyst asked impatiently.
"That is where you come in, Supply Master." Kallus proceeded. Lyst was not looking forward to this. But by Kallus's widening smirk, he can hold out some hope. "How much would it interest you to know that the Non-Jedi rebel happens to be the owner, and former underling, of the late Kendril?" He hummed hungrily.
Lyst's face LIT UP! His jaw slacking in shock, making Tua and Kallus's day. "You don't mean-"
"Precisely." Kallus hissed with excitement, finger erected on the point. "That garage is perhaps the closest form of home she has to call in this universe." It is pretty pitiful when he says it out loud. "Without it, she has nowhere to run and nowhere to hide." The sweet denouement being when it is taken from her, the one anchor she has, she will drift aimlessly and gradually succumb to the sea of despair that has already began to swallow her.
"And since we have no reports of the rebels following her…" Tua had to add to at least gain personal credit for this acquisition. "She's alone." SHe pursed her lips, trying not to drool at how close the rebels are to being in their clutches.
Lyst chuckled darkly, cracking his knuckles. "I will strike her headquarters the moment I land."
"No, not at a moment's notice." Trayvis dismissed aggressively, storming into the room.
"YOU…!" Lyst immediately went for his com.
"Calm yourself." Tua motioned a hand, urging Lyst not to jump the gun. She will inform him later on the situation.
Trayvis shoved past her to Lyst's hologram, bearing his teeth. "I want this girl to suffer! I want her to know what it means to have all you love and cherish stripped away from you!" He clawed at himself to emphasise the tatters he's now in. "I want it ripped from her inch by inch!" He drooled like a ravenous animal. He added an image of the garage next to Lyst. "This place will be my coup de grace. The true tour de force will be where she's also gone to roost."
"Also gone to roost?" Lyste didn't understand. There's more than on post?
"As much as it pains me to admit," In fact, he feels his body eating itself just thinking about it, "The girl isn't stupid. She wouldn't go straight home while knowing she's a figurative." That is a mistake below even the rank of amature and stupid. Since learning she was being pursued, she knows it's the first place they'd look. "She likely has a number of places to hide, and a number of people to hide her." Kallus and Tua shared grim glares. One particular suspect is under investigation as they speak. "Survey the garage for her return."
"And when she does?" Lyst hummed, dying to know what his next move is.
"When she does," Trayvis huffed through his nose, snickering darkly, "I want you to reduce it and everyone inside into ashes."
xxx
Mon and Katerina stewed in silence. Katerina kept her trapped to the chair, boring holes into every inch of the trembling woman staring up at her. Her sights hardened when Mon not only bit her lip, but also glanced away. The true tell was her index finger scratching at the arm. "Guilt in place of shock. You always did have the worst poker face." Mon sighed regretfully, pinching at her nose. Katerina backed away from her, letting her have some air while she puts all the pieces together. SHe paced left to right, her irritation swelling with Mon's dread at being unable to weasel her way out of this mess. A mess she created. "You and Ken knew the truth, didn't you? That I'm a clone! That's why my file was redacted!" The fact that she isn't shouting was more terrifying than anything else. Being able to keep herself under control and demand answers...Mon Mothma was certain she was more terrified now than when the Inquisitor came to her door.
"It…" She literally bit on her tongue to chase away any pacifying excuse. She won't insult Katerina further. "It was the leading reason. Yes." Mon Mothma defeatedly replied. Her whole body twitched at the strike of an internal storm just erupting between them. Fragile glass that was Katerina's world finally shattering, and revealing that what was in the mirror...wasn't a real person.
Katerina fists didn't relax, but she did open the distance so she wouldn't be tempted to strangle her. "How did you know?!" How could she or anyone else know and never tell her, is what she wanted to ask. But it would cause her to commit mass murder. "How did you learn what I was?! I didn't answer the call to kill the Jedi!" That's the mystery she wants the answers to the most.
"Because…" The answer to both of those questions were similar and contrast. She fanned her hands, wanting Katerina to wait while she rushed inside. Katerina, not really one for trust at the moment, was about to chase her down. Maybe shoot her if she ran. What...no I...I would never...she did just threaten to strangle her. Mon returned just in the nick of time with her hands clutched protectively to a tiny box. Katerina was in her right mind again that she felt her fingers on her gun. She quickly took them off as Mon got closer. She bounced her hands, gathering the strength to crack it open. She bit on her lips, "Because this was in your head." The box opened, and Katerina's world spun. She lost her balance, bracing herself to the railing. She clamped a hand to her mouth, her stomach and all its bile lunged for her throat. "You know what this is." Mon forced upon her, approaching with caution. The madness radiating was palpable.
Katerina bobbed her head crazily, swallowing back the bile. "The...inhibitor chip...all the clones came with." That one little chip caused so much pain and suffering...and four words were the key. "That was in here? In my head?" Wait...four words...how...how does she know that? She never heard the order. But yet she knows...its four words. Ex...e...cute...order...60...6...Her eyes gaped. "Hold on!" Thank goodness she can get easily distracted. "There's a piece missing. Why is that? And why isn't it in my head?" She touched her head...finding...the scar she's always played with.
"Do you recall the seizures you were having?" Katerina nodded. "The chip was causing them, and they were growing worse. We asked an old friend to help, and to keep it off the records." Which leads to why she didn't undergo an invasive inquisition those those two clones did. Tup...and...Fives...their names were. Tup's chip malfunctioned...and Fives...she isn't clear on what happened to Fives. She liked him. He was cool. His size burn was shaven into a five. "Unfortunately, the chip was in a delicate spot in your brain. Removing the whole chip would have left you damaged...or worse."
Mon is really behind. She's already damaged. But Katerina kept that to herself out of courtesy for being told the story. Her brow furrowed at the missing piece. "The piece that's missing is still in my head." Right there under her scar. So close and yet so far. Hold it! The missing piece! That explains it! How she knows the order was four words! Why she went nuts trying to get to the temple?! The mad killing spree she went on? "That's why I had that urge." She muttered.
"What urge?" Mon asked concerned. "Is this why you left that time?"
That's right. Katerina had forgotten she never told Mon or Ken why she took off that day. Ken might have guessed. "The day I left was during the aftermath. When everyone was already dead." At the time, though, she didn't really know what coaxed her to leave, or what had even started. "The Jedi - my brother - were all I could think about." She...she heard screams. Yeah...there was...screaming. Loads of it. Pain, fear, and betrayal were ripe. "It became an obsession to where I grew frustrated the longer it took me to get to Coruscant." She nearly crashed a few times, almost shot down anyone who came her way. "And you know what I was met with when I got to the temple."
Mon knows perfectly well what she must have seen. No child that young should ever have something so horrific engraved in their memory. "I never did ask." Mon managed the courage to place a hand on her shoulder. "How did you survive? Get back home." The clones were still up in arm, scouring for anyone remotely associated with the Jedi.
Katerina smiled tenderly. "Master Kenobi and Master yoda saved me."
"They're alive?!" She gasped elated.
"That I don't know. I haven't seen either of them since...that day." Mon lowered her head, feeling any hope for a brighter future evaporate. Katerina glanced off to the side, obscuring the lie. Kenobi had come to her once when she was 11. Master Yoda? Old age will kill that maniac. "So I'm really a clone. Made from my brother's DNA." Katerina exasperated resignedly, plopping herself to a bench. The more she says it aloud...the more fake it starts to feel. Seriously?! Her?! A clone?! This whole time? She still doesn't want to believe because of how wrong it sounds. Yet...it absolutely makes sense, while making none at all. "A sick twist for the Separatists agenda. The joke's on them. I have no force powers to speak of." She folded her arms and gave a forced shrug of a smile. She had to find some humor in here.
"Katerina…" Mon Mothma brushed hair from the somber girl's face, "I am so sorry you had to find out this way."
Katerina's glare became maligant slits. She swatted Mon's hand off then shoved her away. "Do you even know HOW I found out?!" her voice cracked in rage. Nothing infuriates her more than how she had to find out. "My brother and his girlfriend found out the truth from a whistleblower," Tseebo, if Mon is remembering correctly. It is a good thing they swooped him and that neural implant up when they did, "Kept me and the others in the dark so they can sort it out. Then I end up hearing the girlfriend running her mouth to an old friend of mine THROUGH A DOOR!" Mon flinched at the horse shriek. "THROUGH A DOOR, MON! Do you hear me?! I had to learn the truth...ON ACCIDENT!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't...we didn't-"
"MY brother hates me now! HATES ME!" Her eyes glossed with sorrow. She marched forward, backing Mon Mothma into a corner. The pain seethed from her every pore, unraveling her string by string. "No matter how hard he tries, he doesn't see ME - KATERINA - anymore! He's see's another clone!" Katerina, who wasn't real to begin with! She's not a person! She's not his sister! She's...she's nothing! "He sees another monster set out to kill him and all Jedi!"
"You're not a monster." Mon Mothma moaned, her back at the corner of the railing.
Katerina slammed her hands on either side of Mon Mothma, trapping her in place again. The madness swirling in her eyes quaked her to the core. "See, now," Oh how that choked laugh made Mon want to throw herself off the roof. Katerina wagged a finger, finding the patience to not strike this woman, "This is where I become offended by how stupid you think I am." She rumbled venomously. "You and I both know what I'm capable of." Mon's enraoching sweet words were stamped out by a hand over her mouth, "Spoiler before you try to give me the there's good in you speech." She's always hated that stupid speech. "Stormtroopers were dumb enough to get in my way during my latest tantrum!" Mon's eyes ignited in terror. A drain sucked her back all those years to when Katerina would be bathed in the blood of those who crossed her, and standing atop those she permitted to survive. The monster she thought long quelled...was standing before her with her hands on her. "I see you haven't forgotten." Katerina willed herself away from Mon, wanting to assuage any fears she has that she'll be harmed. Not that Katerina would ever hurt her. Though it sounds appeal-STOP IT! "Answer me one thing, Mon. And tell me the truth." She demanded. "Did any of the Jedi know?"
"They were the first and only ones we told." Mon didn't hesitate, which earned her an inch with Katerina. "Bail, Kendril, and I...we thought they knew too. It wasn't the case. And we couldn't ask the Kaminoans about it…" She trailed off, unsure how to further explain without sounding like she's making excuses.
"Because I was unsanctioned and it was part of their grander plan." Katerina finished somberly. Any indication that they were in on their treachery could have forced their hand to begin the order sooner. How the outcome would have turned out is anyone's guess. "And to think if I didn't have a bad reaction to that chip…" She stroked the scar, "I would have killed one of them." Imagine that. A seizure saving the Jedi from her...but not her from herself. The fury that would have been exacted upon them was taken out on everyone else. "Funny how things work out." She mumbled brokenly.
Mon Mothma remained silent, lowering her head. She truly has nothing left to say that can ever make this better. All she can do now is pray that Katerina somehow finds a way to accept what is and stop dwelling on what could have been. Advice Mon Mothma should take herself. If she could turn back the hands of time...none of this would happen. Now that it has, Katerina and anyone she's met are in danger. The rebels she travels with have brought her under the radar of the entire Empire...who will undoubtedly discover her origins should they ever get their hands on her. They already suspect her ties with Mon and those of the Senate. How much longer before they learn more and draw those involved to the square to be shot?
"KATERINA, WAIT!" Mon's ruminating was disturbed by Katerina climbing over the railing. "You can't leave here!" Now that she says that, she's now figuring out that she never questioned how Katerina got up 50 stories without an elevator or zipline or anyone noticing. Her rush to the edge let her spot the hoverbike idling below. Duh.
"Why? Do you plan to stop me?" She dared her with a foreboding rumble.
Mon Mothma took a firm hold of her wrists, turning the tables and pinning her. As feeble a pin as it is. "You can't leave because...because…" She dropped her head, shaking it, "The Inquisitor was here." In one instance, Katerina expression went from blatant defiance to the purest of fear. her soul escaped her body, screaming under the thrall of the miasma that made this space toxic. Were it that Mon wasn't holding onto her she would have fallen from the blow to her mind. Her heart was racing. The world was spinning. A buzzing came with the blood pounding in her ears. "I won't insult you anymore by pretending I don't know you joined the rebellion! And I won't hide this from you!" "He came here asking about you!"
"But how?!" The world distorted in shades, those hideous gold eyes piercing their way through. Everything felt like a glitch in the matrix, pixels coming undone and revealing a silhouette lurking in the archway. Only teeth and eyes visible, te steps left behind forever staining Mon's home. "How could he know to come...here…?" She trailed off with her jaw slacking, coming back onto the balcony as a horrible realization just cued. The Inquisitor wouldn't know to come to Chandrila to look for her. But someone else would because this is where their dance first started.
"Katerina?"
"Kallus…" She snarled with a murderous reverb.
"Are you al-"
Katerina grabbed her by the shoulders. "Mon! I need you to be upfront with me!" She shook her violently. "What did he ask? What did he say?!" She pressed frantically.
"He-he...he said if I didn't talk to him he'd destroy Kendril's garage!" Proof! Kallus is the only one who knows about the garage! "He told me about your redacted file and the Imperial seal approving it! How he knew you worked for Kendril and that he was my cousin!" The very breadcrumbs that brought the Pau'un to her doorstep. "I told him that I was never integrated in Kendril's work or with his employees! That everything he was pointing out was a coincidence!"
"And he believed you?!" She didn't mean to sound skeptical, but the fact that she was alive was confusing her more than it relieved her.
"I assumed so! He left!"
"Without a word?" She stressed.
"I shut the door in his face, so if he did...speak…"
Katerina's hands slipped off and she clawed at her head. She hyperventilated in a panic attack, staggering in a hectic pace. "Dammit…"
"Katerina?"
"Dammit! I screwed up!" She frothed at the mouth. He didn't leave!
"What do you mean?" Mon was getting scared. Katerina bit on her lower lip, muttered words pleading for forgiveness. She pulled out one of her guns, aiming at Mon. "Katerina! Stop! What are you-"
"I'M REALLY SORRY ABOUT THIS!" She prays that one day Mon will understand. Mon staggered fearfully, hands raised confused by what was happening. Muffled banging suddenly caught her ear. Her door was smashed in, and a squad of Stormtroopers came charging in, yelling conflicting orders. "He is watching!" She grabbed Mon by the arm, twisting it harshly behind her back. "BACK THE HELL UP!" She shot Mon in the leg. Her blood curdling scream wrenched at her heart, nearly bringing her to tears, but she kept her mask up. She won't let them take either of them. "Come any closer and I splatter her brains on this balcony!" She clicked the hammer, and she welcomed them to come closer. They have already heard of the sinful murders she's committed thus far. WHAT'S ONE MORE?! No...no...I won't kill her! I don't want to! Yes you do. You want her dead. Grr, she needs to focus! She brought her lips to Mon's ear, "Mon, I need you to tell them I broke in!" Katerina jerked accordingly to the encroaching Troopers, assuring every single one of them she was aware of their semi circle of ready blasters. "Tell them I came to kill you!" Otherwise that closing in group would do it for her.
"But...no...Kendril-" She choked back the pain, really wishing she was in the head space to curse her for shooting her.
"Would understand!" Katerina assured her, edging for the railing. "But if they know I was here as a friend, you're finished." Mon wouldn't say this was a friendly visit, but she understands. She hates it...but she understands. may Kendril forgive her for not being able to keep her safe. "By the way," Katerina shed her discontent as her thighs touched the railing, "You look amazing as always." Mon was baffled by the remark to the point where she didn't realize Katerina had moved her forward. Once she felt feet kick off her lower back, tossing her forward. The wound in her leg dropped her flat on her stomach. She reeled back in time to see Katerina taking off on her hoverbike, diving headlong into rush hour traffic. May the force be with you, Katty.
"SECURE THE SENATOR!" The Captain ordered! Two troopers rushed to her side. The Captain and the rest got to the railing, opening fire to no avail. Katerina was well out of range. "All units be advised! We've spotted a rebel heading east from Senator Mon Mothma's home!"
"Copy that! We've spotted her and are in pursuit!"
The Captain veered back to Mon Mothma, kneeling to her. "Are you alright, Senator?"
"DO I LOOK ALRIGHT, YOU BUFFOON!" She frothed at the mouth. Her scream frightened them back an inch. "THERE'S A HOLE IN MY LEG!" Katerina told her to make it convincing, so she is. "HOW IS IT HEAVILY ARMED MEN WERE FOOLED BY ONE SMALL RAT?!"
"Get the Senator medical treatment now! Keep her under constant surveillance!" The Captain ordered, keeping his distaste for her insolence under his helmet. While one trooper tended to Mon Mothma, the other called in a medevac. Meanwhile, the Captain and his lieutenant went off to the side, looking out at the city.
"Guess the rumors were false." The Lieutenant said. Mon Mothma managed to hear them once the adrenaline subsided. With that loss came the prickling hot pain. "The Rebels aren't in league with the Senator."
"We don't know that for sure." The Captain nipped that conclusion before the jump. "For all we know she shot the Senator to throw us off."
"Could be. I'll keep our men apprised of the situation. If the rebel comes back, we'll learn fast if she's friend of foe."
"Good man." He stole a small glance to Mon Mothma, who had already pretended to be interested in the trooper checking her leg, and then turned back. Mon Mothma strained her hearing, "And then we kill two traitors with one stone." Mon Mothma's skin crawled in terror. That surveillance she'll be under, it's both a trap...and a noose. Katerina, please watch yourself.
xxx
Katerina sped through opposing traffic, her hair cracking like hundreds of condensed whips, hard trained on the vehicles approaching ahead than the ones coming in from behind! The troopers trying so desperately to get closer than a cruiser's distance were more concerned with crashing, burning, and plummeting than they were catching her. As surprising as it sounds, not a single trooper attempted to fire upon her for fear of causing irreparable damage to a junction of the city. Chandrila is a token, a secondary beacon of superiority for The Empire. They wouldn't risk damaging its upper cities. And much to the true to form driving methods of all from Chandrila, no one was budging an inch seeing Katerina or the troopers invade their right of way. For once, oncoming heavy traffic is her best friend.
Katerina's favorite traffic roundabout was coming up on her nine. Traffic was at its thickest on that ring. An asteroid belt of aircrafts dying to get in and out of the gravitational pull of the lanes. She wove into the flow, going with the crowd instead of against it. She was skidding off the sides of the vehicles, breaking through their narrow merges. The troopers weren't as graceful on their entry. A six craft pile up was added to their roster when they merged. That really cut her tails in half. Time for her to really even the odds by heading into everyone least favorite tunnel. A lane of the roundabout headed inside a tunnel no wider than that of a subterranean train. Single vehicle lanes just mere breaths from grazing one another. Katerina rose and dove past the slowpokes, giving leeway for her troopers to mimic her run. Katerina hugged her whole body to the speeder and slipped into the tunnel. The funnel of wind was like a vacuum and it did indeed suck her in with such ferocity she nearly lost balance. One trooper did, causing an explosion at the entrance. Vehicles on the exiting side was screeching to halts, running into one another. Three were left in Katerina's pursuit squad, which left three too many.
A jerk of the ignition and a kick of the pedals sent Katerina's bike 10 miles faster, beelining for the stream of wide vehicles ahead of her. She tossed her weight to one side, tilting the back the opposing way, and was gliding without effort up and around the ceiling tunnel. She lagged on the ascent, bending her head back in order to grin at the troopers baffled by how they were going to get up to her. One of them was dumb enough to try. Unfortunately, the troopers are a little behind on ground mechanisms for land based vehicles. Hover vehicles are made for this. And thanks to her tinkering on the Ghost speeders, those can do it too. The trooper was whisked clear off the second he reached a high angle. Oh the scream that echoed and smear he made when vehicles hit him. The Blood was rushing to Katerina's head. She guided it for the opposing traffic. On her way down she pulled out a gun. A few shots pierced their steering wheels and away they flew. Sent flipping with their bikes into fiery deaths. Getting both hands back on her steering just as she got back to ground level, Katerina swooped cleanly through the vehicles and right back onto her side, nailing an incredible exit and diving for the lower cities.
She stood on the speeder as she drew near an overpass. She set the autopilot and a hologram. A timed jump sent her on a less than harmful tumble to a crouch. She immediately got up and darted into a covering of tall buildings. She spotted more troopers chasing down her speeder, completely oblivious. "That should buy me some time." She snickered. She tiptoed off, going down alleyways in no real direction.
Once she came down from her adrenaline, fastened her hair into a ponytail while she pierced her day together. "Troops have been tracking me since I left Lothal. Their presence all the more apparent on that farming planet." Their lack of subtlety cost them dearly. "Now they've followed me to Mon's, lead by The Inquisitor…" Just saying his name got her legs kindling again. How much longer is she going to let that man rob her of her spine? The deeper she went into the alleys, the more isolated, alone, and scared she was starting to feel. "Mon was targeted because of me. Grim, Dom, Davey, anyone associated with me is now seen as an enemy of The Empire." And she knows what becomes of their enemies. She doesn't want to believe they would kill innocent people. That, somehow, they will see that they are only helping her because she's their boss. The Empire doesn't believe in grey areas except when it signals no life in a general area. "How many more am I going to endanger...just to get a quick high?" That's all this was, really, until now. A quick fix to add spice to her provincial life. "Oh man! Grim, Dom, and Davey!" She hasn't checked in on them! Kallus knows about them! "Shit!" She needs another ride and fast! She also needs to reach out to Dominique!
Dominique went back to the shop on Lothal to keep it going. It was her pride and joy. She isn't going to abandon it. Katerina knows where she can send a signal and reach her. Davey remained at the Spaceport, finding it useful as a recharge and repair station. She can use the same station to reach him and warn him. Grim is at the garage here on Chandrila, holding down the fort. Katerina can't risk going to the garage. Especially not now. Luckily she doesn't need a long range comlink in order to get the word to him. "UGH! All of this is madness! She shouldn't even have to be worrying about their lives this much!"If she had just stayed at the garage, if she had never challenged Kallus that day, if she had never joined on that mission to Stygeon...Mon, Dominique, Grim, Davey, everyone form the garage...wouldn't be in this mess.
Katerina rode the middle diviering of a flight of stairs, crossing a tunnel into another part of the district. If she remembers correctly, she can keep heading this way to a guy that sells used speeders at a good price. She'll need one to stay ahead of the Troopers. The very spoken of devils whisked by overhead. "I have to hurry!"
She came to a corner and turned. In that single instance a flat palm with the force of a ram chopped right at her neck. Katerina airway closed within half a second. Her eyes bulged, and the mounting pressure numbed her skull. She choked on the strangle air she craved, staggering back. She dry heaved as it gradually opened. Her sense came back right as a foot connected with her ribs, sending her flying into a wall. Be it because the wall was brittle or the kick was hard, either way, Katerina spilled to the ground in a daze with piece of the wall sprinkling on her. She moaned sickly, her blurry vision making the world spin. A tall figure was approaching her. Their causal steps resounding like gongs in her ears. She smashed a hand to her face, willing her head to go still. That pounding wasn't going away anytime soon, but the second she's able she'd breaking this guy's spine.
"We meet again, My Non-Jedi." Her fighting spirit was extinguished like a flame in a harrowing blizzard. She got her wish for the blurry spinning to stop, but was soon on the verge of vomiting. She stiffly raised her head, terror turning her blood to ice as the Inquisitor met her gaze, towering over her like an acolyte of death. True to form, he smiled upon her with those damned shar teeth...and all feeling in her legs was gone again. "Welcome home."
To be continued.